Kiss To Forget (Blairwood University #2) - Anna B. Doe Page 0,11

I wouldn’t have been able to do anything if the ball didn’t land in my hands.”

“Well, it must have been somebody really smart,” I joke.

“Do you two plan to bore us all into an early grave with your mushy bromance, or are we going to party?” Emmett asks, one of his hands thrown around his girlfriend Katherine, the other holding a bottle of Jack.

“Crank that shit up,” I yell to no one in particular. But sure enough, somebody is listening because not even half a minute passes before music is blasting from the speakers, followed by the approving roar of the crowd.

I jump off the table to the ground, Hayden and Prescott following behind me, and together we join the party.

Drinks are thrust into our hands, and everywhere we go, people want to congratulate us on the win. I accept every fist bump and shoulder slap, tossing back shots like they’re water.

Girls are fighting for our attention, wanting to get their hands on any available player, and even some not so available.

I chuckle as I watch Callie stare daggers at a girl who’s shamelessly flirting with Hayden right in front of her.

Talk about clueless.

“What’s so funny?”

I turn my gaze down to the girl that’s plastered to my side. She’s wearing one of those tight little black dresses that hugs her every curve; a seductive smile painted on her bright red lips. Her matching red fingertips are playing with the collar of my shirt.

“Just finding it funny how desperate some people can be,” I say, taking a pull from the bottle in my hand.

Whiskey burns as it slides down my throat.

The girl, what’s-her-name, pouts but doesn’t comment. Instead, she rises on her toes and presses her lips against my ear.

“Want to take this celebration somewhere more private?” she purrs, flicking her tongue over my ear before pulling back and batting her eyelashes at me.

I’m about to take her up on her offer when I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. Instantly, all my attention goes on alert. Forgetting about her completely, I pull the phone out to check the caller ID.

“I have to take this,” I mutter absentmindedly, already pulling away and moving purposefully through the crowd, accepting the call.

“Hey, everything okay?”

“Nix! Oh, my freaking God, that was amazing.” The excited squeal from the other side of the line relaxes me slightly but does little to calm my rapidly beating heart.

“Thanks,” I yell back so she can hear me. “Gimme a second. I have to get somewhere quiet.”

Still clenching my phone to my ear, I hurry upstairs, where I know I should find a little quiet. There are more people in the house, who try to grab my attention, but I wave them away and hurry up the stairs where a blessed quiet greets me, calming the raging inside my head. My brain is still buzzing with the sound of hard bass coming from the speakers downstairs.

“I’m here, sorry.”

“No need to be sorry.” Her voice grows softer. “You guys are celebrating.”

“The house was already crammed by the time we showed up,” I admit.

“Well, you did just win the national championship!” The excitement in her voice is palpable.

“We did, didn’t we?” It was still insane to think about it.

“Hell yes!” A soft giggle comes from the other side, but slowly dies down. “We did get to catch it online.”

My eyes squeeze shut. “Thanks, Jade. I appreciate you watching.”

“I wish we’d gotten to come, but…” she sighs. There is that all-too-familiar wistfulness in her tone. “Maybe next year we can come and watch it live.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose as my heart squeezes painfully. “Yeah, maybe,” I whisper back, knowing the reality of that happening is slim but not wanting to voice it out loud, not wanting to break what little hope she has. Life will do that for me soon enough, and I’ll be left to pick up the pieces.

“I wish you could have been here too. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Nix. You coming home soon?”

Another punch to my gut.

Home.

I wasn’t sure what that was anymore. But there was no way I was disappointing her.

“Sure thing, Smalls. Things should slow down now that the season is over, so I should come more often.”

Although my family lives not even an hour away from Blairwood University, with my crazy schedule, it’s hard to find time to go back for a visit. Between my classes, the gym, and practice, there is barely time for me to shit in peace, much