Chapter 3
Rachel
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I sit on the couch beside a guy named Walsh, while Seth—another well-known Raptor star, claims the recliner to my left. The serious expression he’s worn the past half hour finally gives way to a faint smile.
“Fuck!” Randy says again as he sits on the floor in front of me. “I think she beat me.”
I watch as he pulls off his headset and sets the controller down beside him. His hands rise to the top of his head, fingers laced, as he stretches and stares at the screen waiting for the stats to make it official. We all lean forward as the screen changes.
“Noooo!” Randy yells, dragging both hands over his face before dropping them to his lap, head hanging in defeat. “No way. No freaking way.”
To my startled surprise, Seth and Walsh both stand in unison, high fiving each other.
“Ha! Man, she fucking smashed you, this is the best day of my life.” Walsh laughs from my right, doubling over as he slaps a hand down on Randy’s shoulder.
Before Randy can answer, a high-pitched scream tears through the house. His head jerks up, eyes immediately snapping toward Seth.
“She’s fucking here?!” Randy questions.
I glance at Seth. He doesn’t answer Randy, just takes a long pull from his beer and lets a crooked half-smile tug at his lips as he sinks deeper into the recliner, clearly savoring the downfall of his teammate.
And honestly? Fair. This is huge. A campus-wide event with everyone buzzing about the outcome.
Hell, it must be big news if even I know about it, the person with exactly zero social life.
The moment shatters with the sound of chaos as Shelby barrels down the stairs, her golden hair piled high like a crown.
She flies into the living room, barefoot and breathless.
I smother another laugh just as Randy flops backward in defeat, banging his head against the floor with a dramatic groan. “Shit, shit, shit!” he repeats, his hands still covering his face.
“I beat you!” she says in her Australian accent as I watch her fall down over him to straddle his waist. With playful determination, she grabs his wrists and pins them to the floor on either side of his face.
“Are you ready to get naked, Randy?” She laughs teasingly, her eyebrows bouncing in a playful wiggle.
“Fuck!” he says again as he lies there defeated on the floor.
“Oh, we aren’t doing that, but I will get you naked.”
Walsh is howling with laughter, and I can’t help but join in…
she did it, she beat him. With all the talk about their recent ordeals, they are celebrities around here.
Everyone at the college knows them and knows about the bet, especially because they were locked in a two all draw, before the kidnapping.
And let’s be honest, every girl on campus was rooting for Shelby, for entirely selfish reasons, of course.
Christian appears in the foyer wearing loose black sweatpants that ride low on his hips, no shirt, and my eyes lock onto his sculpted chest and the stark white bandage covering his bullet wound.
His right arm rests in a navy-blue sling, a patch of white dressing peeking from beneath it, high on his shoulder.
He moves slower than I imagine he normally would.
Careful. Controlled. But his face displays sheer delight.
“She got you, man!” he says it with a proud expression stretched across his face, leaning lazily against the doorway.
“This is fucking brilliant. Just when I think I couldn’t love her any more then I already do, she goes and does that! ”
Shelby slides off Randy, coming to sit back on her ankles next to him, extending her hand. “Good game, Randy.”
He looks back at her as he props himself on one elbow and takes her hand in his other, shaking it gently. “Good game, Shelby.” His eyes look at her maroon shirt. “What jersey is this?” he asks, grabbing at the material.
“Oh,” she says, looking down at her shiny maroon-colored jersey.
“It’s my Queenslander State of Origin jersey.
Let’s face it, Queensland always wins the decider.
So, I thought I would wear it for good luck and look, it worked.
” She beams, but her winning grin wavers as she takes in the three spectators.
“Oh, hi… sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she says in surprise as she takes in the complete stranger who has been sitting there watching the whole exchange.
Randy rolls over to his stomach looking toward me, his face still covered in defeat and points in my direction. “Shelby, Christian, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is Christian, and this is his COD shark girlfriend Shelby.”
“Hi,” I reply meekly. They all look friendly enough, but they are also exceedingly popular, attractive, and extremely intimidating, and suddenly I feel completely out of place among them.
“Hi,” they both reply.
“Man, you look like you need a beer,” Christian says, looking down at Randy on the floor, his face now buried in a couch pillow.
