Players of Marycliff University Box Set, Books 1–3 Read online

  He shot her a knowing grin. “Lance keep you up late last night?”

  Her face heated, and not just from the steam rising from her mug. She could deal with the wolf whistles and the eyeballing Chris and Matt gave her without blushing anymore. She knew they were just messing around. They didn’t mean anything by their harmless flirting and checking her out. As part of the silliness, Lance got all growly and possessive when he was around, touching her constantly, which she didn’t object to at all. She liked having him close, the way his hands felt on her body. But the knowing looks they gave her, especially in the mornings, always made her blush. She just couldn’t help it.

  Not needing an answer, Chris turned and snagged a mug out of the cabinet by the sink so he could pour himself some coffee.

  Abby moved out of his way, taking her mug to the table so she could choke it down. “What are you doing up so early, Chris? I don’t usually see you before work.”

  Swallowing his coffee—shudder, he drank it black—Chris gestured to the pile of boxes by the back door that she hadn’t noticed until now. “I was getting those. Today was the produce delivery at the grocery store, and you have to get there in the morning to get the boxes before they break them down.”

  She blinked at him for a second. His statement sounded like she should have some idea why that was necessary, but she was coming up with nothing. “Why do you need produce boxes?”

  Sitting down across from her, Chris settled into the chair, manspreading like he’d get paid for it someday. “They’re for Lance.”

  She scrunched her brows together, still not catching on. “Okay. Why does Lance need produce boxes?”

  Chris gave her a funny look. “He’s moving in a few weeks. Going back to Texas. You knew that, right?”

  “Oh. Right,” she choked out around the air that had solidified in her lungs. He was moving in a few weeks. A few. How many was a few? Three? More? Less? “Yeah. I guess I didn’t realize it was close enough to need boxes already.” Because she thought they had till the end of August. Which was more like two months away. She hadn’t realized they were counting in weeks already.

  “Our lease is up the beginning of August. His name is the main one on the lease right now, so Matt and I have to decide who’s going to take over as the primary and find someone else to take Lance’s place.”

  Her breath left her in relief. August. They had till August still. “But it’s still June. August is ages away.”

  Chris’s brows pulled together. “Abby, it’s July second,” he said slowly, carefully, like you talk to an emotionally fragile person. “Remember? We’re having the barbecue on Saturday for the Fourth of July?” He looked her over again, then forced a chuckle. “I guess you do need that coffee.”

  Abby blinked at him, unable to form words. She knew she should say something, if for no other reason than to make sure Chris didn’t think she was a clinger who didn’t know how things would end up between them and tell Lance as much. She knew. She’d known all along, even if she’d thought they had most of August together as well. It was just …

  How had time gotten away from her? And why was she so upset about Chris bringing boxes for Lance?

  Trying to recover, she forced a smile and a laugh. “Yeah. See? That’s why I’m choking down this coffee. I don’t even know what day it is.”

  Chris laughed with her, but the concerned look on his face let her know that he wasn’t buying it. Shit. He set his mug on the table, turning it in his hands a few times before looking at her again. “Abby, Lance—”

  She jumped up, cutting him off. She didn’t want to hear whatever he was going to say. “Hey, it was good talking to you. Thanks for reminding me about the barbecue. I guess that means I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, huh?” She slammed back the rest of her coffee and rinsed her mug out before setting it in the sink.

  She didn’t look at Chris again, but felt his eyes on her as she walked back to Lance’s room to finish getting ready for the day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Lance gave a courtesy knock before letting himself into Abby’s apartment. They hadn’t exchanged keys or anything, but he was just as comfortable at her place as she was at his. The only reason they never stayed the night here was because of her tiny twin bed. “Hey, Megan,” he said as he closed the door behind him. “How’s it going?”

  Megan looked up from her seat on the couch where she was watching TV, unsurprised at his arrival. “Good. You?”

