Spitfire in Love (Chasing Red 3)

My eyes scanned the space.

And froze.

There he was, sitting on a bench outside the lecture hall in the corner. He sat like a maverick. Sprawled, really. He leaned back lazily, long legs spread, muscular arms propped on the back of the bench.

The rain had stopped, and the sun had finally come out of hiding. Its light pierced through the skylight, kissing his hair and turning the color to blue black.

This was where I’d first seen him.

I saw two guys walk up to him. A short, muscular guy with spikes in his blond hair and the gorgeous Caleb Lockhart. Popular basketball player slash Lothario who was rumored to have boned every gorgeous blond on campus.

They were joking around, hitting him on the arm. His mouth moved a little, a hint of a smile, but he remained the way he was. A little aloof, as if he was selfish with his personal space, and a lot sexy.

“Hi, Cam!”

A beautiful redhead as short as my thumb sashayed in front of him. She bent down, her torpedo cleavage in his face, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissed him straight smack on the lips.

And then his eyes lifted and met mine.

Motherfucker.

* * *

Cameron

“Saint Laurent!”

I almost missed the ball when it zoomed in front of me. I grabbed it before it hit my face, spun around, and took my shot.

“Stop daydreaming, asshole!” Caleb called out, laughing. I gave him the finger in the spirit of friendship.

Another hour went by, and another, and my lungs and legs were screaming for me to take a break, but I kept going. I loved the burn, the distraction from my dark thoughts. And darker mood.

It made me stop focusing on the missed call I’d gotten just as I’d pushed away the redhead. I was going to go after Kara, but that missed call had stopped everything in my world for a moment. It was from the person I was hoping wouldn’t contact me for a while. Or forever. But that was asking too much.

Coach blew the whistle, ending practice. I lifted my shirt to rub the sweat off my face. I was out of breath, bending as I propped my hands on my legs to slow down my breathing.

“You got good game, son!” Levi slapped my back as he headed to the showers.

I took off my shirt, slung it over my shoulder.

“Cam!”

I caught the bottle of water Caleb threw at me. He motioned for me to go ahead without him. He was talking to a couple of girls on the sideline. It looked like he was going to be a while.

I twisted the cap, glugged water, and just for the hell of it, poured some on my head to cool off.

“Hey, Cam.”

I turned. It was the redhead. I was an asshole for not even remembering her name. What was it again? Lisa? Maria?

“It’s Siobhan.”

“Hey.”

She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Do you want to hang out in my dorm tonight?”

“Listen,” I said, raking my fingers in my hair. The water dripped on my shoulders and back. I just wanted a damn shower. “That night was fun, but that’s all it was. I thought you weren’t looking for anything else.”