“I do, but I have to drive Rachel home,” he says, pointing at me again but not looking up.
“It’s okay,” I say to him. “You can have a beer. I think you need it after that.”
I’m more than happy to catch an Uber. I’ve already taken way more time of his than I should have.
“Okay…beer me,” his muffled voice says into the pillow.
“Everyone else?”
“Yeah,” Seth says, standing and walking over Randy’s back with one foot…if he took his full weight, I think it would kill him.
“Fuck, you weigh a ton,” Randy gasps.
“Just so you know, I had sex in that spot last week using that exact couch pillow,” he says, not stopping on his way to the kitchen.
Randy quickly does a sit up and jumps to his feet. “Gross,” he whines. “This pillow is going in the wash…or maybe the trash.”
Randy reaches for my hand and helps me off the sofa.
“Are you okay to stay for a while? Do you need to get back to Sam?”
“No, my parents have him for the weekend. They took him down to my grandparents, so I’ve got the place to myself to study.”
“Do you live with your parents?”
“Yeah. Can’t exactly live in a dorm with my son. Plus, it’s the only home I’ve ever known and with Sam, it’s just easier.”
“Makes sense,” he replies as we follow behind his friends into the kitchen, and within moments I’m getting passed a prosecco because Shelby wants to celebrate.
The Instagram post is quick to be made public by Christian since Shelby doesn’t have one.
Which I thought at first was weird, then reminded myself that she had a stalker, and who would want any type of social media in that scenario.
@christianstoneRB Well, my girl has done it!! She has claimed victory over @randyharrisonQB! That’s right, ladies, our next upcoming home game, it’s going to be a full moon! 3 to 2 the decider has been decided.
#whiteass #jockstrap #qbwalkofshame @raptorscollege @raptorsfootball
The six of us have made our way around the well-loved dining room table and I honestly can’t remember when I had this much fun. The stories these guys tell, the way they rib-on each other, and the endless payouts toward Randy after tonight’s game.
The checking of Instagram is constant, with the post already receiving over a thousand comments. It’s made for a drunken, entertaining night, something I haven’t had in a very long time.
Randy’s friends have made me feel so welcome, and Randy himself has been so sweet. Looking after me, checking on me, and getting me food and drinks. He’s a big old flirt, which is no surprise as he does have the biggest manwhore reputation on campus.
It’s hard not to get sucked into it all.
He makes me feel so special, though, like I’m the most important person in the room.
His phone hasn’t stopped all night, but he has ignored it for the most part; a quick look here and there, but that’s about it.
His mother must have raised him right, and that just adds to his hugely alluring personality and god-like looks.
It’s midnight when I look at my watch and I think about how time really has flown by.
I know no one is at my house, but I should probably head off, not wanting to overstay my welcome even more.
As the last hand of cards is thrown down, signaling the end to another game, I sigh.
“Well, I probably should be going.” I stretch.
“You can’t leave at this hour,” Shelby says in her captivating Australian accent…seriously, I could listen to her talk for hours.
“It’s okay, I can just get an Uber, it’s not far.”
Randy nods his head in agreement to Shelby. “I really don’t want you getting an Uber this late. You can have my bed, and I will drive you home in the morning.”
“But then where will you sleep?” I question.
“In my bed, of course,” he says with a wink.
“Oh, umm,” I start to say.
Shelby leans in from the other side of the table, rescuing me from the awkwardness.
“Randy, you can sleep on the airbed,” she suggests. “We still have it from our camping trip, and I’m pretty sure Letti and Dani didn’t get any vomit on it when they used it last.” Shelby flashes Randy with a grin and stands to clear the empty bottles from the table.
I’ve had such a good night, had too many drinks, and Randy has been so sweet. I’m not sure I could trust myself to share a bed with one of the hottest men on the planet. Granted, I’m sure I would have an amazing time if given the option to do more than sleep.
“Might be some drool on it, though,” Walsh adds. “Those girls where fuckin’ hammered.”
“Well, that sounds like a brilliant idea!” Randy sarcastically grumbles.
After helping pack up and saying goodnight to everyone, I follow Randy up the stairs and find it hard not to admire his physique; everything about him is alluring and just plain hot. He opens the first door on the right and gestures for me to enter.