  “Good. Haven’t seen you much this week.” He paused at the foot of the couch, okay with making small talk with Abby’s best friend, but really just wanting to get to Abby. The specter of his leaving was drawing closer, and he resented the necessity of spending time away from her more and more every day. But Megan was important to Abby, so he made the effort because he knew it made Abby happy.

  “Yeah, I’m temping at a different office this week,” she said on a sigh. “It’s farther away and doesn’t close until five thirty, so you guys are usually gone by the time I get home.”

  He nodded. “Cool. You’re coming over for the barbecue on Saturday, right?”

  “Yup. I’ll be there. Is it okay if I bring a friend?”

  “Sure. The more the merrier. We’ll have plenty of food and beer.” He pointed toward Abby’s door, ready to get to her. “She in there?”

  Megan nodded. “Yeah. She’s in kind of a funny mood, though. Be warned.”

  “Thanks for the tip.” He flashed Megan a grin before heading in to see Abby, unconcerned with her warning. He was used to Abby’s varying moods by now and could usually pull her out of whatever funky headspace she found herself in. Drumming his fingers against the cheap wood, he opened the door, not wanting to intrude without warning.

  Abby sat at her desk, staring at her laptop screen and messing with her lower lip. She looked up when he came in. “Hi.” And turned back to her screen.

  He walked over and kissed the top of her head in greeting just as she closed out of an email. Taking advantage of the stopping point, he tipped her head up to kiss her mouth. She returned the kiss, sighing into his mouth, and he couldn’t help sliding his tongue past her lips, just for a moment.

  He broke the kiss before it could go much further and sat on her bed, ready to get her out of this closet she called a bedroom. The time they had left was so limited, and he wanted her attention all to himself, not mostly on her computer. “Do you want to do dinner with Megan tonight, or just head out?” The offer was mostly because he knew she hadn’t spent much time with her friend lately, but the selfish part of him hoped she’d pick the second option.

  Abby shifted in her chair, her eyes trained on his chest instead of his face. Uh oh. That was never a good sign. “I was thinking I’d sleep here tonight.”

  Huh? “Why?”

  She sighed, finally meeting his eyes, her face looking drained and pale. “I’m tired. I didn’t get very much sleep last night.”

  He cracked a wide grin, knowing exactly why she didn’t sleep enough, and laughed when he saw the red creep into her cheeks. “Tomorrow’s a day off, though. We can sleep in.”

  Her face only grew more red when he pitched his voice low on the last part. “I need to do laundry.”

  Biting back his frustration, because he knew from bitter experience that “laundry” means she didn’t want to spend time with him and she couldn’t come up with a real reason not to see him. That actually stung, but she also had to know he wouldn’t accept that as easily now as he did the first time. Instead he countered her argument with reasonable alternatives. “No problem. We can come back tomorrow and do laundry after breakfast, then go to the store to get everything for the barbecue.” Abby just shook her head, not meeting his eyes again and not saying anything. “Are you expecting Megan to have a hangover?” he asked, wanting to get to the bottom of her resistance. He supposed it was possible she really did need to do laundry, but since it hadn’t been a problem the last few weeks, he doubted that was it. Still, though,
it made sense to offer another option. “You can bring your laundry to my place if you want to let her sleep it off in peace.”

  But still she gave him nothing. After watching her stare blankly at the wall over his shoulder, her face a tired, emotionless mask, he reached forward and caught her by the hand. “Come here.” With gentle but persistent tugging he coaxed Abby out of her chair and onto his lap, kissing her until she relaxed against him. “So, what’s the matter?” He pitched his voice low and soothing. “Laundry is your excuse when you don’t want to spend time with me.” She buried her head in his shoulder, still not meeting his eyes. He ran his hands down her back, not sure what to make of the mixed messages she was sending. She wanted to stay home by herself—or that was his interpretation of the laundry excuse at least—but she also couldn’t seem to get close enough while he held her. “Abby, seriously, what’s wrong? I’m starting to get worried here.”

