Rushed (The Rushed Series) (19 page)

The Tau Psis were already on the field when we arrived, tossing the ball around and showing off. A collective sigh rippled through my fellow pledges.

Em's eyes went wide as she watched one particular Tau Psi. "I spit on that one. His name's Carter. He's in my Gen Ed class. I Facebook stalked him. He's single." She shook her hand like she'd been scorched. "Whoa! He's hot."

I stared at her. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"I'm private about my crushes." She was still staring at him. "And waiting for a function with the Tau Psis so I can get to know him better before I declare myself. Now's my chance."

Sarah was unimpressed. She dated a different guy every week, sometimes two or three. I had no idea how she did it, but there were weekends when she had a date on Friday night, a Saturday lunch date with a different guy, and a third date on Saturday night. She was still shooting for a record four dates per weekend. She just hadn't found a way to fit a Sunday date in.
 

Laurel had an on-again, off-again boyfriend back home and was currently in the "on" state and having a hard time remaining faithful. And Katie was just Katie and having too much fun flirting with whoever was handy.

Dakota waved us over. "Welcome, ladies! I'll be your head coach this season." He gave us some general instructions and passed out a sheet of rules. "If you lose it, look the rules up online." He gave us a web address.

"Today we're going to partner up, one guy with one girl, and practice the basics so I can see where we stand. Everyone line up—guys facing girls."

Em maneuvered herself opposite Carter. I tried to look for a guy who knew his way around a football.
 

Dakota pulled me out of line. "Not you. Alexis, you're the girls' team captain. You're my partner."

"A frosh! Are you kidding?" Morgan's eyes flashed daggers. "She hasn't even tried out."

So much for my big cheering me on and supporting me.

"She doesn't need to. She knows her game," Dakota said. "Now drop and give me five pushups."

Morgan's eyes went saucer wide. "What? You have to be joking."

Dakota stared her down. "Never give your coach lip. Drop and give me five before I make it ten." I thought his lips were twitching, like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

Morgan shut up and did five girl pushups. I would have done the regular guy kind just to show him. But that was me.

"Everyone else pair up. The guys know the drills. Get on it!"

Dakota took my arm and led me to a prime spot on the field. "If you get lost, follow our lead." He whispered to me. "How good is your arm?"

"Let's find out."
 

He tossed me the ball he was carrying.

"Go long," I said.

He ran across the field more like a running back than a quarterback. I let the ball fly.
 

He had to run for it. "Nice spiral, captain!" He laughed and threw it back, hitting me right in the hands with enough force that it smarted. I didn't flinch or worry about breaking a nail like he might have expected.

"Wiseass!" I threw it back. It wasn't lost on me that I was one of the few girls in the house who could throw the ball so that it spiraled. The rest were all elbows and terrible form.

We tossed the ball back and forth, playing catch until Dakota called to the girls to watch my form and then explained how to correctly throw a ball.

When we moved on to practicing plays, I noticed two guys sitting on the hill overlooking the field, watching us—Zach and Seth.
 

Dakota must have seen them, too. "Alexis, you've played rugby, I hear?"

I nodded.

"You know how to tackle?" he said.

"Yeah. Why?" I frowned, not getting where he was going. "We're playing flag."

He ignored my question. "And fall so you don't get hurt?" He didn't wait for me to answer. "Let's show them how it's done."
 

He called the girls over. "We're playing flag football, right?"

The girls nodded.

"That's all fine and good. Until we come up against a team we need to intimidate. If we 'accidently' tackle them once or twice…" He shrugged as a devilish smile spread across his face. "We'll take a penalty. But we'll also scare the shit out of them and get them to back off. The game will be ours to lose." He gave some brief instructions. And demonstrated some moves on me in slow motion. "On my count, Alexis, take off at breakneck speed. I'll demonstrate how to tackle you." He took a deep breath. "One, two,
three
!"

I sprinted out. Dakota took off after me. He was fast on his feet. He took me down hard, tackling me from behind, landing on top of me. He was breathing hard in my ear and pressing up against me with a bulge in his pants. He lingered longer than necessary. "You made me work for that. Good job, Alexis."

He smacked me on the butt as he got up. When he gave me a hand up, he pulled me too hard, directly into his chest.

When I looked toward the hill, Zach and Seth were gone.

By the time practice was over, I was bruised, grass-stained, and needed a shower. As Dakota dismissed us, he grabbed my arm. "Not you, captain. We need to talk strategy. Come to the SUB with me. I'll buy you something to drink."

Chapter Twelve

Alexis

"I'm a mess," I said to Dakota.

"So am I." He slung his athletic bag over his shoulder and winked at me. "It's okay. I like messes." Then he ran his gaze over me with a look on his face that said he wasn't lying.

We made small talk as we walked to the SUB. In the food court, he ordered a large fries and a couple of pops. We found a table that overlooked the practice field where another frat/sorority team was practicing.
 

"Never hurts to keep an eye on the competition." He shoved the fries to the center of the table to share.
 

He was dead serious about the game and winning the tournament and the homecoming trophy. We discussed the team and practice.

"You were impressive out there today," he said. "I mean it."

