Friend Zoned (Barnett Bulldogs #2) (9 page)

“Liam Garrison is thinking about moving in second semester.”  He shrugs those big broad shoulders of his.  “Guess he’s having some roommate issues.

Without thinking too much about my words, I say, “Liam’s a really nice guy.”  It’s not like we’re best friends or anything, but he’s always friendly when I see him.

One of Sam’s brows slowly hikes up as he eyes me with sudden interest.  “You think so, huh?”

I give him a small smirk in return before settling onto the couch with my glass of wine.  This is turning out to be one of the nicest evenings I’ve had in a long time.  But that’s hardly surprising.  It’s always like that when we’re together.  Everything is just so damn easy.  Unable to help myself, I needle him just a bit by saying, “He’s pretty hot, don’t you think?”

Before I can even blink my eyes, Sam is nipping the half-filled glass of wine from my hand and setting it down on the small end table near the couch. Then he attacks me with his fingers.

“So,” he drawls, continuing with the torture, “Liam Garrison is hot, huh?”

A high pitched squeal flies from my mouth as his fingers dance along my ribcage.  When I’m finally able to push the words out, they sound all screechy and breathless. “Did I actually say that?”  I keep trying to wiggle out of the firm grasp he has on me, but can’t get far enough away.  Those damn fingers of his seem to be everywhere.

“Yeah, I think you did.”

Gasping for breath, I finally admit, “I was kidding!  Now stop tickling me!”

Instead of ceasing the torture, he keeps moving his hands over my sides until I’m practically to the point of peeing in my pants.  “Nope.  I don’t think I will.”  Finally, when I don’t think I can take another second, he hauls me into his arms, holding me against that rock solid chest of his as I fight to catch my breath.  We sit like that for a long silent moment.

And it feels…
good
.

Really good.

I don’t want to admit to myself that it feels better than anything else has in a really long time.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try turning my thoughts in a different direction.  The last thing I need is to allow my imagination to meander down this road again. 
Especially
right now.  But I can’t seem to help myself.  As I inhale a big breath, the outdoor woodsy scent of him assaults my senses, making me almost dizzy with it.  All I want to do is inhale another lungful.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I honestly don’t know where all these thoughts keep coming from lately.

This is Sam we’re talking about here.

Sam!

Not some random dude I can crush on without repercussions.

Sam is my best friend.  One of the best guys I know.  I don’t want to mess that up with fickle feelings and out of whack hormones.  Sam isn’t a guy I can scratch some metaphorical itch with.

Only when he clears his throat, do my eyes pop open before latching onto his.  I hope to hell he didn’t notice me trying to inhale him.  How embarrassing would
that
be?

His voice sounds a little gruffer when he finally asks, “If you’re finally done drooling over Liam Garrison, maybe we can get to that movie?”

Even though I don’t necessarily want to, I pull out of his embrace because I know it’s the right thing to do.  Strange that it doesn’t necessarily
feel
like the right thing to do at the moment.  I don’t like these little sparks of attraction that keep flaring up within me.  All they do is knock me off balance and leave me feeling confused and unsure of things.

Sam uses the remote to find a list of movie channels before scrolling through them at break neck speed. When an oldie but goodie catches my eye, I immediately jump up.

“That one!”

He flips back a few channels before a deep groan slides pathetically from his lips.  “Really? 
Again
?”  Then he whines like a little boy trapped in a man’s body, “Do we
have
to watch that?”

I can’t help the huge smile that spills its way across my face.  “Yep, that’s the one.”  I’m practically chortling with delight. 

After a few moments, Sam apparently comes to the sad realization that this isn’t a winnable war for him because he grumbles under his breath, “Fine, but you owe me.”

Ha!

I owe him nothing.

I’ve been subjected to way too many freeze-your-butt-off-in-the-stands football games to ever owe him for anything.  And he knows it, which is exactly why he capitulated so easily.

I laugh as
Sixteen Candles
gets under way.  Even though it’s a movie from the eighties, I absolutely love it.  We’re talking total cult classic.  I’ve actually lost track of just how many times I’ve forced Sam to sit through it.  Although it’s enough that we can easily parrot the lines back and forth to one another which makes it all the more enjoyable.

Even though he was groaning only moments ago, I secretly think he enjoys the movie just as much as I do.  I mean, come on, it’s freaking hilarious.  With a contented sigh, I pick up my glass of wine before settling back onto the couch, nestling myself next to his big body.

For some reason it occurs to me that my grandmother is absolutely right.

Sam is perfect boyfriend material.  I suppose it is kind of surprising that he hasn’t had more of a steady girlfriend throughout the last six years.  He’s so handsome with all that thick blond hair and piercing ocean blue eyes.  Not to mention- smart, athletic, and so completely sweet that you just want to kiss the hell right out of him.

Okay, let me clarify…
I
don’t want to kiss the hell right out of him.  But I can certainly understand why other girls would.  He’s a nice guy.  And he’s a good friend to boot.  Not only to me, but to everyone he allows into his inner circle.  I’m not talking about the groupies or the people who just want to hang around because of his football status.  If Sam considers you a friend, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you.  He’s loyal to a fault.

It’s kind of weird, now that I’m thinking about it.  I mean, he’s gone out with girls here and there but nothing ever seems to stick.  It’s like he’s not very into them.  Maybe he’s just focused on academics and football.

But still…

Sam could have his pick of woman on campus. And yet, rarely do I see him with anyone.  More often than not, he ignores all the girls vying for his attention.  Sam’s a hot commodity around here.  Sometimes I wonder if he even realizes just how much ass he could be getting on a daily basis. 

