34. Untouchable Princess
THIRTY-FOUR
“And then,”Shay announced, fighting back laughter, “after Pippa and I sat through the show with him and didn’t make a peep the whole thirty minutes?—”
“Except to remind me how many national titles we have,” Cam said. “You guys were clutch. Cutting my mic for a second while you looked it up was brilliant.”
She giggled. “Well, we went back to the media room, and Shelby was still sitting there, burning holes in the table with her eyes, just waiting to fire us.”
“Did she?” Avery asked.
“Ooh, you could tell she wanted to.” Shay leaned in. “It would have been worth it. I could make a loud complaint about that, and I’ll sleep a little better at night knowing she knows that.”
“You’re too good to her, babe.” Kenyon bent down to kiss Shay’s head. “I’d have ripped her head off. I’m a little ashamed my boy Cam didn’t do it on my behalf. I stop people coming at him all the damn time.”
Cam snorted. “Right. Because she needed me to man-splain color theory. Shay was majestic. I sat in awe.” He and Shay high-fived.
“We need to get Pippa out sometime,” Shay said. “She’s so sweet when Shelby’s not terrorizing her. That girl could use a break and about a gallon of wine.”
“She’s a lot more fun when she’s not constantly on edge, that’s for sure.” Sneaking an arm around Avery, Cam had an idea. “I agree. Let’s get her out. We should introduce her to Isaac,” he said. “The least-terrifying guy ever.”
“But you’re—” Shay’s eyes darted to Cam’s hand on Avery’s waist, and she cleared her throat. “Avery, this girl is so smart and strategic, always cheerful, and Shelby just sucks the life out of her. The difference between Pips in class and on an assignment is depressing.”
“That sounds awful. Why does anybody want to work with Shelby? Why do you?”
“Even though I never get to travel with the team, it’s nice to at least be in the same ecosystem as Kenyon during the season,” Shay said, nodding to her boyfriend on the other side of the room. “For Pippa, beats me. She doesn’t know anything about football.”
“Isaac eats, breathes, and dreams football. I bet he’d be a good teacher.”
High on a decisive win that afternoon, the Saturday evening crowd at The Farm mingled in and out of the houses on the shared lot—windows and doors open to their screens in the cool fall evening, the bonfire crackling outside while the men played lazy five-on-five between rounds of cheap beer. Justin was nowhere to be found, and no one had asked Avery about him all night. Two weeks after his outburst at the bonfire, the scene might as well have never taken place. No recording, no photos, no evidence. Avery thought she and Isaac weren’t the only ones who wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.
Cam pulled her away from Shay and the rest of the group. “I’m dreaming about what you’re wearing under that dress.” He plucked at her skirt.
“There’s not that much to that dream.”
Cam intertwined his fingers with hers. “Then I’m dreaming of taking you into the kitchen and setting you on the counter so I can play to my heart’s content.”
“We’ll be here all night.”
“We certainly will not.” His breath warmed her neck as he pulled her back into his embrace. “And I am not letting you out of my reach until I have to go to weights in the morning. We have a hotel tonight.”
“Hey, big spender.” She kissed his cheek. “I could get used to this.”
“You’re going to have to, because we’re going to make a habit of it. If this program is giving me money, I’ll spend it on time with my girl. I am not feeling this situation with roommates and twin beds.”
She hooked a finger in his belt loop. “I know what I’d like to be feeling.”
“Keep that up, and I’m taking you to the kitchen whether you like it or not.”
“I dare you. I don’t think you’ll really go up my dress in the middle of a party.”
He grinned. “I don’t think you could keep a straight face if I did.”
“That’s the only thing stopping you?” Brushing a hand over his thigh, she felt his muscles clench. “Live a little. Give it a shot.”
“Avery. You’re killing me.” He crushed her against him.
“Oh, that feels very much alive.”
“Kitchen. Now.”
“Cameron.” She startled in his arms and stepped back.
“What?”
