The Pass Read online

  “I do too.” She ducks her head a tad like she might be embarrassed to admit she likes my company. She glances to Nathan and Chloe across from us. “What are we drinking?”

  “I’m gonna grab a pitcher. Be right back.” I stand. “Want anything else?”

  The tip of her tongue comes out to wet her lips. “I’ll come with you.”

  Angling my body to make room for both of us in the cramped space, I lean against the bar. “What do you feel like drinking?”

  “Beer is fine.”

  “Fine is boring.”

  “Beer is great, then.”

  “Pitcher of the IPA on tap,” I say to the bartender and then focus back on Sydney. “You look great.”

  “It’s the dress.”

  “It’s you.”

  She looks unconvinced. “Don’t get me wrong, I like the dress, but you could have worn a T-shirt and jeans and you’d still look great.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “Well, I’ve run into you on campus, at parties, bars.” She waves a hand indicating The Hideout. “And you only noticed me when I was in the tightest dress I own and standing a foot away from you. If it hadn’t been for Nathan talking to Chloe…”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you before. It isn’t because you aren’t beautiful. I’m sure you were just as stunning all those other times. Last year I did my best to keep my head down and focus. Yeah, I went out and partied, but I was living in a fog. I’m convinced of that more than ever now that I know we were in the same room and my eyes failed me.”

  “You’re forgiven.”

  Back at the table, the four of us chat—me and Sydney more than Nathan and Chloe. They’re obviously into one another, but they’re a lot more subtle than we are. I dig that about Sydney. She doesn’t make me second-guess whether or not she wants to be here. Her attention is solely focused on me and mine on her.

  I wrap an arm around the back of the booth, fingertips brushing her shoulder. I refill my glass and take a small drink. “So, did you have a boyfriend last year?”

  “No.” Her face scrunches up adorably. “Why?”

  “Wishful thinking, I guess.” Though even as I say it, I get a little rage-y picturing her with someone else. “I’d like to think I only overlooked you because you were on some guy’s arm and I was being respectful.”

  “Does having a boyfriend really stop guys from checking out girls?”

  “Well, no, but it usually stops us from doing anything about it. Maybe I looked across the room and you looked happy and content with some guy and I sighed and reluctantly let you be. Being the bigger man and all that.”

  Her body shakes with laughter. “What about you? As far as I know, you haven’t had any girlfriends at Valley, but there was a rumor about you and the women’s tennis coach.”

  “Say what?”

  “Gotcha! But have you seen her? She’s seriously hot.”

  Before I know it, Sydney’s pulled out her phone and navigating to the Valley U athletics page to show me. And damn, Coach Ryan is hot. Not as hot as Sydney, but definitely hot. Somehow that leads us down a rabbit hole of passing her phone back and forth rating the hotness of all the coaches.

  “Are you two ready?” Nathan asks.

  I glance up and notice the pitcher is empty. Shit, I have no idea how long Sydney and I have been in our own little bubble.

  “Yeah.” I look to her. “You want to come back to The White House?”

  “Definitely.”

  When we get back to the house, we find Datson already back from the Prickly Pear and playing Xbox in the living room.

  “Oh, man, that’s old school. What game is that?” Sydney walks right in and sits down on the couch.

  “Tecmo Bowl. It’s awesome.” I tip my head at Datson. “I demand a rematch from this afternoon. You want winner, Payne?”

  He shakes his head. “Gonna hang with my girl.”

  Chloe and Nathan join us despite acting like they want to be alone. I’m seated next to Sydney. She leans forward watching the game with rapt interest. I get a little too distracted with her beside me. The feel of her leg resting next to mine, the smell of her hair—coconut, I think. I’d really like my hands back—they’re itching to touch her.

  “Damn. I’ve never seen anyone lose so fast.” Datson punches me in the arm and then looks to Nathan. “You’re up.”

  Nathan lifts a hand. “Shaw, toss me the controller.”

  I do and then focus my attention on Sydney.

  “You’re terrible.” Those dark eyes are lit with laughter at my loss.

  “It’s an old game, I’m still getting the hang of it.”

  She doesn’t look convinced. I lay a palm on her thigh and squeeze playfully. “Let’s see how you do.”

  Her gaze goes to my hand and then back to my face. “Bring it on, Tanner.”

  “Me and Sydney have next game,” I tell the guys and then lean closer to Sydney. “You’re the only person who calls me that. Well, besides my family.”

  “Should I call you Shaw?”

  “Nah, I like it.” I stroke her smooth skin lightly with my thumb, not moving my hand up to creeper level but exploring the chemistry between us. As I expected, it’s off the charts.

  After video games, where I may or may not have let her win (cough, cough, I did not, she beat me straight up), we head out to the pool. Sydney didn’t have a suit so she’s in one of my shirts and boxers. Nathan and I show the girls how to play water ball. What is usually an intense competition between guys is more of a friendly, flirty game. Sydney and I use every opportunity to touch and splash one another. After we score, she throws her arms around my neck and squeals in victory.

  We’re killing them. Sydney is as competitive as I am and knowing that every score is another chance that she might hug me in celebration makes me an impossible man to beat. I’m good with incentives.

  “All right, we give,” Nathan says after the second game. “We’re going in to watch a movie or something.”

  Code, they’re going to make out.

  “Thanks for the game.” I wrap my arms around Sydney’s waist underwater and pull her against me. “Are you good staying out here for a while?” I ask her as they climb out and start toward the house. “I love it out here at night.”

  “Definitely.” She leans her head back against my shoulder.

  The water is perfect in the warm night air. Clear skies mean there’s even a few stars out.

  She sighs. “This house, this pool, it’s amazing. I’m insanely jealous.”

  “You have a standing invitation.”

