87

Piper

Something For The Banquet

The only thing I was called in for was to show the hundreds—if not thousands—of text messages I'd gotten from Thomas during the semester. Coach Lawson and Cleo were livid. And thinking about it, if this all happened at the beginning of the semester, I probably would've just withdrawn the complaint and hoped Thomas got the message.

Now? I didn't. Whatever he had coming to him, he deserved it.

After one of the meetings about the upcoming RA presentations and my placement during the night, my nerves were fried. They'd gone over the official list of who was watching—including the Roman Hall leader. I fought the anxiety creeping up on me. This was the chance I'd begged for and it absolutely terrified me.

But all of that faded to the background when I came to an abrupt stop at the end of the brick building. Adam leaned against one of the columns, his arms folded over each other.

Oh my god.

The sunlight shone the red in his hair from behind, bathing him in soft golden hues. Sometimes, I'd see him, and—bam—it was a shock to my senses how good-looking he was.

"Hey," he breathed out the moment he saw me.

"Hi," came out as more of a squeak than anything, and I almost stepped forward to kiss him. The recklessness was a problem. It was hard not getting giddy every time I saw him, him and that gorgeous smile of his. I walked past him instead, gesturing for him to follow along. "They—um—said I'm going last on the lineup."

"Good." He easily kept up with me. "You get more time to prepare."

"Bad. I'll be going after all these presentations that'll be way better than mine that will be given by super confident and super relaxed people. And then I have to go up like I'm not going to throw up on the stage." I sucked in a breath. "I'm dropping out of school."

"No, you're not."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "You have a physio appointment soon."

Physiotherapy was required once a week for the football players to make sure they were stretched and healthy enough for the conditioning drills during spring training. If he missed an appointment, Coach Lawson wouldn't be happy.

"Piper." Adam snagged my arm, holding me back in the middle of a crowd of people trying to get to their classes. "The presentation's going to go great. And then you're going to Roman Hall."

"That's easy for you to say but—"

"It's easy because I'll be there. Front row. You focus on me, nothing else. You're not going to be nervous."

I blinked. "You're going to be there?"

"Sure. Coach said to follow you around. This is me following you around."

I beat down the blush, but obviously not hard enough. Walking after him, I took a few breaths. It did make me feel better to think of Adam being there. Because if I was talking to Adam about my presentation, like I started reciting it to him a hundred times before, it was just the two of us. Nobody else.

Maybe I can do this.

"I've got a gift for you," Adam threw over his shoulder, taking a sharp left to Roman Villa.

"What? Your physio—"

"If you hurry up, we can hit both. It's too bad you walk so slow."

I rolled my eyes. "Not everybody can be a giraffe."

"Not everybody can be a turtle either," he retorted with a grin.

"I like turtles."

He nodded. "I know."

"You just need to learn how to walk like a normal person."

"Got it. Hold on." Adam slowed down his walk until he hovered his foot in the air, slow-motion style.

"Oh my god," I laughed and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him away. Suddenly, I remembered Adam wasn't the only one with a present up in his dorm. God, I bought that before I'd gotten drunk on my overnight shift but too much had happened. I snuck another look at him. "I have a gift too."

His eyebrows raised. "You got my curiosity."

"Not that kind of gift. Remember. Your appointment."

"Damn."

On the walk back to the dorms, I couldn't think of exactly what to say about the gift. Giving a present to the playboy you're supposed to babysit, who manhandled you in public, was already a pretty weird situation to be in. And I couldn't be less weird about it.

Words tumbled out of my mouth as nervousness crept in.

"So—um—it's not much…" I blurted out, leaving the elevator, Adam right behind me. "This isn't me hyping something up. You need low expectations, okay? It's—uh—I know you can buy anything you want—" I unlocked my door and pushed it open, heading to the kitchen. "I thought—okay—what's something he needs? You know?"

In a cardboard box on top of the fridge, I slipped out the present. Adam was quiet behind me. No laughs.

