I manage to extract her from her friends, but we don’t get five steps before I’m bailed up by my teammate. Jordan comes to a stop beside me, her shoulder brushing mine because the room is a crush of people.

“What happened to my tequila shots, bro?” Carter looks at me, his expression wounded and legs unsteady. It’s not like our star quarterback to drink the night before a game, but his on again/off again relationship is on a slippery slope and it’s fucking with his head.

“I had them in my hands but there was a pretty girl in desperate need,” I say, reminded of how Jordan had slammed them back with impressive speed. “What was I to do?”

Carter’s eyes fall on Jordan and that quickly, I want to gouge them from his head. They leer and then widen when they trail over her legs. Slim, toned, endless. He’s taking it all in like he needs to ace a test on it later. They’re my fucking legs, I itch to tell him. Go find your own. But this isn’t the schoolyard and last I checked, I wasn’t ten years old and guarding a shiny new toy.

“I can see your dilemma,” he says and drags his eyes away and back to mine. “Early night for you then, huh, bro?”

“You know it,” I say before thinking the words through.

Jordan tenses beside me.

“Dude.” Carter fist bumps me. “Score.”

When we finally make it outside, she rips off her lei and tosses it angrily away. It floats carelessly in the air before fluttering to the ground without a sound. All the while she’s stalking along the front path ahead of me, her long-legged stride eating up the distance quickly. I jog to catch up and she halts, spinning back around to glare at me. I almost duck from the sparks shooting from her eyes.

“Score?” she says. Then shouts it a second time. “Score?”

“Jordan—”

“Just what does dating mean to you? A regular girl on your arm to fuck? I didn’t sign on for this to earn the reputation of a whore, Brody! That’s not who I am. I’m a—”

“A good girl,” I snap. “I get it.”

Jordan flinches and takes a step back.

“Jordan,” I say, my tone a little more appeasing this time.

She shakes her head and turns back around, muttering something as she continues her way down the front path.

I tug the car keys from my pocket and start after her.

“Madden!”

Damn it all!

I’ve made a mess of things and need to clean it up, but Jordan’s making a rapid escape, and Jax is now jogging toward me, resentment clear in his expression. I’m not in the mood for it.

“What now?” I growl at him, stopping.

“What the hell, man? You’re dating Jordan Elliott?”

“Yes. And I don’t have time right now to soothe your ruffled feathers.”

Deciding it will be quicker to get the car first and catch up to Jordan, I head toward it quickly, beeping the locks. When I get inside, revving the engine, the passenger door flies open. Jaxon climbs up inside, slamming it shut a second before I spin the wheels in a quick U-turn on the street.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Christ,” I bite out, jabbing at the clutch with my foot as I shift gears. “Why does everyone care so much?”

“I’m not everyone. I’m your cousin, and I told you I planned on hooking up with her.”

Jordan’s already at the end of the street when I catch sight of her. “Well you’re too late,” I mutter because that’s all I’ve got right now.

“You’re such an asshole, Brody. King of fucking campus. You just swoop in and take what you want and damn everyone else.”

I glance across at Jaxon, surprised at the tirade that’s come from nowhere. He’s not just irritated, he’s hurt. No girl has ever meant more to my cousin then just a casual roll in the sheets.

“You really liked her.”

“No. I really like her. So watch your back, cousin. A couple of weeks with you and she might just decide you’re not worth it.”

Jaxon’s words wrench at me like a bad stomach cramp. Like he intended them to. But I don’t think he knows just how close, or how hard, they hit home.

I shove it down and jam my foot on the brakes. The SUV screeches to a halt beside Jordan. She’s reached the end of the sidewalk on the corner and about to cross the street. My cousin is out of the car before I even open the door.

I jog around the side in time to hear him say, “Not looking for anything with anyone, huh? I thought you were different, but you’re just like every other girl on campus,” he says with a sneer. “Holding out for a piece of Brody big fucking deal Madden.”

My hands curl into fists. He has no right to be angry with Jordan. And does he really think of me that way? That I think myself better than everyone else? Because he has it all twisted around the wrong way.

“It’s not like that, Jax,” Jordan says to him, her cheeks flushed and sandals dangling from her hands. I know she wants to tell him about the mix-up, that she thought I was someone else and we’re not really dating at all, but she holds it in. She’s doing this for me when I’ve done nothing to deserve her loyalty.

“That’s Jaxon to you. We’re not friends after all.”

“Jax,” I snap. He’s being a dick because he’s had too much to drink, and I’m over it. “Get lost.”

He holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m already gone.”

“Get in the car, Jordan,” I command as my cousin walks away, disappearing back toward the party. “It’s not safe to walk home by yourself.”

Jordan blows out a shaky breath, and I look her way. She quickly presses her lips together, but I don’t miss the quiver in them. If I give her a hug to soothe away the hurt, would she punch me for getting too close?

Willing to risk it, I forge ahead bravely and take hold of her shoulders. Her lips press tighter, but she isn’t scratching my eyes out. It’s encouraging. With a slight tug, I bring her flush against me and fold her in my arms. She doesn’t resist, but her body is stiff and unyielding. I breathe deep and press a soft kiss down on her head. I don’t want to stop there, but I do.

“I’m sorry,” I say, rubbing my palm in comforting circles on her lower back. “My cousin can be a real dick when he’s been drinking. And I’m a selfish prick for putting you up to this.”

“I agreed to it,” she tells me, the sound muffled and resigned. “But I had tequila shots and forgot to read the fine print. I mean, I don’t know you at all. I’m not sure I want to.”

“Ouch.” My hands pause. “You know, I’m pretty sure there’s a cooling-off period somewhere in there. You can change your mind.”

“It’s fine.” Jordan sniffs and makes a little huffing sound. I resume rubbing her back. Firmer this time. “I’m fine,” she adds, her voice throaty. “Really.”

My hand lowers and I keep rubbing. Bigger, warmer circles. If she gives me a moan, just one, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.

“I’m just allergic to assholes,” she adds. “Which means I’m not sure how this thing with us is going to work out but … you know, you can stop feeling me up anytime now.”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

Jordan hesitates and it almost kills me. “I’m sure.”

“I’ll stop on one condition.”

“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I can just knee you in the balls and that will work just as well.”

I tut tut with mock despair. And I keep rubbing. “Violence is not the answer.”

“Oh pray tell what is, Obe-wan?”

“Love of course, young Skywalker,” I say with a grin. “Make love, not war, right?”

Jordan shakes her head, but there’s no fight inside her to break free of my hold. Unfortunately we can’t stay here all night, clinched together on the sidewalk like we’re the last two people in the world. My car is parked on a wild angle and blocking the road, headlights blinding and the driver’s door wide open. My sigh is long and heavy.

“Let me take you home, okay?”

She pulls back, staring up at me. “That’s your condition?”

“Yep.”