“I’m sure.”

“You seriously have a negative opinion of me.”

“I can’t be the only one. You seem to make it rather easy.”

She wasn’t sure why that offended her, except that she had never done anything to Eric. He had this god-awful impression of her that made no sense. So, she had slept with one of the guys on the team last night. Who cared? Stacia had slept with a dozen. Yet Eric’s venom was specifically for Bryna. She never saw him act this way around anyone else.

“Most people find me pretty awesome actually,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Do you tell them that?” He gave her a pointed look.

“What? No!”

“You think very highly of yourself, is all, and you’re not afraid to let other people know how great you are.”

“What’s wrong with that anyway?” she spat. How dare he judge me! “It’s called self-confidence. More people should have it.”

“There’s self-confidence, and then there’s you.”

Bryna beamed as if what he was saying was a real prize. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment,” he said in frustration. “Kind of hard to get through to you up there.”

“Hard to get through to me? Are you insane? Talking to you is like speaking to a brick wall. Are you even going to graduate on time? Aren’t all jocks idiots?”

He stared blankly back at her, but she saw something brewing in his hazel eyes. He was irritated. She was turning into more of an annoyance than he had bargained for. It was clear he was trying to antagonize her to make her leave, but she had no intention of doing so. Not now for sure.

Something changed in his face as if he was resolute. Bryna braced herself for his barb.

“All jocks are idiots? At least we got into school based on talent, not on our parents’ booster donations.”

“I had a four-point-oh in high school. I had the grades and clearly the talent to get in here. Why the hell did they keep you anyway? It’s not like you have talent anymore.” She leaned into him to deliver her killing blow. “Let me ask you, Eric, what’s it like not having a functional knee?”

Eric cringed.

She knew she had taken it too far, but he had started this shit. And she would certainly finish it. He already thought poorly of her. What would it matter if she dug her own grave?

Eric’s mouth hung open slightly, and then he snapped it closed. His eyes were hard, but what she hadn’t anticipated was the look on his face. It wasn’t anger or disgust as he had every right to feel but rather determination.

He was quiet when he responded, “What’s it like not having a working heart? Must be hard to continue living with a black pit in your chest.”

He had no idea.

She opened her mouth to respond even though she had no clue what to say. He was right. She didn’t have a functional heart, and it constantly felt like she had a black pit in her chest. But she couldn’t let him know that.

“Come on, Bryna. Throw more punches. Get in some more swings. I can go all day like this.”

And he looked serious.

She didn’t know what to make of that. No one went head-to-head with her and came out ahead. But she didn’t know what to say. She had no witty retort.

Finally, she shrugged and faced forward. “Whatever.”

She plugged her headphones into her ears and tried not to notice the victorious smile that spread across his face.

He hadn’t won.

Right?

“OH, HIM!” Stacia cried. She pointed out a tall guy with blond hair in the pool near where they were lounging. “What do you think about him?”

On this particularly beautiful Sunday afternoon, the girls had congregated outside at the pool at Posse. This was the last weekend they would be open since the weather was becoming more and more unpredictable. Unable to miss a good party, they had decided to forego studying to spend the afternoon checking out hot guys and drinking daiquiris.

“No,” Bryna said. “He is definitely on steroids, and we all know what that means!”

“No way is he that tall and has a tiny dick, Bri. I refuse to believe it,” Stacia cried. “Why must you ruin my fun?”

“I can’t let you go and try to attach yourself to someone who does ’roids and won’t satisfy you. It’s for your own good.”

Stacia stuck her bottom lip out. “Are you sure I can’t peek to find out? Then, I could have all sorts of fun.”

Maya appeared with their drinks. Her sleek black hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she looked like an African goddess. She handed Bryna a replacement strawberry daiquiri and brought Stacia some super sweet fruity concoction that Maya labeled the Cheer Slut. Stacia approved. Trihn took a water from Maya and lounged back in her chair.

“Drink?” Maya offered Trihn.

“Next round,” she said. “Thanks though.”

“Now, who are you two going on about?” Maya asked.

“The blond with great biceps and washboard abs,” Stacia said.

“Keith? He’s a regular and a regular douche bag. He grabs everyone’s ass and fucks everything that walks,” Maya filled them in.

Stacia sighed and glanced hopefully up at Maya. “But does he have a small dick?”

Bryna burst out laughing. Only Stacia. “Get your priorities straight.”

“They are!”

It felt good to cut loose and laugh with her friends. She had been tightly wound all week since the Oregon game. Even fucking Andrew again, twice, and winning their game this past weekend hadn’t removed the stress from her shoulders. Today felt like a detox. Exactly what she needed.

Maya shook her head. “I’ll ask around for you, S.”

“Good, and thanks,” Stacia said with a broad smile.

“Anytime. You know I like to take care of my friends.”

“True,” Stacia agreed.

“Hey, have you figured out the mystery with the owner?” Bryna asked.

Maya had told them a couple of weeks ago that the owner of Posse was some incredibly secretive man. He had purchased the property and built the best club in town but never took any of the credit. No one had ever met him, not even employees. He was the Gatsby of his own Vegas party—always watching from high up, but never letting anyone get near him.

“No!” Maya cried. She leaned into her hip and flipped her black hair to one side. “A group of us are trying to figure it out. We think a couple of guys in upper management might know something. One of the girls thinks she can get it out of them by sleeping with one of them.”

Bryna laughed. “Sounds like Stacia’s kind of plan.”

Stacia shrugged. “I’d do it.”

“I know you would. But no luck yet. All we know is that he was some hotshot in Atlanta before moving here, and supposedly, he’s single.” Maya winked at the girls.

“Who do I need to sleep with?” Stacia perked up at the thought of meeting the millionaire mogul who had created her favorite club.

“And I thought you wanted an NFL quarterback,” Bryna said with an arched eyebrow.

Stacia sighed heavily in despair. “Blaine won’t even give me the time of day. He keeps calling me Stacy.”

“I told you!”

“Yeah, well, if he keeps this up, I’ll start honing in on the backup. He’s hot, and he will probably be the starter next year. I’ll have a leg up.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Maya said. She nudged her. “Isn’t the backup Marshall Matthews?”

“Yeah,” Stacia said surprised. “How do you know him?”

“I think I have a class with him.”

“Maya, you know everyone!” Stacia crooned.

“I’m a bartender. That’s my job. Speaking of my job,” she said, glancing around, “I should probably make a circuit and then come back. Don’t want the boss to get on me.”