  He felt her sigh against him, and then she sat back, finally meeting his eyes. “I just”—she looked all around the room, up at the ceiling, at the corners of the walls—“I feel like I need to stay in my apartment at least some of the time. I mean, I pay rent here, but I’m barely here. I make a pit stop in the afternoon. Sometimes we hang with Megan for a couple hours, but I’m pretty much always at your house.”

  “Okay.” Lance drew the word out, still feeling like he was missing something. He didn’t see a problem with that arrangement. They both knew it wasn’t permanent. And he thought she enjoyed spending time with him as much as he did with her. They were having fun, right? The sex was amazing, she was funny and smart and had a quirky sense of humor. His brows drew together as he considered why she might object to spending time at his house. He knew his roommates liked to hassle her, but he didn’t think they were malicious about it. Still, it paid to check on how she felt about their behavior. And who knew what they said to her when he was in another room? “Are Chris and Matt giving you shit for being at our place too much?”

  She shook her head, her denial quick. “No, nothing like that.”

  He searched her face, trying to figure out what was going on. Her excuse that she paid rent here so she should spend more time here rang hollow. His money was still on his roommates being assholes. “I know they like to check you out and stuff, but they don’t mean anything by it. They’re just goofing around. I can tell them to knock it off if it’s bothering you.”

  Abby laughed softly at that and Lance relaxed slightly, hoping that meant she’d either tell him what the real problem was or just let it go and come home with him. “No. I know they’re just joking around. They do it to get a reaction out of you.”

  He smiled. It was true. And he actually didn’t really care about their stupid catcalls because one, they’d never actually hit on his girl, and two, watching Abby blush was adorable. Plus, it gave him an excuse to have his hands all over her to “stake his claim,” as it were. But his smile faded, because now he had no idea what was going on. “So if it’s not them, what’s the problem? Tomorrow’s a holiday, we have a three day weekend. I could maybe get it if you had to go to work tomorrow or something, even though that hasn’t stopped you so far. I thought we were having fun.”

  She sighed, sounding defeated, and looked at the ceiling. He waited while she gathered her thoughts. “You’re leaving in a month, Lance.” She said it so quietly, he almost didn’t hear her.

  He tightened his arms around her, the unwelcome thought never far from his thoughts, either. “I know.”

  She looked at him, her eyes roving over his face. “I didn’t.”

  “What?”

  She pushed at his chest, and he released her, letting her stand and put distance between them, even though he hated it. “I didn’t know you were leaving that soon. Chris told me this morning after he brought in boxes for you.”

  He ran a hand over his face. “Is that why you were so quiet this morning after you had your coffee?” She nodded. “I told you when we met that I was going back to Texas in August.”

  “I thought it was later. I thought we had—” She waved a hand, cutting herself off. “I just didn’t realize it was so soon. You didn’t tell me when in August. It caught me by surprise.”

  “Okay. I get that. But why does that make you not want to stay at my place tonight? How does it change anything?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me when you were leaving?” She stood in front of him with her arms crossed, her posture defensive and challenging at the same time.

  Lance pressed his lips together and rubbed his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t keep it from you. In fact, I told you I’d be leaving in August the first night we met. At the time, the specific date didn’t seem important. I don’t like bringing it up, though. I try not to think about it if I don’t have to. I don’t want to go back home and work in my dad’s shop. It’s what he wants, not me.”

  She dropped her arms, coming back to stand in front of him, the defensiveness and challenge gone, replaced by sympathy. Reaching for him, she hugged him to her chest, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m sorry,” she said into his hair. “You never told me you didn’t want to go.”

  He shrugged, arms still around her, and pulled back to look into her face. “Like I said, I don’t like to talk about it or think about it if I don’t have to. My mom’s weekly phone calls are reminder enough.”

  Abby ran her hands through his hair and kissed him. “Okay.”

  He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Okay, what?”

