University Park Series Box Set: Books 1-3 (50 page)

“Of course. I’m excited. You’re going to
have a kick ass year.” I released my arms and took a step back. It was his time
to shine, not mine.

He leaned his forehead to mine. “Baby,
as long as I have you by my side, I know it will be.”

Σ

“Wow. This tastes really good.” Delaney
stuffed another sushi roll into her mouth.

The seaweed wrapped roll with shredded
crabmeat and avocado slices neatly placed inside the tightly formed circle,
stared at me. I felt for the person that spent so much time crafting the
perfectly displayed piece of a food just so she could tear into it. Tiny sesame
seeds speckled the white rice that looked like it was glued together. “Is it
really that good?”

She moaned and closed her eyes, chewing
slowly like it was the world’s best aphrodisiac.

“Delaney.” Luke nudged her and she
finally stopped acting like the food was turning her on. “You’re making a
scene.” He looked around the table, gauging the reaction from others close by.
No one was paying any attention to her hideous love of Asian food.

“Sorry. I can’t help it. It’s just so
damn delicious.” She pointed to the little black tray in front of me. “If
you’re not going to eat them, I will.”

“I guess I’ll try one.” I picked up my
fork and stabbed it.

“Damn, it’s not alive.” She picked up
another one and fed it to my brother. He took the entire roll in his mouth and
I wondered why he’d been introduced to this so-called mouth-watering food and I
hadn’t. “I still can’t believe you haven’t tried Sushi before.”

I shrugged. “My mom doesn’t like fish,
so we never ate it.”

“How is it that Luke’s eaten it and you
haven’t?”

Should I bring up the fact that Collin
wasn’t a fish eater either? I picked at it, unsure whether I should try it. The
only fish I really ate was fried catfish because mom couldn’t stand seeing it
on our plates and the batter somehow masked the shape of it ever being a
creature that swam in the water. “I don’t know? Luke, care to tell us?”

Luke stopped chewing for a moment before
swallowing. “Dad and I go out and eat it sometimes.” He took a drink of his
water and then picked up the chopsticks, carefully capturing the delicately
formed roll between the two wooden sticks like a pro.

“That sucks.” I watched as he dunked it
in soy sauce. “Why hasn’t dad taken me?”

“I don’t know,” Luke said, his mouth
full of food. “Ask him next time.”

I’d told Luke that Dad and I had made up
and he was glad to hear that he’d accepted Raven. Even though he sounded
supportive at the time, I picked up on the slight disappointment that flickered
in his eyes. Did he still wish I were with his friend? For the most part, he
didn’t blame me for not calling mom, agreeing that she needed to be the first
to apologize.

Stepping outside my comfort zone had
become more common, so I took a bite of the roll. Half of it hit the plate as
it fell apart. Using my fingers, I tore the seaweed with my teeth.

Delaney laughed. “You’re supposed to put
the whole thing in your mouth.”

I covered my mouth with my hand. “I
don’t know how to eat these things.” I chewed, surprised at the flavor. I
continued to eat the rest of my rolls, liking each bite more and more. From now
on, I was making it a point to try different kinds of fish and definitely more
Sushi rolls. Raven would be happy to hear that I was onboard for eating seafood,
since it was his favorite. Picking up my phone, I sent him a message:

Me: Hey, when you get out of class, stop by the
new cafeteria. I’m here eating with Delaney and Luke.

Raven: Okay. Class just got out. On the way.

“Did you tell Raven to stop by?” Delaney
asked.

“Yes.” I tossed my phone in backpack.
“He’s on the way.”

Delaney swiveled in Luke’s direction.
“So, what’s the plan for Spring Break?”

Luke gazed at her through the corner of
his eye as he continued to eat. “Practice and games.”

“Are you serious?” Delaney pouted her
lips and crossed her arms, clearly disappointed.

Luke wiped his mouth. “Yeah, I told
you.” He tossed the napkin on his tray.

“You did? Because I don’t remember.”