I held it in my hands for a moment. "One of my dad's graduate students works in a tech shop. He gets really good deals. So…"

Gently, Adam took the box away from me and stared down at it.

"They're really good headphones," I said, fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt. "They're a couple of years old but refurbished. I already tested them out…that's why the…tape is cut…" I didn't know what else to say. "You don't have to use them. If you found something else."

Adam gazed down with striking eyes, searching my face, breathing in deep.

I swallowed. "I don't know if you…bought new ones…already…"

He cut the distance between us and tilted my chin up, capturing my lips for a spine-tingling kiss. Not just any kiss. The kind where his tongue slipped in just as easily— so welcomed—he moved against me, curved against me, pressing into my body with his, the kind of delicious kiss that preludes the filthiest sex imaginable.

A shiver ran up my back. Oh, god.

"Thank you," he muttered against my lips. "And now for your present. You have to come to my room to see it."

The headphones had been a specific gift that he needed. Adam was still using mine and I had my backup pair but it was time that he got a good pair of his own to use. Something that wasn't like the seven thousand dollar waste of wires.

"Adam…I don't need anything."

It was the linebacker's turn to pull away and he did it with both eyebrows raised. "Do you want to walk over there with me? Or do I have to carry you?"

"You wouldn't dare," I said.

Adam placed both hands on either side of me, pressing me back against the counters until I couldn't move. A new glint shined in his dark eyes. "Try me, ice princess."

"Ugh." I sighed. "You would dare."

He was good for the couple of feet that we had to cross between our rooms, in that little niche of the hallway, but the moment he figured out the coast was clear, Adam pushed open his door and my stomach lurched as he swept me off my feet, kicking the door shut behind him.

"Oh my god—Adam!" I yelped.

His laugh was loud and husky. "I said it and then I had to do it."

"I'm giving you ten seconds to put me down," I threatened, but I touched the couch before I even started counting. That boy could spike my blood pressure. I put a hand to my heart and breathed in deeply while Adam sank into the couch next to me, effortlessly sliding a light gray box onto my lap, like he didn't just carry me around.

"Open it," he urged.

The box was a pretty gray with little swirls stamped over it and a white bow tied on top. A name flashed silver on the box, but I had no idea what it was. It wasn't heavy. But I hesitated to open it all the same. The bow was too pretty, and I had the sneaking suspicion that whatever it was, it was expensive.

This isn't like the headphones gift at all.

"What is it?" I asked, stalling for time.

"Something for the banquet."

I bit my lip. "This didn't cost a lot, right?"

Adam gazed at me for a long moment until a guffaw burst out of him. He couldn't contain it. Leaning back against the couch, he put his arms behind his head, still laughing.

"Don't tell me you spent a lot."

"Okay." He shrugged, still grinning. "I didn't spend a lot."

I didn't believe him for a second. "How much? A hundred dollars?"

Adam snorted.

"Two hundred dollars?" I stared at him, hard. "Don't say two hundred. Oh my god, just tell me."

"If you found out, you'd probably throw my credit cards into a wood chipper."

I pinched my nose to offset the incoming headache, it that just made Adam laugh harder. He was having the time of his life, still inching me towards opening the box in my lap that burned with each passing second. I hit the back of my head against the couch and sighed, purposely looking away from him, when I spotted it on his table.

The envelope.

I froze. That couldn't be the same envelope.

Adam still hadn't opened it. Still? How long ago had that been? I stole a quick look at Adam, still chuckling to himself. My fingers drummed against the side of the box.

The prank wasn't funny. I needed to get rid of it. And I didn't want him to see me getting rid of it.

"Piper?"

"What?" I jerked back. "Huh?"

"Do you want a hint?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

No, I want you out of the apartment so I can dispose of the fake pregnancy card.

"Adam." I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't want you to waste your money."

"This is the least money-wasting thing I've done in years," he replied. "In fact, we both get a use out of it."

I didn't think the box would be for the two of us.