eyeing for weeks.
“There are other people in the world, you know,” said the redhead. “Do you mind?”
Red gestured to the sorority girl’s car, which was blocking her way in the parking garage.
I straightened and sent Red a winning smile. “Not at all, angel. Why don’t you come and join us?”
“In your dreams,” Red retorted. “All I want from you is for you to get out of my way. I’m kind of in a hurry here.”
“Do you know that chick?” the sorority girl—I think her name was Gemma—asked, attitude on full display.
“Not yet,” I said under my breath.
Red must have heard. “Not ever.”
I heard a thin wail that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. She turned to the backseat, and I saw through the windshield two tall backed car seats strapped in on either side. This caused me to straighten. She was a mother? That certainly made me do a double take. The sound I’d heard was a kid crying.
“Great,” I heard Red mutter when the second kid’s ear-piercing cry joined in. “You think you could take your seduction routine somewhere else?” she snarled.
“I should get going,” Gemma said. “You wanna call me later?”
“Sure,” I said absently. My eyes were all for Red, who was still turned around, comforting the writhing bundles in the backseat.
“Don’t you need my number?” Gemma asked.
“Right,” I answered, shaking my head. I passed her my phone, and she put in her contact info with a sultry smile. Returning it, I winked and watched as she drove off.
“About time,” Red said as her car sailed by and pulled into a parking spot.
I jogged to catch up, my leg muscles still loose from afternoon practice. She was unloading the babies from the car by the time I came to a stop by her side. Red looked up and frowned at me. It made me wonder what it would take to make her smile.
“What?” she asked pointedly. She had to raise her voice over the little screaming machines she was now loading into a stroller.
As a freshman athlete, hooking up with a woman who clearly came with strings attached didn’t seem like the best idea, yet I couldn’t walk away. Not even the squalling kidlets in the back seat could deter me.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
She snorted. “That’s the best you got? Look, I’ve had a long night here, and I’ve got a long morning ahead of me. I honestly don’t have time for your bullshit. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going home. If you aren’t a creep, you won’t follow me. Got it?”
Red locked the second kid into the stroller and strode off with a toss of her hair. It must have been the hair that drew my dumb ass after her. I followed it through the parking garage entrance and down the hall to the elevator. When we arrived, she scowled at me.
“I’m not following you. I live here, too. Third floor.”
“No, you don’t.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I do. You just move in? I haven’t seen you around here before.”
The elevator opened, and she pushed the stroller inside, heaving with the effort from the heavy contraption. Red-faced and with a lung capacity to rival my team’s best sprinters, the kids hadn’t stopped screaming since they’d woken in the car. I winced a little, but even that didn’t dull my curiosity.
I was a goner.
“Are you for real?” she asked. Being so close to her, I could see her eyes were dark, mossy green—the color of leaves deep in the forest where sunlight struggled to reach.
“I seem to be,” I answered when I remembered her question.
“I don’t really have time right now to entertain whatever delusions are cropping up inside that head of yours.”
The elevator dinged, and the sound of the discontented children echoed off the walls in the hall. I hurried after her. When I caught up, she caught sight of me and growled under her breath, causing the twins to jerk in surprise and cut off mid-scream.
“Didn’t I tell you not to follow me? I don’t have time for this right now. Stop following me!”
At her shout, the twins began screeching again, and I winced.
I pointed to my apartment. “I’m not following you.” Well, not really. “That’s my place right there.” I held out the key and shook it. “I’ve even got the key if you don’t believe me.”
Red glanced from me to the door and then back again. Her face crumpled, and she rested her back against the door, crumpling into a heap. I peered