Fallen Fourth Down

“Wasn’t she mad at you or something?”

I did a double take at Matteo. “How are you this drunk and still remember shit like that?”

He shrugged, grinning. “Steel trap.” He tapped his head.

The presentation had gone fine, but Marissa refused to talk to me when we met right before class. Matteo and Drew had been there, waiting for me to go in, so they had caught the tension between us. I was surprised others hadn’t. The entire class had walked past us. When Marissa turned her back to me, it had gotten a few raised eyebrows.

I looked for the others from the group. The redhead had talked to Drew after our exam so I knew that’s how they got invited, but I didn’t see her or the other two. “Is she alone?”

Matteo grunted. “She doesn’t look alone.” The guy still had his hand on her ass, but he leaned forward and kissed her exposed neck.

Marissa didn’t react. She kept raising her hands in the air, pumping her fist to the music. The deejay started a new song, bleeding the songs together so the beat slowed. So did Marissa’s hands and she paused. As the beat built, speeding up and getting louder, everyone waited. Then the beat exploded and another wave of energy went over the crowd. Marissa reacted, jumping up and down in a frenzied motion. The guy leaned back, just holding onto her hips to keep her close.

Drew said over my shoulder, “Dude. She’s clueless. She doesn’t even know that guy is there.”

A growl came from me, and I pushed Matteo forward.

He said, “Hey.”

I kept propelling him forward, using him to break through the crowd. I said over my shoulder to Drew, “Stay close. Watch the crowd to see if any girls react when we get to her. She might be here with a friend.”

He nodded.

When we got to them, the guy looked up. They did a double take at the sight of Matteo and grinned, waving at him. Matteo said, “Hi, douchebag. Release the wench.”

“What?”

I rolled my eyes, stepping around Matteo. When the douchebag saw me, saw the scowl on my face, his hands lifted in surrender. “Oh whoa. I thought she was single. I swear.”

I grabbed Marissa’s arm, but she kept dancing. I said to him, “She’s wasted. She doesn’t even know if she’s single. Get lost before I decide to find out who you are and kick your ass later.”

His eyes got big, and he was gone in an instant.

“Marissa.” I pulled her closer. “Hey.”

One of her eyes opened, peeking at me. “Huh?”

The smell of alcohol singed my nostrils, and I moved so I could yell into her ear, “Who are you here with?”

Giggling, she stopped dancing and rested a hand on my chest. She lifted her shoulder up and cringed. “That tickles.”

Drew moved closer. We were beginning to attract attention. I lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if he noticed anyone. He shook his head and said, “She might be alone. I have no idea.”

Matteo started dancing next to us. When he began moving away, Drew grabbed his arm, anchoring him in place.

“Marissa, do you have your phone on you?” I couldn’t see any pockets on her skirt, and she didn’t have a purse with her. I said to Drew, “She has to have friends here.”

“Yeah, but if she does, they’re not around.” He was skimming the crowd. “I’m not seeing anyone I even recognize. How did all these people get invited? We’re the only football players here.”

Matteo bumped into us.

I jerked my head at him. “Take a guess.”

Drew groaned. “Yep. It’s time for us to go home.” He focused on Marissa. “What do we do with her?”

“I have no fucking clue. I would call Nate to see if he knew where she lived, but I don’t have my phone.”

“Why don’t you have your phone?”

“We came here straight from class. I left it at home, thinking we’d go back to the house before coming here.”

He nodded, then lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Well, she can come with us? I’ll sleep on the couch. She can have my room. It’s a single.”

The thought of Marissa sleeping at my house didn’t sit well with me, but I had no other choice. I grimaced. “All right. Let’s head home.” My hand curled tighter on Marissa’s arm, and I yelled in her ear, “Last time. Are any of your friends here?”

A fresh wave of giggling sputtered out of her and she shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t have any friends. Not even you. You used to be my friend.” She poked my chest. “We’re no longer friends.” The laughter subsided, and her tone turned sad. “I wish we were still friends.”

Drew heard her and an alarmed look flashed over his face. “She’s going to start crying. Let me take her.”

I nodded, released her, and took hold of Matteo. Drew leaned close to her ear. I assumed that he was telling her who he was, even though it wouldn’t have mattered. She was too drunk to care. On that note, I slapped a hand on Matteo’s back. “Time to head home, buddy.”

He jerked his head in a nod, leaned forward, bunched his shoulders so he looked fierce, and began to lead us out of there.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SAMANTHA

Logan was distant during the entire week and people took notice. Heather asked what had happened. I didn’t want to talk about it. He’d been right. Since Mason left, I had pulled away from him. The Threesome Fearsome was down to a Twosome Fearsome, but with different players. I’d been so worried about losing my family because of Logan’s feelings for me that I’d been the one to jeopardize it. Because of that, I had kept to myself for the week.