  She smiled. “Okay, I’ll bring my laundry to your place. I’m assuming I won’t be back here anyway, so that way I’ll at least have clothes to wear all weekend.”

  Relief more powerful than he’d expected washed over him. He stood up and kissed her, but she broke away before he could take it very far.

  She opened her bedroom door and poked her head out. “Hey, Megs!”

  “Yeah!” The muffled response meant Megan must be in her bedroom across the hall with her door closed.

  “You want to do dinner with Lance and me tonight?”

  Her door opened and her head full of brown curls popped out. “Nah. I’m going to a party with Isaac in a little while. You kids go have fun.”

  “Still hanging out with Isaac? Interesting.” Lance could hear the undisguised speculation in Abby’s voice.

  Megan made a derisive noise. “We’re just friends, Abs. Just because you have some hot guy banging your brains out doesn’t mean everyone does.”

  Lance snorted, trying hard to muffle his laughter. Abby pulled her head back in and glared at him before turning back to Megan once more. “If Isaac going down on you in our living room is an example of how your guy friends treat you, I wonder what he’d have to do to be your boyfriend.”

  Lance watched Abby duck as a flip flop sailed into her room. “That was one time, Abby. Just one time.”

  Abby just laughed. “If you say so. Have fun tonight. I’ll see you on Saturday if I don’t see you sooner.”

  “You staying with Lance all weekend, hoochie?”

  Lance was more successful at smothering his laughter this time. Abby still narrowed her eyes at him, though.

  “My sources say yes.”

  Lance grinned, glad he’d convinced her, but unwilling to examine why it mattered so much. It just did.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Lance’s house boasted a covered concrete patio where they kept their grill and a few folding camp chairs. They also had a cheap, portable fire pit where they occasionally hosted friends for beer and s’mores. Abby had even perched on Lance’s lap around the fire once or twice over the summer while the guys roasted marshmallows and traded stories, filling her in on their teammates and the lives they led away from the house. Chris and Matt were both on the defensive team too, she’d learned.

  Today she’d be meeting some of the teammates she’d heard stories about for the first time, and her stomach fluttered with nerves as she brought out bowls of chips to set next to the cut fruit and
burger fixings that were on a folding table in the grass. There were two coolers filled with water and ice, one holding a variety of beers, and the other with sodas.

  Lance reached around her, setting down a stack of paper plates and napkins, then wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

  Abby twisted in his embrace so she could face him, but turned her head to dodge his next kiss. “So, how many people are coming again?” She didn’t do well with large groups of people, always feeling awkward and out of her element. Small groups were better. And every time she’d asked that question before, she’d gotten different answers depending on the day and who she asked. According to Chris it might turn into a raging party.

  Matt seemed to think they’d have a moderate crowd, but wouldn’t ever give a hard number or define what he meant by that.

  Lance usually shrugged and said, “A few friends. It’s no big deal. You’ll have fun, I promise.”

  Today he pressed a kiss to her lips before answering, not accepting her dodge. “Maybe ten or so other people? I’m not sure. We’ll just have to wait and see who actually shows up. I invited most of the guys from the team that are still in town for the summer, but you never know who’s actually going to come until they get here.”

  Abby nodded, feeling better about that number. Ten seemed manageable. Not too overwhelming. And Megan was coming. Between her and Lance, Abby should be able to have someone to talk to without getting left alone for hours. She hoped, anyway. She hadn’t been at a party with Lance since they started dating, so she didn’t know if he’d abandon her or not. Megan didn’t have the best track record in that department, actually. “What about Chris and Matt?” she asked, the thought occurring to her that just because Lance only expected ten people, didn’t mean his roommates couldn’t have asked more people. “Did they invite anyone?”

  Lance shook his head, his hands sliding down and squeezing her ass before releasing her, seeming oblivious to her worry. “Nah. We mostly have the same friends in common. You get close to your teammates after spending a few years coming to school early to start practices and traveling to away games together.”