Luke lowered his head and shot her one
of his
I already told you
looks. “But the good news is I’m free after
Monday’s game.”

“You are?” Delaney jumped in her seat
and clapped her hands. “So what are we doing?”

“My parents want me to join them in
Breckenridge for the rest of Spring Break,” Luke said, in a low tone. The breaking
news seized her celebration and her body slumped forward.

“Oh, I thought we might do something
together. Ya know, since it’s our senior year.” She looked at me. “Are you
going, too?”

I shook my head.

“You’re not going?” Luke whipped his
head around, causing his hair to fall in his eyes.

“No. Didn’t Dad tell you?”

“No.” He ran his fingers through his
hair and leaned forward. “How did you get out of this trip and I didn’t?”

I shrugged. “Mom didn’t buy me a
flight.”

“Shit. You suck.”

“Think about it, Luke. It would be
totally weird if I went.” Our Spring Break skiing excursion had been a family
outing for the past five years with the Norris’. This would be the first year
that I wouldn’t be joining my family. Since the dynamics had changed, it didn’t
make sense for me to go. I was relieved because going on the trip with my mom
would be disastrous. I was certain she would still be on her
get-back-with-Collin scheme.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He turned
to Delaney. “It’s only for a few days.”

Delaney faced dropped. “I guess I’ll be
hanging out with you.” She looked at me with hopeful eyes and I felt sad for
her. I was surprised that Luke didn’t invite her to go with him.

“I guess. I don’t have any plans for
Spring Break.”

“We do now,” Raven whispered in my ear
and a shiver shot through my body. His sexy voice never ceased to turn me on.
His smell traveled over me as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on
the cheek.

“We do?” I asked, totally surprised
because we hadn’t discussed going anywhere.

“The Raven’s in the house.” The backup
quarterback, Kyle Reeves, along with Cage Rutherford and few other football
players, chanted from the table behind us. The cafeteria soon joined in the
sing-a-long and Raven bowed, eating up the attention. I couldn’t help but sing
and clap along, proud to see how everyone supported him.

After a few minutes of fame, Raven sat
next to me. “What’s up, man?” Raven reached across the table and exchanged a
fist bump with Luke.

“Busy as shit.” Luke shook his head.

“I understand. You’re three for three,
right?”

“Yeah. We are.”

“Cool. By the way, that protein drink
you told me try,” he shot a thumbs up, “I like it. Better than the other stuff
I was drinking.”

“I told you,” Luke said, matter of
factly. “So where are y’all headed for Spring Break?”

“South Padre Island.” Raven smiled
brightly and pulled me close. “Like I promised you.”

Split emotions filtered through my head.
It sounded like fun, and I was excited that he was delivering on his promise,
but the cautious part of my brain reminded me that it wouldn’t be a good idea.
“But, I—”

“Now that just sucks. What am I going to
do?” Delaney crossed her arms and slammed her back into her chair.

“You can come with us. We have a big
group going. Josh’s parents have a huge condo on the beach. We’re going to
party it up and celebrate my baby’s birthday.” Raven planted a huge kiss on my
lips.

“I can?” Delaney instantly perked up,
like a dog thrown a bone full of meat. Any mention of a party and she was in —
with or without my brother.

“Raven. I think—”

“The Marshall is in town!” Cage roared,
over and over. Everyone in the cafeteria turned their attention to the front
entrance and chanted, “The Marshall is in town!”

“Josh!” Raven stood up and yelled across
the cafeteria. “Dude, get over here.”

He shuffled through the cafeteria with
his arm draped around Shelby. Shawn strutted behind him, talking with the
stalker-reporter that always happened to be everywhere Raven and I were.
How
convenient.
If that wasn’t enough to worry about, the Silicone Triplets trolled
their way toward Raven until they saw me.

“That’s right, bitches. Turn your skank
asses around.” Delaney motioned with her finger.

I looked over my shoulder, watching them
shoot me dirty looks. “They don’t give up, do they?”