"Thanks." I rubbed my shoulder. "You could have gone a little easier on me."

He shrugged. "Why? The other girls won't. I thought you knew how to take a hit?"

I sighed. "Not from a wall of solid muscle."

He grinned like I was flirting with him.

"And don't keep drawing a bull's-eye on me. You name me captain without seeing me in action in a single practice? What's that about? You made my big furious."

"Morgan? Don't worry about her." He laughed. "You know football and love the game. As far as taking a hit, I meant the other teams. The Zeta Nus' girls will eat you for lunch. They're going to use the accidental tackle play, too. Bet on it."

"None of them will be as big as you are." I took a fry and dipped it in ketchup.

"Don't count on it." He winked. "Zach came out to watch the practice. What's the deal with you and him?"

I stared at him and tried to hide what I felt behind nonchalance. "Nothing. He's one of the houseboys. They don't date the girls. And we don't mess with them."

"Sounds good in theory." He took a drink, looking like he didn't believe me. "Hearts and hormones don't always follow the rules."

I ignored his statement, more interested in what he could tell me about Zach. "I could ask you the same thing—what's the deal between you two? Archenemies? Nemeses? I hear you two used to be inseparable."

"Where did you hear that? Sarah?" He held my gaze.

I shrugged. "It's common knowledge."

"Nice dodge. You're not a journalist. You don't have to protect your sources."

I laughed. Dakota was as smooth as a politician. He wasn't going to tell me anything else unless I startled it out of him. "I heard something else—I heard you said he'd kill to get attention. Has he?"

As he stared at me, I watched him struggling for an answer. "That was shitty of me. I was hammered. I lost my temper. I never should have said what I did."

I leaned forward. "Is it true? He's an attention whore?"

He paused. "He always has to be number one. When the spotlight trails off him for even a second, he'll do something outrageous to get it back. That's just the way he is."

I led him on, playing sympathetic because I wanted to know more. "As his friend, that must have been hard to deal with."

He looked at me like he'd found an ally. "You're right. I put up with that shit for years. That night he was out for all the glory again and I'd had enough. I called him out."

It might have been my imagination, but Dakota seemed uncomfortable talking about it. I couldn't help feeling he was holding out on me. That there was more to the story, something that he either didn't want to tell or refused to admit.

"I said some shitty things. Aired our crap in public. I'm sorry about that. If I could take it back, I would." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I apologized. Repeatedly."

Dakota paused, looking lost in thought. "If he wouldn't have made such a big fucking deal out of it, no one would even remember. He could have laughed it off, but he didn't. He didn't like the reflection he saw when I shined the mirror on him."
 

Dakota paused again and reached across the table to grab my hands in his. "I don't know what Zach has told you about me. I'm not such a bad guy, Alexis. He and I are a lot alike, which is why we were buds for so long."

He squeezed my hands and stared at them. "I like you, captain. There's something between us. I know you feel it, too." He sounded sincere as he lifted his gaze to mine.

I stared back at him, unable to answer. No, I didn't feel it. I felt like I was watching a romantic movie where the two main characters are trying to pretend they have chemistry and the audience doesn't buy it. Maybe Dakota was just trying too hard to impress me.

He gave me a half-smile. "This is going to sound like self-serving bullshit. But it's my duty to warn you—Zach doesn't let girls get close. Don't expect him to let you in, either. Just when you think he's all yours and the two of you are soul mates, he'll cut you loose and break your heart. I've seen him do it too many times before."

I hadn't noticed it before, but away from the frat, Dakota was much more real. I liked this Dakota better. He reminded me of Zach. Dating him would be so much less complicated. But my heart wanted Zach.

Dakota looked me straight in the eye. "Do I have a chance with you?"

"Impress me," I said, trying to buy time while I sorted my feelings out. "Then maybe."

Zach

I had Saturday night duty again. I volunteered to take Seth's shift. The house was quiet. I was finishing the last of the dishes when Alexis walked in and lingered in the doorway, watching me work. I saw her from the corner of my eye. She didn't say a thing. Just watched like she was trying to figure me out.
 

I broke the silence first, refusing to look directly at her for fear of giving my feelings away. Of letting her see how stupidly happy she made me just by showing up. "Don't you ever go out on Saturday night?"

"I might if the right guy asked me." There was enough flirtation in her voice that I would have had to be dead to miss it.

I glanced at her. Shit. She wasn't wearing any makeup. Her face was freshly scrubbed. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid down her back and she was wearing sweats and a crop top. The fresh reality beauty of her made my pulse pound.

"That's no excuse," I said. "You can't find a party on Greek Row? Step out the front door and you'll run into one."

She gave a simple shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe I don't feel like partying. Maybe I'm tired. It was a rough practice today." She rolled her shoulders and winced, making her point.

I believed she was sore, but not the part about being too tired to party. The only time the girls were too tired to party was if they were down-and-out sick or in the middle of menstrual cramps. She was too perky for either.
 

"It's not surprising," I said. "Dakota banged the hell out of you out there." The words slipped out and had a dual meaning that I hadn't intended and came straight from my subconscious. I cursed my stupidity for letting my jealousy and fear slip through.