Convenient Fall (Players of Marycliff University Book 2) (19 page)

Her voice was falsely bright. He didn't buy that for a second. “Did that Isaac asshole get in your face again or something?”

“What? No.” She laughed a little. “Nothing like that.” Her answer sounded genuine. She was surprised that he'd asked. And she hadn't frozen like he'd touched a nerve like earlier. That seemed like the truth at least.

“Good. You know you can tell me if he bothers you again, right?”

She laughed again, warmer this time. “I know. You and Matt will beat the shit out of him for me.” He could see her head shaking, her features indistinct, her dark hair and peach skin a blur through the plastic.
 

He smiled. “That's right we will.” He forced himself to relax when he realized he was involuntarily flexing his arms where they were crossed over his chest. It wasn't a bluff. He'd beat the shit out of anyone for Megan if they were bothering her. “So what happened?”

She shook her head again as she turned off the shower and opened the door. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself over her breasts. Chris couldn't help being a little disappointed that she'd covered herself up already. “It's really nothing, Chris. I'm fine. It was just a crap day. I'm glad it's over.”

He looked up from where her arms were still crossed over her breasts to her face. She had a soft smile on her lips and looked sincere. “Okay.” He stood, reaching for her again, bringing her in against his chest and rubbing his hands over her back. “You know you can talk to me if you need to, right?” She nodded against his chest. “Good. Now, let's finish getting you dry and warm.”

Chris tilted her head up and took her lips in a kiss. She responded right away, trying to control the kiss, but he wouldn't let her. He tugged at the towel, pulling it from around her, wrapping it over her shoulders and running his hands on her arms while he continued to kiss her. When he decided her arms were dry, he broke off the kiss and pulled the towel up to her hair. She giggled when he covered her head with the towel and rubbed her scalp. His hands looked huge compared to the size of her skull. He squished her hair through the towel, trying to blot out as much water as possible, then pulled the towel back far enough so that her face peeked out. She was trying to glare at him, but kept ruining it with laughter.
 

He smiled down at her and pulled her against him. Her breasts squished against his bare torso, nipples tightening, and he kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he ran the towel in his hands down to her ass. He gripped her through the fabric and lifted her up. She immediately wrapped her legs around him, clinging to his shoulders and hips. He carried her into the bedroom and they fell onto the bed together.
 

Sliding down her body, he found her pussy, first with his fingers, then with his mouth. He quickly brought her to orgasm before he shoved his jeans and boxers down and rolled on a condom. He'd been hard since she'd stripped before her shower and knew he wouldn't last long. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, bringing his face close to hers so she could kiss him again.
 

After reaching a shuddering climax, he collapsed on top of her, his jeans still around his thighs and his legs dangling off the bed. She cradled his head next to hers, stroking her hands through his hair, and he turned to kiss her shoulder and neck. She giggled and squirmed under him, then pushed at his shoulders. “That tickles, and you need to deal with the condom.”

He grinned down at her, tickling her sides and kissing her once more before he got up to toss the condom in the bathroom trash can. When he came back out, Megan was pulling a long sleeved thermal t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants out of the dresser. He zipped and buttoned his pants while he watched her get dressed. “Warmer now?”

Her head full of damp curls popped out of the shirt and she smiled at him. “Much. Thank you.”

He grinned back. “My pleasure. Anytime.”

She laughed, and he retrieved a dry t-shirt for himself before they went out to join Matt for dinner.

* * *

“When are you leaving for Thanksgiving break?” Matt's voice drifted from the living room into the kitchen where Megan was doing dishes since Matt had made them all dinner. Chris would normally have helped, but he'd said he needed to do some research, so Megan shooed him away to do it herself.

Megan turned off the water in the sink and set the plate in her hand in the dishwasher without clinking it against the other dishes so she could hear Chris's answer to Matt's question. Her recent conversation with Charlie burned in her mind. In moments she would know the answer to her question about whether Chris intended to ask her to go with him. This was the perfect opportunity to ask. She held her breath and waited for his answer.

“Probably early Wednesday afternoon. You wanna ride together again?”

Megan crinkled her eyebrows together. She knew they were both from Western Washington, but she didn't think their parents lived close enough together for them to carpool. Had they known each other before coming to school here? She didn't think so, but hearing them talk made her realize that she didn't know all that much about either of them.

She heard the sound of fabric rustling, one of them shifting in his seat, before Matt answered. “Yeah, sure. My sister's going to be home and I doubt my mom will want either of us going anywhere for the few days we'll all be there. Drop me off. If I get desperate I'll text you to come get me on Friday. When are you planning on heading home?”

“Saturday, probably. Abby and I were talking about us all getting together that weekend. She thinks she misses us after spending all that time here over the summer.”

The smile in Chris's voice was unmistakable, his affection for Abby clear. Megan felt it like a punch to the gut. When had Abby made plans with Chris? Why didn't Megan know? Was she not invited? That … hurt. It felt like betrayal, both from her best friend and her … whatever Chris was to her. The word
boyfriend
rattled around in her head, but she couldn't bring herself to label him as that, not even to herself. Not after that sucker punch. He had to know that she'd be able to hear them. The walls were thin and there wasn't even a door between the kitchen and the living room. So, no invite home with him. Not much of a boyfriend.
 

She sucked in a breath, blinking hard a few times, and turned the water back on to finish with the dishes. Apparently she'd be on her own for Thanksgiving break. On her own to defend herself against her parents and on her own while the people she was closest to hung out without her.
 

