The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards #2)(52)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

The night was cooler than usual for October, so I was grateful for my hoodie sweatshirt. I was also grateful for Colton’s arm around me. He hadn’t stopped touching me since he picked us up. He held my hand the whole ride, only dropping it to get out of the car. He took it again as soon as he came around to my side. He’d let go of my hand only to put his arm around me. Juliet hadn’t spared me an eye roll when I looked over at her.

The pregame dance team routine was exactly the same as what the girls did when I was in high school, and there was something nice about the familiarity.

“Nice to be home, huh?” Colton’s lips brushed against my ears. He probably didn’t need to lean in that close, but the crowd was already loud.

“Mallory!” Annie called my name from the bottom of the bleachers. She jumped over people to get to us, all the while dragging Greg with her.

Colton released me from his arm long enough for me to get up and give her a bear hug. “Hey! I’m so sorry I didn’t say goodbye this summer.”

“You’ve already apologized. It’s not a problem.” Her eyes were kind, and I wanted to believe her. I wondered if I’d have been so quick to forgive. Probably not. I’d been adding more and more things to my list of things I wanted to change about myself.

“Thanks.”

“Now let’s talk about the important things.” She looked over my shoulder at Colton.

“How do we look together?”

She leaned into me. “How am I supposed to know? You jumped away from him as soon as you saw me.”

“Fine. I’ll ask you again later.”

“Hey, Greg,” I belatedly acknowledged him.

He smiled. “Nice to see you, Mallory.”

“Is it really nice to see me?” I teased.

“Actually, yes. You’re finally dating the right Waters boy.”

“Oh, so your dislike for me stemmed from my dating habits?”

“Of course, what else could I possibly find offensive about you? I mean you never tried to sabotage my relationship with Annie or anything.” He winked.

“There was no attempt at sabotaging. I was just trying to stop her from putting out before she was ready.” Greg and I had butted heads quite a few times, but generally we got along.

“All right, easy does it you guys.” Annie laughed. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

“Of course. Come on.” I took her hand and we stepped over people’s legs to get back to our spot.

“Hey, guys, this is my best friend, Annie, and her boyfriend, Greg.” I gestured to them. “And this is Juliet, Reed, Cara, and Aaron.”

“You’re not going to introduce your boyfriend?” Colton smiled.

“They already know you.”

“But do they know me as your boyfriend?”

“Come here, Colt.” Annie hugged him. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.” Colton pulled me down onto his lap. I wiggled off into the space next to him. We all moved down a little to make room for Annie and Greg.

Annie leaned over Colt. “You look perfect together.”

Colt beamed. “We do, don’t we?”

“It took you long enough to land her.” Greg smirked.

“Yeah, well, some things are worth waiting for.”

The crowd got loud again, and I struggled to hear as they announced the starters. I heard Davie’s name and jumped up. “Wooo hoo, yeah, Davie!”

Juliet laughed. “That’s some serious brother love.”

“I’m so proud of him.”

“Just wait, girls. It’s going to get worse.” Colt pulled me back down to sitting and squeezed my hand. “I told you you’d be glad you came.”

I smiled to myself, but then responded to his first comment. “Hey! I’m allowed to cheer for my baby brother.”

“Baby? That’s no baby.” Cara looked down on the field at Davie.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Do I really need to worry about you ogling high school football players?”

I shook my head. “No. No, you don’t. No one will be ogling my brother.”

“Proud and protective.” Reed smiled. “I think Cara can hold it together for a few hours.”

“You’re not worried about Juliet?” Cara asked.

“Nope. Juliet always goes for the older guys, even the losers,” he teased. We all knew exactly who he was referring to. Luckily, Dylan had graduated and was no longer on our must avoid list when we went out.

“Mallory obviously likes younger guys.” Colt put his arm around me.

“You’re only a few months younger than me.”

“So you say now. You weren’t saying that this summer.”

Juliet laughed. “You are so hung up on details, Mallory.”

Annie leaned forward to see my other friends better. “Yeah, she used his being a grade under us to avoid dating him in high school.”

I groaned. “I did not.”

“You so did. You had a crush on him before and after you were with Jack.”

“Stop.” I glared at her. Who knew who was listening to the conversation?

“Leave her alone, Annie.” Colt pulled me against him. “All that matters is she finally came to her senses.”

The game moved quickly, thanks mostly to the fact that we always play an easy team on Fall Fest. It’s kind of like Homecoming. You never want to lose that game. Still, it was fun, and I couldn’t believe how much fun my friends seemed to have. Davie was definitely the star player. He threw three touchdowns and ran for another. We won 42-7.

“That was really fun.” Cara was still bubbly by the time Colton pulled into my parents’ driveway.

“It really was.” Juliet opened her door.

“Call me in the morning?” Colt asked as he walked me up to the front door.

“You mean you and your guests won’t be too busy to answer the phone.”

“Remind me again why you can’t just come home with me instead?”

“Because Rob would kill you, and I don’t want your mom thinking I’m a slut.”

“She wouldn’t think so.” He put his hands on my hips.

“Then focus on the Rob would kill you part.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. I can’t wait until I can get my own room next year.”

“Thinking that far ahead, huh?” It didn’t actually bother me. Picturing myself with Colt more long term was easier and easier to do. I was falling hard for him whether I was fully admitting it to myself or not.