Chapter 21
Dante
The music hit me before the door to the common room even opened. Bass thumped, glass rattled, and a chorus of voices spilled out into the night air. Typical team party — half the roster already drunk, the other half trying to prove they weren’t.
None of them cared that it was Tuesday night, because it was the offseason and only I and a few of the other starters still had the six a.m. starts.
I kept my hand on the small of Savannah’s back as we stepped inside. I wasn’t ready to stop touching her yet. Not after that kiss.
One kiss. One soft, stolen brush of her lips, and I couldn’t shake it.
She slipped out from under my hand the second we crossed the threshold, like she’d remembered herself, and I let her go. If I wanted to keep her here — and keep her from bolting the second she realized this wasn’t her scene — I had to play it smart.
“Spence!” someone shouted, and a couple of the guys clapped me on the back. Dustin materialized out of nowhere, already grinning like the life of the party. “About time. And you brought company?” His gaze flicked to Savannah. Sav stiffened, but Dust just winked at her.
“She’s with me,” I said, sharper than I meant to, and Dustin raised a brow but didn’t push it. “I thought we said a quiet team-building party,’’ I said as I looked around.
Dustin gave me a knowing look with a wide grin. “Dude, who brings a date to a quiet team-building party?”
Savannah giggled, and my hand reached out, snagging the back pocket of her jeans lightly but firm enough to pull her back a step so her back was to my chest.
Across the room, I caught Noah watching. He didn’t look surprised, exactly, but he definitely looked curious.
I kept hold of her, my hand slipping to her waist, and she didn’t move it away. I ignored the way the music pounded like a second heartbeat in my skull.
After the conversation with Noah and Dustin yesterday, today I had the bright idea that we should have a party. Just first team, and a few others, show a united front, and see if there were any ‘hidden’ things in plain sight.
Dustin’s question about Sav being in on it had rattled around my head like an unwelcome guest all night. After I spoke to her this afternoon and kissed her, I told myself I had reasons for bringing her here. I wasn't looking at this logic too closely.
I also wasn’t lingering on the fact that her lips were as soft as satin, or that I shouldn’t have kissed her again under the umbrella. Or the fact that she was so fucking responsive to me. I kept forgetting that she may be part of all the shit this program was trying to hide.
Did I regret the way she was pressed up against me right now? No. Not one damn bit.
That was the opposite of keeping my head down, even if it was about uncovering secrets.
Dustin was right, she was a tutor and would know if people were getting passes when they shouldn’t.
Part of me resented that I was using her like this, but when she turned to look back at me — eyes wide, cheeks flushed under the string lights — I couldn’t bring myself to regret that I had brought her here. Just the reason why.
Savannah stuck close at first, her arms wrapped around her like a shield. I could feel her scanning the room, taking it all in — the red plastic cups, the sticky floors, the players already half gone. It wasn’t her scene, not by a mile.
“You hate this,” I murmured, leaning down so only she could hear.
Her chin lifted. “I never said that.”
“You don’t have to. I can see it.”
She cut me a sideways glare, sharp enough to slice through the fog of cheap beer and sweat. “Maybe I don’t like loud, sweaty rooms filled with testosterone.”
I smirked. “Then why are you here?”
She muttered something under her breath that I didn’t catch. Probably a threat. Probably deserved.
Noah appeared with a couple of bottles of water, pressing one into her hand like he was offering her the crown jewels. She gave him a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I knew that look — she was already plotting her exit.
“Relax, Sav,” I said quietly, close enough that my lips touched the shell of her ear. “Nobody’s going to bite.”
Her lips twitched. “Funny. I could’ve sworn you did earlier.”
I froze for half a second, pulse spiking, and then forced a laugh that sounded way too casual. She was baiting me, and the worst part was — it was working.
“Yeah, well,” I said, leaning back just enough to study her face, “you didn’t exactly run.”
Her gaze locked on mine, steady and unblinking, and for a breath too long, the noise of the party dulled around us.
She broke it first, looking away to sip her water. “Maybe I should have.”
I realized then that getting her here was one thing. Keeping her here, keeping her close — that was going to be a whole different game.
“Spence!”
The shout cut through the music, and I felt Sav stiffen beside me. One of the cheer squad — Kara, I think — was weaving through the crowd, blonde ponytail swishing, all teeth and tan. She stopped right in front of me, ignoring Savannah completely.
