Campus Player

“Ummm.” My wide gaze skitters to Rowan before I clear my throat. “We were going to tell you tonight.”

Dad’s gaze bounces between the two of us. I have no idea what he’s thinking. My father has spent years on the sidelines perfecting his poker face, and right now, it’s all but killing me.

“Coach—”

Dad turns his attention to Rowan, and I brace myself for all hell to break loose. “You made a move on my daughter?”

Oh, shit.

The younger man inhales before forcing it out and straightening his shoulders. “I did, sir.”

“Well, I didn’t think that would ever happen.”

Rowan’s brows draw together as if he didn’t hear him correctly. “I’m...sorry?”

A slow grin moves across my father’s face. He flicks his gaze in my direction and shocks the hell out of me when he asks, “You’ve liked her for a while, haven’t you?”

There is no hesitation from Rowan. “Since the very beginning.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Even though my heart is galloping uncomfortably under my breast, a mixture of joy and relief bursts through me like a firework. It never occurs to me not to reach out and slip Rowan’s fingers into mine. When I squeeze them, he glances over and flashes a smile. The tension that had settled in his shoulders evaporates.

“All I have to say is that you better treat my daughter better than some of the other knuckleheads she’s been out with, or you’ll answer to me.” My father’s tone might be mild, but there’s an underlying threat buried beneath the surface.

Rowan’s lips twitch as mine do the same. “You don’t have anything to worry about in that regard.”

“Yeah,” Dad takes a pull from his bottle of beer, “I don’t think so either, but I have to issue the warning nevertheless.”

“Fair enough,” Rowan says.

“How did you find out?” It’s only been a few days since we went public, and we’ve tried to be so careful. I figured we had some time before we needed to tell him.

My father grins before sitting back and readjusting the ball cap on his head. “Haven’t you learned over the years that not much gets past me?”

I roll my eyes to show him exactly what I think about that statement. Give me a break. I could have easily snuck around when I was a teenager, and I didn’t. He’s always been so preoccupied with football or at the field with the guys. Hell, Mom was gone for a couple of days before he finally noticed and asked where she was. And that was only because he ran out of clean clothes to wear. If he had more of a wardrobe, it might have taken longer.

“I’m serious.” Now that my father knows and is apparently okay with our relationship, my appetite comes back full force, and I pick up a fry to nibble on. “How did you figure it out?”

A cagey look enters his eyes as a grin simmers around the corners of his lips. “Did you forget about the doorbell camera out front?”

My mouth drops open as my eyes widen.

Well, shit. Guess I did.

He nods, accurately gauging the dismay on my face. “I knew Rowan was here the entire weekend I was recruiting.” He pauses before clearing his throat. “I assume, of course, you two slept in separate bedrooms?”

And just like that, awkwardness descends.

When neither of us jump in to tackle that particular question, Dad hastily throws up his hands. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know. Like ever.” He shoots to his feet and grabs our plates before hauling ass to the kitchen as if he can’t get away from us fast enough.

Once he disappears through the sliding door, I glance at Rowan and shake my head. I’m pretty sure my face is moments away from going up in flames.

He knew Rowan spent the weekend...

Oh, the horror of it all.

Rowan rotates his hand until he can envelope my fingers before giving them a gentle squeeze. “Overall, the conversation went better than expected.”

“You realize,” I point out in case he missed it, “that my father thinks we’re knocking boots.”

His shoulders shake as he laughs. “Kind of ironic since we haven’t, huh?”

“Yeah,” I grumble, “ironic.”

He shrugs. “If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to set him straight.”

No, thank you.

I’m not sure which is worse—letting my dad think we’ve already done the deed or telling him the truth.

Can’t say I ever thought that would be a decision that needed to be made.

30

Rowan

I push open the front door to the house I share off-campus with five players from the football team. As soon as I step inside, laughter and good-natured ribbing greet my ears. There are about a dozen or so people crammed into the living room. A few of the guys are playing Madden on the Xbox. Girls are draped over them, staking out their prospects for the evening. It’s Monday night, and everyone wants to chill out, play some video games, and have a few beers. If the chicks in various states of undress are any indication, getting laid will probably be high on the agenda. For obvious reasons, that’s never been my thing, but I’m certainly not going to hold it against my friends if that’s what they choose to do.