I take a sip along with the team. A sweet bite with tiny bubbles hit my tongue.
I catch Jason watching my index finger. “Do you need to get out of here?” he whispers in my ear.
“No, I need to work on this if I’m moving up here,” I answer in a murmur.
Tommy changes the TV to the UCLA football game. Half the guys gather around him and the TV.
“Do you watch football, Sara?” Peter asks. He is lanky and his short, black hair is styled forward with spiking on top.
“Yeah. My sister’s boyfriend was on our high school team. We went to the games together.”
“Cool. So I guess you went to J’s games.”
“Yes.” I nod and force a smile.
“And you’re moving up here?”
“As soon as we find a place,” I confirm.
“Great. We’ll see you at the games.”
“Definitely.”
Kiernan joins us and tells us a story about a prank he pulled on his roommate with a cafeteria tray. Loud voices come from outside the propped open door in the middle of Kiernan’s story. I try to peer through the crowd to see, but tall basketball players block my view.
“Shit,” Jason mutters. He turns to me, “Get in the bedroom and close the door.”
“Why?”
“Please. Just get in there,” he orders, pushing me towards the room.
“J,” I say, resisting. “What is going on?”
“Parker, get in the room and stop asking questions,” he commands.
His tone is utterly unlike him and reminiscent of Simon that the anxiety is replaced by ire in a snap. I glare at him, ready to spit nails.
“Please,” he pleads.
I close the door and lie on his bed staring at the ceiling. The yelling goes on for several minutes then the front door slams and the guys yell, “Whoa!”
Jason pokes his head in. “It’s safe now.”
“Explain,” I demand.
He sits next to me. “I thought it was that girl I told you about, trying to cause a scene. I didn’t want her to come after you if she saw you.”
I sit up. “Is she really that crazy?”
“I don’t know. But, she still won’t leave me alone. I was trying to keep you safe.”
“Why didn’t you just say so?”
“Because things happen quick around here. One minute, a drunken person is yelling. The next, things are being thrown and broken. I didn’t want you getting caught in the middle given everything you’ve been through.”
“So what happened out there?”
“Some drunk guy looking for his girlfriend and insisted she was in here. Derek called campus security, but the guy slammed the door and took off.”
“You know, your tone reminded me of Simon.”
“I’m sorry, Parker.” He takes my face in his hands and his soft lips skim mine. “I didn’t mean to, but you were being stubborn. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. A few weeks ago, someone broke a window with a chair they threw at a party. She just picked up the chair and there went the window.” He stands, holding his hand out to me. “We left the door closed so it’s a little cramped.”
I take his hand and follow him out.
“Sara!” they call out and raise their drinks.
CHAPTER EIGHTY
I pass one of the tickets to Dad as we leave Will Call. He checks the ticket and asks, “Did Jason tell you where the seats are?”
“No.”
“I think we’re behind the bench,” he says, awestruck.
We are, in fact, five rows behind the bench.
He surveys the arena. “I could get used to this.”
“You might have to fight Alana for the ticket.”
“I can take her.” He winks at me.
I chuckle. “She was married to Mike and she raised Jason. You really think you can take her?”
“I can try.” He sets his arm on the back of my seat and rests ankle on his knee. “Thanks for asking me to come with you.”
“I’m glad you did. I don’t think we’ve ever done anything, just the two of us.”
“We haven’t. I never wanted you to feel uncomfortable around me.”
I shift in my seat. “That could never happen. You’re nothing like Simon and I know I have nothing to fear when I’m with you, because you saved me.”
He draws his arm around me tighter and kisses my head. “I guess we have some father-daughter bonding to make up for, then.”
“Absolutely. I’ll arrange a cage match between you and Alana so you can try to win the tickets from her.” I snicker and he joins in my laughter.
The teams enter the arena through their respective tunnels for warm ups. Jason glances in our direction and smiles as our