Avery squinted down the hall. “Sorry. I swear, it’s like Gia is looking at us everywhere I turn. Not us. Me. She was staring when I was talking to Isaac a little bit ago, too, when you were helping Benny with all the chairs.”
“She’s just nosy,” Cam said.
The girl’s analytical gaze unnerved her, first when she and Isaac were hashing out the latest about Justin’s behavior and what they should do, and now with Cam when they were all over each other in a half-lit hallway.
“She just looks at me like she has a problem with me. I only met her once. Why wouldn’t she like me?”
“I have no idea. Some people just have that face. And I know she likes to know what’s going on.”
“Are we a hot topic? Or am I, after the thing with Justin?”
“Maybe a little of each. We did say we’d keep things kind of low-key for a while and I think we weren’t exactly low-key just now.”
“You’re not hurting my feelings,” Isaac said, popping up out of nowhere and punching her arm.
“You came by yourself?” Avery asked. “I’m so proud of you. Cam has an idea for someone you can bring another time.”
“Am I supposed to marry her?”
Cam glanced between them and settled on Isaac. “What?”
“Ask your girl the fortune-teller. And hey, good for you two, by the way. I think it goes without saying, no hard feelings.”
“I heard she didn’t like you that much, anyway.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “You two are pathetic.”
Isaac grinned. “Listen, friend. I am determined to rise above my pain in the name of friendship and teamwork. What do we do when they bring the heartbreak, Cam?”
Cam threw up a fist for a bump. “We rise! We rise together!”
Avery stepped back and looked at their faces, then below their belts. “Oh. I didn’t know you needed a pep rally for that, but please. Carry on.”
“Avery.”
She looked up from her chair by the bonfire. “Gia, hi. How are you?”
“I’m impressed is what I am.”
“By what?”
“How you stood up to your brother a few weeks ago.” Gia settled in Cam’s empty chair. “That was an insane couple of minutes. Hakeem’s always talked about Justin like he really has his act together.”
Avery bristled. “My brother was drunk on a very bad day for our family. That’s not who he really is.”
“You told him what’s what, though.” Gia raised her red cup. “I admire that.”
Avery didn’t lift her drink in return. “Thanks, I guess. That conversation should have happened privately. I’m sorry you and everyone else had to see it.”
“It worked out okay for you, didn’t it?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Gia stared into the fire as a smile curled her lips. “You have to understand, Avery, you showed up here as kind of the untouchable princess because of how much Justin talked you up. Hakeem’s played with him for two years and we heard about you all the time, and half the guys on the team either adopted you or wanted to date you.”
“My brother and I are close, but I can’t help what he says.”
“It was a little intimidating to meet you, I guess.”
“Gia.” Avery touched her shoulder so she’d turn to face her. “I’m sorry you felt that way. I always like to meet people. I was glad to meet you and the other girls, Shay and Olivia and Jeni. I hope we didn’t get off on the wrong foot.”
“Of course not.” Gia’s smile broadened and looked a little more genuine. “I hope we can be friends.”
Avery brightened. “I like new friends.”
“Me too. I like getting to know people.” She took a long drink of her beer. “Anyway, what I meant before is that now you can kind of get away from that reputation, right? I mean, you have to have noticed that not a lot of the girls have really connected with you. And that’s not your fault. If you ask me, the guys kind of set you up for that.”
No one asked you.“Well, Shay and I have been getting along, and she?—”
“She’s Cam’s friend. And all I mean is that first it was the thing with you and Isaac, and then now it’s whatever thing you’ve got with Cam—it’s just a little much.”
A little much. The insinuation burned closer than the fire. She took things slower with Cam than anyone knew. She and Isaac respected and cared for each other in a way that never included romance. And for all that she claimed to admire her strength, Gia Tomlin obviously had no idea how little much Avery could be.
“Isaac and I are friends. Isaac and Cam are friends. The people that matter here are fine, and I don’t need to justify that to you.”
