We walk up to the Chi O house, and it’s a wild scene. People are on the porch dancing and whooping, and music blares from around back as pink and white lights flash in the sky—Chi Omega colors.
I take Penelope’s hand and gaze down at her. Her lips are swollen from my kisses and her hair is a little lopsided, but damn, she is fucking hot.
I give her a quick kiss on the cheek and straighten her pink shirt, which isn’t really a shirt at all, basically just a bra. I’ll let it slide because she’s with me.
We reach the porch, and a few people come forward to slap me on the back and congratulate me on the game. I nod and tug Penelope closer. I don’t want her getting away from me tonight. I want to take it all in. Her. The fact that she loves me. The realization that this year—it’s going to be my best one yet.
Charisma comes barreling through the doors of the house.
“It’s about time y’all got here. This party is OTC!” She’s wearing some kind of wide-brimmed fedora and carries a whip. Blaze tags along next to her, his hand stuck in the back pocket of her khakis. Penelope texted her earlier and said we were back together and that the football boys were coming to the party. I guess word travels fast.
Which might explain Blaze’s yellow parachute pants and tight red silky tank top.
“Nice shirt,” I say to him as the girls talk to each other.
He rolls his eyes. “Charisma. She’s taking this 80s theme seriously.” I pop an eyebrow.
“She’s telling you what to do and dressing you?”
He shrugs. “You see her. She’s a force. I have a hard time telling her no.” I laugh.
Margo joins us on the porch with Connor in tow and I pause, feeling my inner caveman getting riled up.
Penelope leans over and whispers, “He’s with Margo.” Her face breaks out in a smile, and she gives my hand a squeeze. She must have been watching my reaction. She does that a lot. We both do, I guess, each of us in tune with the other.
Margo comes forward and presses a wad of clothes into my hand. “No one enters without appropriate attire. Chi Omega rules.”
Penelope giggles, and I think it’s an inside joke.
I look down at the bundle. “You’re telling me I can’t come in unless I put this on?” I release Penelope’s hand to hold up the outfit, a huge pair of lightweight black baggy pants with elastic on the bottom and a tiny blue tank top. “No fucking way.” I check the label. “This shirt’s an extra small…in women’s!”
“We know,” the girls say almost in unison, watching me with relish.
“But it’s Wildcat blue and perfect for you.” Penelope smiles. “We got the clothes on Amazon a while back, anticipating that some big growly football player might not want to dress up.”
“You’re welcome, QB1!” Charisma adds as she and Margo high-five each other.
“Clearly we did this because we had too much to drink at one of the planning meetings,” Margo says with a little hiccup. “But I like it!” She grabs Connor’s hand. “Come on, let’s go get more champagne.”
I look down at the MC Hammer pants and back at Red. She arches her brows. “Whatcha gonna do, Baby Llama?” Her accent is sweet and exaggerated, and I grin.
“Babe, I said I’d show you the world once, and if that means me dressing like this, I’m all in.” My voice trails off as she blushes.
“Stop with the fuck-me eyes you two,” Charisma says. “Off to the changing room with you, Ryker.” She points inside to a bathroom right off the foyer.
Blaze tags along with me as we head into the house. “Dude. I can barely breathe in this thing. Do you think it’s cutting off my circulation?” He tugs at his…blouse?…and I bark out a laugh.
“Red looks good on you, man.” He mumbles. “It better.”
I head to the restroom.
“I’ll grab us some beers,” he calls out, and I give him a nod.
I close the bathroom door and strip off my jeans and button-down. If this makes Red happy, I’m all about it. I’m picturing her face when she sees me in my outfit when the door opens.
“Dude! Wait outside!” I turn around expecting to see Blaze, but it’s her.
She closes the door behind her, and her eyes are bright as she takes in my naked body. Of course I pose, tightening up my muscles.
“Couldn’t stand to be without me, huh?” I grin.
She looks down at my cock, which jerked to attention as soon I saw her. She pounces and gives me a kiss, her legs wrapping around my waist.
Fuck yes. I’ll never get enough of her. I enfold her in my embrace, holding her by the ass as our lips cling together. Heat roars through my veins. I feel like a rock star with her. Like I can take on the world and nothing bad will
ever happen.
We get hot and heavy, and my fingers slip inside her panties from behind.
I groan at the feel of her silky skin. “You’re wet, babe.”
“You’ve broken the seal and now I can’t get enough.” She gets a glint in her eyes. “How about third base right now, and later we can do the pirate thing?”
I kiss her hard. “I created a monster…but hell yeah.” A few minutes later we walk out to the party.
“Nice shirt!” Dillon calls out as we pass by him.
I pop the strap on my blue tank top. It’s itty-bitty and my chest hair is poking out everywhere. “Yours too, man.”
He’s wearing the same parachute pants and a bright yellow tank. Looks like all the football guys were cornered. “You got a good one there.” He glances at Penelope and gives me a fist bump before turning to talk to someone dressed as Cyndi Lauper.
Penelope takes my hand, and we walk through the house. Several girls wave at her, and she smiles as we head to the back. I feel like I’m in a dream. And here’s the thing—I’ve had some kickass moments in my life, the time I won a state championship, the day I got my scholarship from Waylon, but nothing…nothing beats having her.
We step out into the yard, and I take in the wooden stage and the DJ bouncing around behind the stereo.
Penelope gets sidetracked by Charisma, and I head straight to him. After a few moments of explaining what I want, he shrugs and hands me the microphone. I tap it to get everyone’s attention. “Hello, my name is Ryker Voss, and I have something to say.” My voice echoes across the yard.
The music is turned down, and everyone slowly turns to face me. There’s some whispering going on, and I see rustling in the crowd as some of the people from inside slip out to join us.
“We know who you are, QB1.” I grin when I recognize Charisma’s voice. “Go Wildcats!” someone says.
“Great game!” another one calls out.
I rub my jaw, feeling sheepish, struggling with what to say. I had the confidence when the idea struck, but now as I look out at all the curious faces, I’m not so sure.
“Spit it out,” someone yells, and I think it’s Blaze.
My gaze searches the crowd until I see Penelope. She’s standing on the right side of the yard and Margo is next to her. She arches her brows at me. What the heck are you doing? is written on her face.
I clear my throat. “We won a big game tonight…” The crowd cheers and I hold my hand up. “It’s been a great season and it means a lot that you guys are supportive—especially after everything we went through last year.”
I hear some murmurs of agreement and see heads nodding.
“First, I want to say thank you to the Chi Omegas for inviting us and providing these splendid outfits. I know they spent a lot of time deciding exactly how to best show us off, and the entire team appreciates it.”
“Here, here!” Margo calls out.
“I want to see you dance in those pants!” someone else says.
I rake a hand through my hair, and my hand shakes. I clear my throat.
Again. “But most importantly, I want to say that I love Penelope Graham.”
The partygoers grow quiet. Some of them make awww sounds, and some search the crowd for the girl in question.
But I know where she is. I always will.
My gaze locks with hers, and she stares back at me, and maybe her lashes are wet—I can’t be sure, we’re too far apart—but fuck, I feel insanely giddy.
“Anything else?” someone yells.
“She completes me,” I say simply before lifting the cup someone pressed into my hand. “Party on!”
The crowd erupts in cheers. She meets me at the bottom of the stage, her big gray eyes luminous.
I stare down at her. “God, Red. I wanted to be more eloquent. I got nervous—”
She kisses me and my arms go around her.
“It was perfect,” she whispers into my ear. “We’re perfect.”