Fan-fucking-tastic.

* * *

Chris patted the seat next to him and moved his arm to the back of the couch so that Megan could sit down. He sat with his bare feet up on the coffee table crossed at the ankle and his laptop balanced on his thighs. Megan settled in next to him where he'd indicated, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close, shooting her a quizzical look when she resisted at first. She didn't respond, but shifted so her feet were on the couch and she leaned back against him with his arm across her chest. They sat like this often while doing homework or watching TV.
 

Megan glanced over at his computer screen. “I thought you said you were doing research.”

“I am.”

She turned her head so she could look at his face and arched an eyebrow. “And what class is that for?”

He grinned down at her. “I just said research. I never said it was for a class.”

She grunted in response and turned back to look at the screen again. “Fine. What are you researching?”

“Regional Combines.”

“Regional what now?”

“Combines.” He couldn't help laughing a little at the confusion on her face. It wasn't very often that he knew more about something than she did. He was going to enjoy this moment for as long as he could.

“Combines,” she repeated. “Like one of those big tractor things?”

He laughed at that. Her lips were pursed in frustration and he couldn't help kissing her to try to smooth the irritation off of her face. She remained stiff, not kissing him back, and looked just as cranky with him when he drew back. He chuckled again. “No, not farm equipment. Regional Combines are basically tryouts for the NFL.”

“Oh.” Her face cleared for a moment before a mixture of curiosity and confusion took over. “When are they?”

“Most of them are in February. There's one in Arizona that's still open for registration. I'll probably go there.”

He took a deep breath and clicked on the button to register. He could feel Megan's eyes on him, but he didn't look at her.
 

“How does it work?”

He spared her a quick glance, noting the corners of her mouth pulled down in a frown and the crinkle between her brows. “Well, I go and participate in the Regional Combine. If they like me enough, I get invited to the Super Regional in March, and from there I could get picked up in the draft.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, clicking through and filling out the registration form, leaning over to pull his wallet out of his back pocket so he could pay the fee. Megan watched him the whole time, and when he looked up, Matt had paused his video game and was watching him from where he sat in the recliner. He lifted his chin at Matt. “Wanna go with me?”

Matt studied him for a minute before shaking his head. “Nah, man. I'm good. College ball's been fun, but I don't really want to go pro.”

Chris shrugged and turned back to the computer. He’d finished registering, so he really didn't need to do anything, but he clicked around on the website anyway, not sure what Megan's reaction would be. She shifted next to him and sat up. He let his arm fall away from her, and she situated herself so she sat cross-legged on the middle couch cushion, looking at him, and he finally shut the laptop and gave her his attention.

“What are your chances?”

Chris flinched a little, surprised. That wasn't what he'd expected. He shrugged. “I don't know. Probably not great. But it's my only shot.” He looked away from her, running a hand through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve wanted to go pro since I was a little kid. I'm eligible for the combines this year. If I don't try, I think I'll always regret it.” He lifted his eyes to hers again, a crooked smile on his face. He wanted to plead with her for her support, or at least her understanding, but couldn't do that. So, he pasted on a smile in anticipation of her criticism.

Instead she studied him, her brown eyes serious, her face impassive. Finally, she nodded once, whether in acknowledgment or agreement, he wasn't sure. “Are you still planning on graduating in May?”

“Yeah.” Leave it to Megan to care more about school.

“Then go get your books. You've got homework.” She shoved at his shoulder, and he laughed at her feeble attempt to move him. But he got up, took the computer back to the bedroom, and got what he needed to get through before the next day. He was doing better than he'd ever expected in his classes, especially since he'd kind of given up before the semester had even started. Megan had gotten him to focus more on his classes. Since she wouldn't budge on her own study time, it was easier to just study with her and get it over with. Then he could get to more enjoyable activities with Megan.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A collective groan went up from the crowd. The Marycliff University football team had just had the ball stripped with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. It had been raining most of the game, and the field was muddy, making everything slippery and easy for the other team to force the running back to fumble. They were down by three, and this latest turnover meant they were unlikely to get another chance to score unless they managed a last minute interception and touchdown. A disappointing way to end the season, especially with their final game at home.

Next to Megan, Abby sat down to start packing up her things. Lance still stood, bouncing on his toes, as though he could change the outcome of the game through the force of his will. Megan smiled at the thought, and turned her attention back to the game. The other team was only making running plays, not allowing any interceptions. The MU defense did a good job of holding them, not letting them gain much yardage, but they couldn't force a turnover. The clock ran down, and MU lost, the sense of defeat as oppressive as the heavy clouds overhead.
 

The MU players shook hands on the field with the other team before they headed back to the locker room, leaving the winning players to celebrate on the field until their coaches shooed them off.
 

“Well, that’s a bummer.” Abby stood back up, folded their stadium blanket, and shoved it into her bag.

Megan nodded. “Yeah. The guys'll be disappointed.”

“You think they'll still want to go to a party tonight?”

Lance snorted on Abby's other side. “More than ever, probably. That's a sucky way to end their last season. They'll both want to drink.” He shifted his gaze to Megan. “Did you drive tonight? You should plan on being DD for them unless you guys all want to cram in with us.”

Megan chuckled. “No thanks. I know neither of them like riding in the back of either of your cars. I was planning on driving anyway. I figured if they won, they'd want to celebrate and if they lost, they'd want to drown their sorrows. Either way, they deserve not to drive tonight.”

Lance nodded and took the bag from Abby before they headed down the stairs.