“But between those two and Justin, you went out there like a queen and stood your ground. Some girls, surrounded by men like that, would let them make the decisions. You didn’t. That was ballsy.”
“Again, it was a conversation that should have been private. That wasn’t for anyone’s entertainment.” Avery clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering and craned her neck to catch Cameron’s eye where he stood talking to Zack Tucker.
“Well, all I’m saying is that you made it clear no one’s going to pass you around. As it was, things looked like your brother was running the show with the thing with Isaac, and now he’s not around and you’re hanging all over Cam. Good for you making your own choices.”
Avery stood and stepped between Gia and the fire, shadowing her face. “Say that again,” she demanded. “Look right in my face and say any shit about me being passed around.”
Gia shrugged. “I was trying to be nice and give you a compliment.”
“Saying I am ‘passed around’ does not enter into a compliment.” She took a step forward, blocking Gia into her seat so she kept the high ground. “If you think that me staying friends with Isaac after a total nonstarter relationship and dating Cam after that makes me some kind of slut, say it to my face. Say it to their faces and challenge their friendship and respect for each other. Challenge their respect for me, and see how far you get.”
Gia pushed back her chair, knocking it over in the gravel. Her beer fell from the cupholder and ran in rivulets through the pebbles near Avery’s feet.
“How was I supposed to know it was a ‘total nonstarter’ with Isaac?” Gia demanded, mocking her with air quotes. “God, Avery. I was trying to be nice. But don’t worry. I won’t say anything. You still get to be the untouchable princess everyone loves, and it’s not just because of your brother anymore. Everyone will be nice as long as you’re the quarterback’s girlfriend. However long that lasts.”
Avery lifted her chin and stalked to her boyfriend’s side. “I need you,” she whispered. Cam barely told Zack he’d be right back when she pulled him back into the house.
“Is everything okay? I saw you talking to Gia, and it looked like you were getting along.”
She cut him off with a kiss—bruising and intrusive as she grabbed a handful of his hair and held him to her open lips, thrusting forward to push him against the wall. “Gia can fuck off. I am so hungry for you, and you are the only one who matters. I don’t care what anyone else wants. Only you.”
“What do you want?” He stroked her neck, gliding lower over the curve of her breast and squeezing to make her gasp as he pulled her into an empty alcove. “I’m ready for that hotel whenever you are. I want to spread you out on that bed and cherish your body the way it is meant to be cherished. All night. No rush. We’ll call room service for strawberries and champagne. I had Benny make the reservation, so I’m twenty-one now.”
“Do you still want to take me to the kitchen first?”
His breath hitched as he slid a hand over her hip to make sure she wasn’t wearing anything under her dress. “You know I do.”
“And do you still want to tease me into breaking my straight face while anyone might be watching?”
“Yes,” he breathed. He took her hand and led her back to the empty kitchen, and found two sports drinks in the refrigerator. “Our disguise,” he said, cracking them open. “We’re in here for non-alcoholic refreshment.”
She took a long drink. “I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.”
“I’m parched.” He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the counter where he sat the first time she saw him there. “Scoot a little closer to the edge, and spread your legs for me.”
The knee-length dress gave him cover to send a hand snaking up her thigh, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. He shifted his posture just enough that anyone walking by would see his right hand on her thigh and assume his left hand was at his side.
She was already slick when his fingers reached their target, and his little groan of satisfaction almost made her smile.
“I don’t see anyone looking,” she said. “Not even Miss Nosy. Everyone’s gone outside since it’s so nice out.”
“Then I guess you’re mine to play with, Avery.” He prodded with two fingers, and she swallowed a gasp. “However I want, right here where anyone could walk in.”
“The drink was a good idea,” she said, her voice going hoarse as she lifted the bottle. “See? Logical reason to be in the kitchen.” She nearly dropped it when he plunged his fingers inside her.
