The Freshman (College Years 1)

Gracie climbs off Caleb as if he’s a tree, dropping to her feet with a thud. “Thank you,” she tells him, and he nods his answer, rubbing his shoulders. “Was I too heavy?”

“Nah, you’re pretty light, for being so tall,” he says as he stretches out his neck.

“I need to go check on Robin,” she says to me. “Do you mind waiting here?”

“Sure. They’ll wait with me.” I indicate to the guys.

“Good. Give me a few. I don’t even know if he’ll have time to talk to me right now. Hopefully he’ll be talking to the record exec. Scout. Whatever they are.” Gracie takes off before I can say anything else.

The moment she’s out of earshot, Caleb moves in closer, his voice dropping. “They sucked absolute ass, just as I predicted.”

“I know.” I make a face, feeling bad. “I should’ve warned you.”

“They weren’t very good,” Tony agrees. “Lead singer almost seemed…nervous?”

“You mean Robin?” Caleb keeps a straight face, but he looks ready to burst out laughing. “Maybe knowing there’s a scout in the audience worked him up. We know how that feels, right?”

Tony nods in agreement. “It’s the worst.”

“What do you guys mean?” I’m confused.

“When we were in high school, we had college coaches come out to scout us,” Tony explains. “The majority of them were looking at our friend, Jake. Teams from across the country were interested in him.”

“Wait a minute.” I look Tony dead in the eye. “Are you talking about Jake Callahan? Son of Drew Callahan?”

They both nod, grinning. “He was our quarterback. Drew was our team’s coach.”

“Oh God.” My father might’ve not been a football fan, but everyone knows who Drew Callahan is. Former quarterback for the Forty-Niners. Took them to a couple of Super Bowls. Was a sports announcer for a short period of time. “You just—hang out with the Callahans on a regular basis?”

I’m not one to be dazzled by celebrities, but Drew Callahan was a hottie back in the day. He still is, if you’re into older men. And I’ve seen photos of Jake Callahan.

He looks just like his father.

“Our friend Eli is going out with their daughter, Ava. Our Bulldog QB dates their oldest daughter, Autumn,” Caleb says.

“No way.” I don’t really keep up with what our college football team does, but there’s a memory niggling at me. Reminding me that yes, I did hear that tasty little fact before about our QB and his connection to the Callahan football legacy. “I want to meet the Callahans someday.”

“They’re all pretty awesome,” Tony says. “Jake is one of my best friends.”

“He’s at USC, right?”

“Yeah, and kicking ass there too,” Caleb adds. “Not to change the subject, but I want to know where Jackson is.”

“Text him,” Tony says, waving at the phone clutched in Caleb’s hand. “Ask him.”

“Do you think he noticed us?” Caleb starts tapping away.

“How could he not? You were constantly screaming at him,” I say drolly.

Caleb grins. “Couldn’t help myself. All those girls yelling for him, sing

ing along with his drippy romantic songs. Dude has a fucking fan club and he’s been keeping it a secret from us the whole time. Little fucker. He’s the new Justin Bieber!”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Tony says with a laugh. He turns his attention to me. “What did you think of him?”

I don’t want to say something that makes it look like I’m lusting over Jackson Rivers, which I am so not. My lips still tingle from Tony’s kiss. And my fingers are itching to touch him again. But…

“He has a very—intimate way of performing. I get the appeal.”