The Cheat Sheet

She frantically nods yes, and her hair tickles my lips. I maneuver us into the kitchen where we find Derek and Jamal along with the largest selection of liquor I’ve ever seen. Enough to get our whole damn team in trouble.

Jamal spots me first—whisky in hand, mid-pour into his red cup. He promptly sets it down and takes one extra-large step backward then points an accusing finger at Derek. “Told him not to.”

I swing my gaze to Derek, who is shooting a look at Jamal. “I thought you said it would be low-key.”

Derek flashes a mischievous grin and stretches his arms out side to side. “I tried, but the people overpowered me.”

Jamal laughs. “Nope. He’s lying. I saw the guest list, and he definitely invited all these people on purpose.”

I scan the party and am able to make out several of the single guys from our team. All drinking, all encircled by women I don’t recognize. Sure, they’re not really doing anything wrong yet, but the night is still young, and we have practice in the morning. My blood pressure hits the ceiling. Why are they all acting like this? Does no one else care that we’re in the playoffs? What if one of our starters gets drunk and ends up in a fight? What if the cops get called? What if that leads to a suspension? I was okay with Derek throwing a small, chill party, but this feels negligent. Downright reckless.

“We have practice in the morning, Derek. If you overserve everyone—”

“Nathan.” Bree interrupts me with a light hand to my chest. My brain registers this touch like a trigger sensor on the game Operation. My skin buzzes where her hand is resting, and I’m afraid my nose is going to light up red. I look down, and her soft smile immediately wraps around my racing heart and soothes it. “Let’s just relax for a little bit. Don’t worry about the guys. They can make their own choices and deal with their own consequences if they get into trouble. Tonight, just let yourself have fun.”

Wait, is that an option? For four years, I’ve been the level-headed guy. The one who makes sure everyone is doing exactly what they should be. I’ll admit, it’s tiring.

Bree pats my chest lightly. “Let’s grab a drink and then maybe you could show me around?”

I stare down at her wondering how in the hell she just did that. I could feel that tightness starting to grip my chest, that smothering sensation settling down on me again. An out-of-control panic was tiptoeing up to me, then one touch and a few soft words from her pulled me back to my body. I feel safe with her. My thoughts feel quieter.

Jamal hands her the drink he just made and mouths Thank you like she just saved him from a fire-breathing dragon. Derek runs away like a coward. Yeah, you better run, fool. I spot a guy over Bree’s shoulder looking her up and down and backing up again in a way I don’t like one bit. His eyes say disgusting things, and it’s natural instinct for me to bottle up my rage and clench my fist at my side, unable to do anything about it because I’m just Bree’s friend. But then I realize—we’re in public! For all intents and purposes, Bree is my girlfriend right now, and all bets are off.

I slip my hand around her waist and feel the crease of her hip against my palm. I make eye contact with the guy and make sure he knows this possessive touch is a middle finger to his face. Not tonight, buddy. Eyes off. Habit has me waiting for Bree to shoot a glare up at me for touching her like this. When I see her eyelashes lower, registering the touch, and then she cozies in closer instead of pulling away, my pulse doubles.

She finally looks up at me, and there’s something there. Something new. Something sparking and inviting, and I’m not just imagining it, right? I dare to find out what it is.

“This is okay?” I ask.

She lifts a coy shoulder with a small grin—flirtatious. ALSO NEW! “I mean, sure. But just know that if you’re going to act possessive in public, I will too.” She goes up on her toes to kiss my jaw.

My heart stops.

In that tiny little kiss, there was a country-sized amount of meaning. The way her eyes look, the way her body feels against mine…it all adds to the implication. That small kiss was a checkered flag, and not once tonight has Bree made a single move to remind me of the friend zone. No brother, amigo, BFF, or incest references.

No, right now, her eyes have fire in them, and there’s no way I’m going to pretend it’s not there. I won’t keep moving and ignore the signs tonight. Item number 20 is underway. I’m going to harness the flames in her eyes to burn our platonic friendship to the ground.

I squeeze her hip tighter and steer us out of the kitchen. “In that case, come with me.”

Nathan’s hand presses into my side as he takes me with him out of the kitchen, drinks forgotten, weaving us through a crowded dance floor in the living room. The couches have all been moved to the perimeter and so many people are packed into the center, cups in hand and dancing like they belong in an underground club. My first feeling is relief. Dancing! Yes! That sounds great. Nathan saying “In that case” had my mind racing to other outcomes. Outcomes I definitely want but am also a little terrifi

ed to embrace. So, let’s dance!

Oh, we’re passing the dance floor now. A woman backs into me, and her sequined dress scratches over my bare arm. Nathan tucks me in closer to his side and steers us toward a hallway. A dark hallway. That’s fine. I’m good. Everything is good.

“Umm, should we be going this way? Looks sort of…dark.” I try to persuade him, but he just quietly grins and keeps moving us toward that forbidden hallway. I don’t know that it’s forbidden, but no one else is in it, so it sure feels forbidden.

This is what I get for talking a big game with Lily! I thought I could lay it on thick, but now I just want to lie down and pass out because I can feel change in the air. I can feel it transmitting from Nathan’s fingertips through the fabric of my dress and seeping into my veins.

We step into the hallway, and I know we’re not coming back out the same people as before. It’s also important to note that Nathan is the only man in the world I would trust to take me down a creepy, dark passage like this—and if that doesn’t say something about his character and the way I feel for him, I don’t know what will.

With every step, I feel more excited, thrilled, and terrified.

“What a lovely hallway. It’s so…dark…and…hallwayish.”

We don’t go to the end of it like I think we will. We don’t open any of the closed bedroom doors. We stop in the middle where the colored lights from the party still reach, and yet it’s private enough to not be watched. I suck in a breath when Nathan abruptly spins me around so my shoulder blades touch the wall. He smiles down at me, still not saying a word, and then really confuses me by taking a step away. Two steps. Three. His back hits the opposite wall, and we look like two kids who got in trouble at school for calling each other names. Definitely not the direction I thought this was going…

Maybe I misread him the other night. Maybe he doesn’t have feelings for me. Maybe—