14

Piper

Only One Seat Left

We barely managed to shove all the bags into the back of the van, kicking and squeezing them in. When that was done, June took her place next to me. "Ready?"

"Am I supposed to feel like I'm about to throw up?" I managed, shutting the doors.

"Yep. That's part of it."

"I'm getting in the van!" Adam shouted. "I hope everyone sees how great I'm cooperating!"

June let out a big sigh, and I smiled back at her, rolling my eyes for effect. She tilted her head back. "Did you bring a muzzle?"

"I should've."

"I can hear you guys," Adam called out. "You're not quiet."

The sound of squealing tires took me by surprise, but a big grin split across June's face when a classic cherry red car tore into the parking lot—sunroof down. I didn't know anything about cars, but I knew it was a beautiful one. It hit the sidewalk, and the driver lurched in his seat. I couldn't believe he'd do that in front of the student center, but when I leaned over to remark about it to June, she was already hurrying away from the van.

I blinked. We were supposed to be leaving.

"Xavier!" June shouted. "Oh my god, is this a Clemenza? She's beautiful ."

Xavier, one of the residential living directors for student housing—basically a college student with his own office on campus, threw her a breathtaking smile.

I knew him; I recognized him from training.

He whipped off his sunglasses before pushing himself out of the car. His jawbones were insane. The kind you'd see in movies. His teeth were blinding white, and when he got out of the car, he strode over to June and the two of them shared a look that would've scorched the sun.

Oh .

I took stumbling steps to the other side of the van, watching them.

"Got it," Adam said, leaning out of the van's door. "That's Xavier."

I couldn't believe it. I actually couldn't believe it. Adam had been right. The way that Xavier and June hung off each other, I stared at them, mouth agape. How is their relationship a secret?

"Adam!" Xavier smiled wide and crossed between us, trying to shake his hand. "Been meaning to meet you, brother."

Like a caveman, Adam frowned at him. "Uh-huh."

"I'm such a fan. You're a beast , a beast, " Xavier said, still holding out his hand.

A few seconds passed until Adam shook it. What a jerk. If the linebacker wasn't getting paid for an autograph, he didn't care. All Xavier was doing was trying to be friends - he even brought out his phone, trying to get his number.

Why can't Adam just be nice?

"That's impossible," I muttered, rounding towards the front of the van, towards the driver and Zariah, hanging out of the passenger window. We went over the directions again, exactly what gas stations we had to stop at, and then we were ready to go.

"I'll see you there," Xavier told June, his voice quiet.

June nodded eagerly and for a moment, their hands passed close on the dashboard of his car. It was such an intimate moment, I had to turn away. They were so…soft and gentle with each other. You could feel that specialness between them, a little buzzing had me rush back to take my place in the van.

That was what I wanted. I wouldn't accept less again.

The smile fell off my face the moment I saw what awaited me in the van. Only two seats were left and one of them had June's backpack on it. The very last one was the worst seat imaginable. Shoved in the very back, right next to Adam Russell.

He raised his eyebrows, and I backed up.

"No, no, no." I shook my head and tried to plead with anyone else in the van. "I could take the first half and then—you could—I'd owe you big time. Please. Someone ."

The only person that looked at me was Zariah and she shook her head, holding up the map. Everyone else purposely glanced away.

"I got a seat for you." Adam patted the place next to him. "You know what's funny? If we just would've taken my car—"

"That wasn't my idea," I muttered and stepped into the van.

I'd been wrong before. There wasn't a seat next to Adam. There was a three-inch line of space that wouldn't accommodate something bigger than a rolled-up newspaper. And now I was trying to use that space to sit next to a literal Division I college football player, who had to hunch down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling of the van.

It wasn't just height. Adam had muscle. Adam had muscle on his muscle and it seemed everywhere I put my hand was another part of him - hard and taut. Each touch sent electricity through my fingertips, and it only made me more irritated. He was doing it on purpose. If he'd only move .

Adam chuckled. "Damn, Piper. If you wanted to sit on my lap so badly, you could've asked."

"Shut it," I said. And because it felt good, I said it again. "Shut it."

"Wait, he's not in the van?" Adam demanded, looking out the window at Xavier, peeling off in his nice car. "He can drive himself? Why does he get special treatment?"

"It's not special treatment. It just means he hasn't done anything to get his car impounded," I pointed out.

Adam gave me a hard look, a great start to the trip.