In that regard, he’s different than Roan, Liam, and Dylan.  Before Roan hooked up with Ivy, he was something of a manwhore.   Dylan was the same way before getting together with his longtime girlfriend, Lexie.  But Sam isn’t like that.  He’s never been into easy hook ups or casual one night stands.  I’m not saying he hasn’t had them, but it doesn’t seem to be a way of life like it is for some of his teammates.

“Question,” I suddenly pipe up before finishing off my second and final glass of wine for the evening.  I’m not drunk by any means, but I do feel nice and relaxed.  Content to be snuggled up against Sam on the couch in his apartment on a Friday night watching one of my absolute favorite movies of all times.

“Answer.”  His arm is casually slung around my shoulder.  His body heat seeps into me.  It’s probably good that I’m only wearing a thin cotton t-shirt otherwise I’d be sweating bullets over here.  Instead, his warmth feels good.  I just want to burrow against him.

He chuckles as I swat my hand at his chest.

“What?  I thought we were doing word association.”

Not bothering to comment upon that, I forge ahead with my question. I can’t be the only one who sees how awesome he is.  “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

His deep blue eyes widen just a bit before settling on me as the movie continues playing in the background.

“
What
?”

For some reason, it’s like I’ve totally thrown him off by broaching the subject.  Which is kind of weird because we talk about everything.  No topic has ever been off limits.

Feeling bolder because of the alcohol careening through my system, I shrug my shoulders.  Sam is such a great guy.  Any girl would be lucky to have him.  So why is he still single?  “Why hasn’t some girl locked you down already?”

His brows lower as he continues staring silently at me like I’m a complicated algebraic equation that needs to be methodically solved step by painful step.

When he doesn’t utter a word in response, something propels me to push onward.

As Sam continues to steadily hold my gaze, a strange sort of tension slowly slides its way through me until my entire body is prickling with awareness.  It almost feels as if the air between us has become oddly heavier than it was just a few moments ago.  Or maybe it’s all in my imagination.  Maybe two glasses of wine was just a little too much.

All I know is that the breath I just inhaled is now trapped within my lungs and there’s nowhere for it to go.  His eyes seem deep and fathomless.  I feel ensnared within their dark bottomless depths.

Tilting my head, our gazes stay locked.  “You’re just so perfect,” I finally murmur, “sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re still single.”  I shake my head, suddenly remembering the girl who approached me.  At the moment, I can’t remember her name.  “I forgot to mention that I gave your number to some girl the other day.”

His brows lower.  “You did
what
?”  My eyes widen as he snaps out those three little words.

Is he mad that I did that?

Blinking, I repeat a little more carefully, “Last week after class, some girl came up to me, wanting to know if we were together-”

Cutting me off, the question falls softly from his lips.  “What did you tell her?”  His gaze continues piercing mine, pinning me in place.  It’s the oddest, most exhilarating feeling.

Gulping, I force out the words. I’m starting to regret bringing up this entire line of questioning, but it’s much too late to backpedal now.  I seem to be knee deep in it.  “Umm, I told her that we were friends.”

Because that’s exactly what we are.

So why is he looking at me like that?

Inhaling a quick breath, I trip over myself trying to hastily explain. “She was totally your type.”

One brow slowly arches its way across his forehead.  “I have a type?”

Is he being serious right now?  I snort before rolling my eyes.  “Well, duh.”  Every girl I’ve ever seen him with seems to be a carbon copy of the one before her.  But there’s nothing unusual about that, lots of people have a type they’re physically attracted to.

“And what exactly would that be?”

I blink a few times before swallowing.  It takes another moment for me to finally push the words out.  “Long blonde hair, big brown eyes, soft curvy body.”  I cup my hands in front of my chest.  “Big boobs,” I add as if he isn’t aware of what he likes.

A strange look passes over his face before he admits softly, “Yep, you’ve totally nailed it.  That’s
exactly
the kind of girl I go for.”

Finally feeling like we’re back on track again, I release a shaky little laugh, “Well, I’ve been your best friend since middle school.  I know the kind of girl you’re attracted to.”

It’s slowly that he strokes the blond stubble covering his chin.  “Yup, I guess you do.”

As I blink my eyes, it suddenly feels as if his face is closer than it was just a few moments ago.  Which is… strange.  My heart pounds a bit harder at his nearness.  Sam now fills my entire line of vision.  I’m not aware of anything but him.  The whole sexy package.

Shit… I didn’t really mean to think that.

Dirty blond hair, deep blue eyes, stubble covering both chin and cheek.  His nose has just a slight crook where he broke it junior year of high school and his lips are full and generous.  Sexy.  That’s the one word that keeps popping up rather dangerously inside my head.  The breath catches at the back of my throat as I continue holding his stare.  It must be all the alcohol rushing through my system because his eyes feel almost hypnotic in their bright unwavering intensity.

An odd prickling tension continues to grow between us until it feels explosive.

Thankfully something happens on screen, drawing my attention away from Sam and back towards the TV.  After a moment, he too becomes ensnared by what’s happening between the characters.

The odd pressure which had been crackling so thick and heavy in the air around us gradually dissipates as we both laugh.  Even though we hadn’t been watching the movie, we know it so well that just hearing a line can send us into peals of laughter.

Neither one of us pick up the thread of our previous conversation as we settle back onto the couch, watching the rest of the movie in silence.  After about ten minutes, I scoot towards Sam until I feel his arm pull me in a little closer and I’m able to rest my head on his chest.  I can’t help the sigh of contentment that slips from my lips as I settle against him.  Even though things got strange there for a moment or two, it’s all back to normal now.

And normal is exactly where it needs to stay.