“That’s mine,” he whispered in her ear. “And every inch of me is yours. And when you’ve had enough public foreplay, I will strip you down and ravish you private.” He did a quick check of the room and squeezed her breast hard.
“Why do you make me want to get caught?” she asked. “You got it stuck in my head that I want someone to walk in here and notice you’re missing a hand. My face is probably bright red.”
“It is. And I don’t care what they think of my life outside football. Jordan slept with whoever he wanted that week. I’ll touch my girlfriend at a party if I want to.”
She giggled and set down her drink. “And we’re all alone. I guess there will be other parties if no one will oblige us this time.” She pulled him close for a kiss.
“One more try.”
He thrust his fingers into her again and beckoned with them, pulling her to the very edge of the counter so she wrapped her legs around his back to steady herself. The soft strokes of his thumb unwound her spine. She wobbled and leaned back, gasping and gripping the edge of the counter as he attacked her neck with his mouth.
“You lose,” he whispered, lips pressed to her ear. “That’s not a straight face. Anyone who sees us now will know.”
“We can go now. Oh God, that feels so good. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Cameron whipped his head around and Avery peeked over her shoulder to see her brother, red-faced and scowling in the kitchen doorway. He wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“This is not exactly what I meant when I said I didn’t mind the idea of you with my sister,” he said, brows lowered as he approached Cam. “I meant dating her and treating her with the respect she deserves, not getting your hands up her dress at a party full of our teammates whose respect you need to keep.”
“I’m not in the mood for your moralizing,” Avery said, pushing Cam back. She flinched as his fingers slipped out of her. “We were just leaving.”
“I was talking to Cam.”
“If you are so concerned for my virtue, then you are also talking to me.” She moved to Cam’s side and took his hand.
“Your virtue is your own business. Your reputation is mine and his too, because we’re a part of it. And it’s bad enough how it looks like you just turned from one guy to the next one about five minutes later, but?—”
“That is not how it happened, and if you would ever call me back, I’d have told you everything,” she said, seething.
“I know enough about how it happened. I don’t care if you secretly got married. You two looked ready to fuck right there on the counter, and that’s not okay.”
“It’s a party full of couples, Justin. Half the house is all over their partners right now,” Cam pointed out. “I assume you walked down the hall to get here. How many people did you trip over? You’re pissed that it’s Avery and me. That’s all.”
“I’m pissed because I came down here to get a water and an ice pack so I can sleep off what is either a mild concussion or a bad headache, and I walk in on my sister with my buddy who looks about ready to get his head between her knees.”
“The head-under-the-dress thing is more of a dinner party move,” Avery said. “Whoops, I dropped my napkin, sweetheart.”
Cam didn’t hear her. “You took a bad hit today, man? I didn’t see.”
“Middle of the fourth, but I didn’t feel sick until later. They did the list and the tests after the game when I reported it.”
“No results?”
“Inconclusive. I’ll get a CT tomorrow, and we go from there.” He grabbed his hair and winced. “In the meantime, I’m supposed to lie quietly in a dark room and not get too worked up.”
“I’m glad you told them and got checked out.” Cam reached for his shoulder.
“Not with that hand, buddy.” Justin swatted him away and looked at his sister, eyes pained. “Avie, what are you doing?”
“I’m making out with my boyfriend at a private party with all my clothes on. I am entirely sober and enthusiastically consenting. And I’m sorry you didn’t want to see that, but if your little setup had worked and you walked in on me and Isaac like that, would your reaction have been any different?”
Justin was silent, and Avery held his gaze. They slowed and synchronized their breathing.
“I’m glad to see you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“It’s part of the game.” He pounded his chest and coughed. “I’m glad to see you, too.”
“Maybe we could get lunch this week and catch up. I’m picking up the pop art panel idea again, and I have sketches to show you.”
“We could do that.”
“Cam thinks Jordan is the new rock-paper-scissors king of the Easter Islands.”
Justin rubbed the back of his skull. “I heard he was just tired of getting his clock cleaned every week.”