“Can you blame them?”

Appraising my hot and sexy man, I
grabbed him by the face and thrust my tongue in his mouth. Raven responded
willingly, diving his hands into my hair as he kissed me fervently. Heat
swamped my face, but I didn’t pull away. Never had I made a bold move like that
before, but I sort of liked it.

Raven pulled away slowly, looking
slightly dazed. He rolled his tongue across his lip, as if savoring my taste.
“Damn, you should do that more often.”

I ran a hand through my hair while
holding on to my lower lip. Having a taste of him like that spurred a plethora
of ideas. “Don’t worry, I will.” I winked.

“You go, girl!” Delaney lifted her hand
in the air. “Show them who he comes home to at night.”

I laughed and slapped my hand against
hers. “You’ve got that right.”

Raven shook his head, wearing a devious
grin. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about, baby.”

I smiled at him, and then glanced back
at them, showing them I had no fear. But I couldn’t help but wonder if he was
really done with setting out his bait and happy with the catch he’d caught.
Only time would tell. They quickly averted their mission, stopping at a table
near the front. And that’s when I saw him. Collin. He was sitting at a table
with Forbes, Jordan, and a few other baseball players.

For the past three months, I’d managed
to steer clear of his path, but I knew that I’d eventually run into him. With a
population of under ten-thousand students, it was apt to happen sooner rather
than later. And since this was the grand opening of the mega cafeteria, with
food to satisfy every craving, or so that’s what they claimed, half of the
school was packed in the overly large dining room.

Crap.

I turned my back, hoping he hadn’t seen
me. Delaney shot me a knowing look, telling me she saw him, too. Then again, I
didn’t care. I’d moved on and things were definitely over between us. But had
he accepted that? Surely, he’d moved on after all this time. I couldn’t deny
that a tiny part of me wanted to ask Luke. I just wanted to make sure he was
happy and that he was dating someone that was perfect for him. Despite our
non-connection, Collin really was a great guy.

“Luke, my man.” Josh high fived my
brother. “I’m ready for another workout session. When are you free?”

“It wasn’t enough for you?” Luke smiled,
hinting at something else, but we all knew he was joking.

“Shit, you kicked my ass, but I want
more.”

“What? You were crying like a baby.”
Shelby nudged his arm. “Complaining how much you were in pain.”

“Shel.” Josh shot her a discerning look.
She rolled her eyes and sat next to Delaney.

“Damn, I’m that good?” Luke rubbed the
scruff on his chin. “Maybe I should open up my own gym.”

“Sign me up, man. I’m there.” Raven
slapped the table and Josh did the same.

Delaney leaned against him. “I told you
you’re awesome.”

He cocked a brow. “Yeah, but I thought
you were talking about something else.”

“Ha-ha. You can show me later.” Delaney
ran the tip of her finger across his lower lip and then licked her finger. “You
had some wasabi.”

“I wouldn’t want that getting on you.”
Luke raised a brow and Delaney slapped his arm in a playful manner. Turning to
Raven and Josh, he said, “You’re ready for some more torture?”

“Bring it on, man,” Josh said with a big
grin.

It was obvious he took a keen interest
in helping people reach their potential in the gym and enjoyed it. Based on the
talk, my brother was a great trainer and I was glad because according to the
latest baseball news, it didn’t look like he would be signing with a major
league team. Deep down, he really didn’t want that anyway. It’s what my parents
wanted.

“Yeah. Stevens just isn’t doing it for
me. I mean he’s good, but I get so much more out of my workouts with you,” Josh
said.

“Coach just needs to can Stevens. I
mean, he needs to get with the times. His workouts are so old school,” Raven
added.

“No kidding.” Kyle leaned back in his
chair, catching some of the conversation.

“Guys, I’d like to help you, but my
schedule is pretty tight with baseball in full swing.”

“And don’t forget me.” Delaney reached
under the table and Luke jumped. He shot her a
what the hell
gaze and
she laughed before turning to us.