“You’ve been quiet since the championship game,” Kara said, her voice pitched loud enough for half the room to hear. Her nails brushed my arm as if she had some right to touch me. “You disappearing on us?”
I shifted just enough to put space between us. “Busy,” I said flatly.
Her eyes flicked to Savannah then, quick and sharp. “Really? Her?”
Sav’s fingers tightened around her water bottle. Her expression didn’t move, but I caught the faintest flare in her eyes, and damn if that didn’t make me want to grin.
“Enjoy the party, Kara,” I dismissed, already turning back to Sav.
Kara’s smile faltered, and then she sashayed away, tossing her hair like she owned the room.
Savannah arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re popular.”
I leaned closer, lowering my voice so only she could hear. “You jealous?”
Her answering scoff was sharp. “Please. I’ve better sense.”
I should’ve laughed, but the way she said it — quiet, certain — made me want to lean in even more. My grin slipped into something smaller, realer, before I could stop it.
“Good,” I said, voice rougher than I intended. “Because I don’t want their attention. I want yours.”
Her breath caught — barely audible over the bass — but I heard it.
Dustin appeared, throwing an arm around my shoulder, breaking the moment in two. “Dante, you’re not hiding in the corner all night, this was your idea, man. Let’s go.”
“Sav—”
“Will be fine,” she said, holding up her bottle of water. “I’m not a total wallflower.”
I went because I had to. But every step away from her felt like something I was going to regret.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dust asked me as he pulled along. “Bringing her here? Do you remember who she is?”
When I said nothing, Dustin’s grip tightened on my shoulder as he dragged me toward the kitchen. Music pounded through the walls, a mix of beer and sweat hanging thick in the air.
He leaned close so I could hear him. “Okay, man, seriously, what’s your play here?”
I kept my face blank, grabbing a soda off the counter instead of the beer he shoved my way. “She’s with me.”
“Yeah, I figured that much,” he shot back, eyes narrowing. “But why?”
I cracked open the soda and took a long pull, buying myself seconds. Dustin wasn’t an idiot. He read people like defenses, saw the holes before they opened up.
“She needed a break,” I said finally, as casual as I could make it. “A place like this, nobody cares who she is. She gets to just . . . breathe.”
Dustin didn’t buy it, not entirely. He crossed his arms. “And what did we discuss yesterday?”
“Why do you think she’s here?” I met his stare, let the weight of it hang. “I want to see if she speaks to anyone,” I admitted, my voice dropping.
He huffed a laugh, shaking his head. “And if she talks to someone, what will that tell you? That she knows people?” he asked incredulously. “I mean . . .” He looked around the room. “Seriously, how does this make sense to you?”
My jaw ticked, but I didn’t rise to it. Instead, I glanced across the room and found Savannah. She was standing by the window, shoulders straight, chin lifted like she was daring anyone to underestimate her.
Had I made a mistake bringing her here?
If Dustin was right, she was maybe more trouble than even I could handle. I watched as Noah went up to her, dipping his head so she could hear him over the music, and Sav burst out laughing.
Jealousy, fast and mean, reared up in me. She never laughed like that with me. So open. So unguarded.
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay where I was. Noah wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just being Noah — finding someone else who stood out and was content to stand in the corner. But the sight of Sav laughing at whatever he said hit me like a body blow.
Her laughter wasn’t for me, and it pissed me off.
I told myself to play it cool. She wasn’t mine.
Hell, she probably couldn’t be mine. But the part of me that had spent the last week watching her stubborn little frowns, listening to her sharp tongue, catching those flashes of softness she tried to hide — that part wasn’t listening.
The part that remembered the taste of her mouth on mine was sure as hell not listening.
Or the way her fingers had stroked over my cock.
I crushed the soda can slightly before I noticed. I wasn’t thinking about what she might know, or about keeping her safe, or about keeping myself out of trouble. I was thinking about what she’d do if I crossed the room and pulled her back to me.
I’d crossed the room with quick strides. Noah caught sight of me first, straightened, and clapped me on the shoulder with his usual easy grin.
I didn’t even look at him. My focus was locked on Savannah, her smile still lingering as if she hadn’t noticed the shift in the air.
Sliding in beside her, I let my hand brush the small of her back, light enough that anyone watching would think it was nothing. But she stiffened like she’d felt the weight of it, and that was all I wanted.