“Having a good time?” Piper asked, very deliberately keeping me one space behind her on the conveyor belt.
“Yeah, yeah. The bartender is really nice,” I said.
“Never say that again,” Piper said, her voice carrying just enough edge to be serious. “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous— but your lipstick is smudged,” I said, actually impressed that it wasn’t more smudged given how hard she’d been kissing Adams.
“Dammit,” Piper hissed, and rustled through her purse to reapply. As she did so, the conveyor belt moved a bit. A cute redhead moved along, and suddenly, Piper was sitting beside Jacob on the couch, sparkling, shining. She looked tiny next to Jacob Everett, who immediately wrapped an arm around her and tugged her close. It wasn’t so much romantic as it was possessive, and seeing him do this dimmed the glow around Jacob— at least, as far as I was concerned.
“Hey, Piper, baby,” Jacob said, leaning against her a little. “So you finally made your way back here to see me.”
“You’ve got a line, Jacob,” Piper said teasingly. She kissed him on the lips, lightly, and while Jacob allowed it, he didn’t deepen the kiss either. Piper leaned in even closer and played with the edges of her hair.
“I got the third game in the lottery,” Piper said, sipping on her drink.
“Oh yeah? Florida. Should be a good game. For us, anyway,” Jacob said.
“Yep. So. I’ll be there. If you need anything,” Piper finished, letting the final words roll around in her mouth a bit. The eyes of the nearby girls flashed dark for a moment, and even if I hadn’t learned what Piper was implying, there’d have been no denying the jealous wave that rippled through the room.
My feet were starting to hurt in Kiersten’s shoes; I lowered myself down to the arm of the couch, trying to stay as far from Jacob’s orbit as possible without totally abandoning Piper. Jacob and Piper continued to chat for a moment, just long enough that I relaxed a bit, even started looking for an in in the conversation two nearby girls were having (it wasn’t easy— they were talking about local bars, which I knew absolutely nothing about).
“So, tell me something, Piper,” Jacob said, turning his head so that his voice— it was a solid, strong voice— hit me full on. I startled when I turned and was struck again by Jacob’s gray-blue eyes on me, so much closer this time, and so much more disarming when paired with his voice. He lifted an eyebrow at me. “Tell me about this new girl.”
3
“That’s the New Lily. Her name’s Sasha,” Piper said with more than a hint of dismissiveness in her voice.
“I already know her name. But why is she a mime?” Jacob asked without pulling his gaze away.
A mime? Why is he saying I’m a mime?
I meant to move, or speak, or hell, even look away, but suddenly I couldn’t do any of the above. All I could focus on were his eyes, and all I could think of, was what the bartender had said earlier: That Jacob Everett had a nine-inch cock.
Heat started to rise up my neck, and I knew without having a mirror that I was turning dark red. This seemed to please Jacob; a smile teased at the edge of his mouth.
“She’s new. She’s a freshman, actually,” Piper said, speaking quickly, like this conversation was a nuisance.
“A freshman!” Jacob said, looking surprised— but the wry smile was still there. “You don’t look like the other freshman, Mime.”
“Sasha,” I finally managed to say, though the word came out more whispered than I intended.
Jacob’s smile widened, though didn’t get any less….what was it, exactly? Dazzling? Clever? Surveying? There was something about the way he was staring that told me he knew exactly how paralyzing his eyes were, and was enjoying watching me squirm. I swallowed and realized that heat was spreading from my chest down to my hips; when Jacob leaned a little closer, all but edging Piper out of the conversation, I pressed my lips together and felt the first wave of wetness in my panties.
“Sasha the mime, “ Jacob said, his voice seductive somehow. He was wearing some sort of cologne, or deodorant, or something, and it was dizzying. “Where are you from, Sasha?”
“The middle of nowhere,” Piper said quickly, and leaned back, hard enough to push Jacob back into his central spot and nearly knocking me off the couch entirely. I had to stand up to avoid just sliding off the arm.
Piper continued speaking without so much as looking at me. “I thought she might have a good time meeting some of the freshmen players, so I brought her along. She doesn’t know anything about football.”
“Really! Interesting,” Jacob said, finally looking back at Piper.
Piper’s spine seemed to straighten under his gaze. “Yeah, I had to explain the ticket lottery to her, even. She’ll figure it out. I think she and Barrett would be adorable together,” Piper said.