  “Do you think your roommates would object if I started coming over every day to use this pool?” She swims away from me and then turns over on her back, floating and staring up at the sky.

  “Nah, we’re pretty good with hot girls showing up to use the pool whenever they want.”

  She tilts her head to look at me and snorts. “Of course.”

  I skim my hand through the water and interlock our fingers, using the leverage to pull her back to me. Water drips from her hair down her face and lands on the corner of her mouth. With the pad of my thumb, I wipe it away and then slowly bring my lips to hers.

  4

  Sydney

  My heart is beating so fast I’m certain Tanner can feel it as I lace my fingers behind his neck and press my body against his. His kiss is tender at first. Soft lips and a gentle touch of his thumb at my chin. As I arch into him and tilt my head, he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

  There’s a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that worries me we’re moving too fast, but everything with Tanner feels so natural. Honestly tonight didn’t feel like a first date. It’s like I’ve known him forever.

  He inches back and we stare into each other’s eyes, chests rising and falling with labored breaths. “Do you want to go inside?”

  Nodding, I press my lips back to his and tighten my grip on him. It’s so easy to
get carried away with him. His fingers slide underneath my shirt to my lower back and he brings our bodies together from chest to knees. An excited shiver shoots up my spine.

  His mouth leaves mine and he places warm, wet kisses to my neck. He shifts and his dick, thick and hard, grazes my sensitive core. It’s enough to jolt me back to reality.

  “Tanner?”

  “Hmmm?” He continues his exploration of my neck with his mouth.

  “That feels so good.” My eyes close and I reach for my resolve, barely grasping it. “Wait. I need to tell you something before this goes any farther.”

  Peeling his lips away, he straightens, and his brows raise slightly. “You’re married with three kids and a dog named Fido?”

  I push at his chest. “No, of course not. The dog’s name is Winston, of course.”

  He smirks.

  “I like you a lot and tonight has been… amazing, but I sort of have a five-date rule.”

  I get a confused stare in response.

  “As in, I don’t sleep with guys until we’ve been on five dates.” I cringe a bit. There’s really no good way to tell someone that you’re not down for having sex but you’d like to keep kissing them and maybe rubbing up against them. “It’s just, I’ve done the whole first night hookup, and it’s not for me.”

  “Okay. That’s it?”

  I nod and smile, thankful to have that out in the open. “I would love to go inside and keep hanging out. Really, tonight has been amazing and I don’t want it to end.”

  “Okay, yeah, cool.” He swims to the side and pulls himself up and then holds out a hand to help me.

  Later I will replay this scene over and over in my head and think of all the different ways I could and should have worded this conversation. Hindsight is a real bitch.

  Tanner and I go in and dry off. I change back into my own clothes and find him splayed out on his bed with his phone in hand. He’s in shorts that are low on his hips and a faded basketball T-shirt. When I walk in, he looks up and smiles.

  “Ready to show me your skills again?” He sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. I’m trying to figure out what he means when he adds, “Datson finally relinquished the Xbox, so it’s all ours.”

  “Oh, yeah, definitely.”

  He grins and blows by me, flipping the light on the way out. He grabs two beers from the fridge and then we settle into the living room. The house is quiet, and we’re the only ones downstairs but we still sit side by side on the couch.

  “All right, let’s see what you got.”

  “You know what I got,” I taunt. “Do you not remember the last beating I gave you?”

  He grunts a response.

  For the next two hours, I use more concentration and focus than I have since the time Emily and I challenged some of our teammates to a Just Dance tournament in our dorm room.

  I came out on top that night and somehow I do again.

  Tanner groans. “Man! I really thought I could beat you this time.”

  “Because I’m a girl?”

  “No, because you said you’ve never played before.” He glances down at my legs. It’s the first time since we got out of the pool that he’s given any indication that I’m someone he’s into. Maybe he’s not anymore. “I blame your legs.”

  “My legs?” I chuckle.

  He leans back, resting the controller on his thigh. “They were distracting.”

  “Maybe your legs were distracting me.”

  We both look to his hairy legs and laugh. Although they are nice—strong and muscular.

  “Again?” he asks, nodding to the TV.

  “I think I’ll stop while I’m ahead.”

  “I don’t blame you.” He’s quick to his feet and shuts everything off.

  “It’s late,” I say, resigning myself to walking back to my dorm alone in the dark. This night didn’t go exactly as I wanted, but I did have fun hanging with Tanner. Hopefully I haven’t totally ruined any chance of us doing this again by slowing things down.

  He starts toward the stairs and then glances back at me. “Are you coming? You can have my bed, and I’ll take the floor.”

  Fresh hope blooms, but more than anything, I’m happy to spend more time with him.

  Inside his room, he takes a pillow and blanket and tosses them to the floor.

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  He shrugs and straightens the blanket. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

  I sit on the edge of the bed. “Seriously, we can sleep in the same bed. Besides, I have all kinds of questions for you.”

  “Like?” He scoops the pillow up off the floor and falls onto the bed. His big frame bouncing on the mattress makes me fall into the center beside him. We get comfortable laying together with our heads at the bottom of the bed.

  “Did you have girlfriends in high school?” I ask.

  “One.”

  “Was it serious?”

  “Eh, I guess. We were together for almost a year.”

  “I’d say a year counts as serious. Why’d it end?”

  “Over something stupid.” He adjusts the pillow under his head. “She and my sister were both running for student council president and Misty, my girlfriend at the time, lost. She was pissed, lashed out, demanded to know who I voted for and when I wouldn’t tell her, she ended it.”

  “Did you vote for her?”

  “A man’s vote is private and personal.” His eyes twinkle as his lips twitch with humor.

  “So, you voted for your sister and your girlfriend got pissed and dumped you?”

  “She assumed I voted for my sister, but yeah.”

  “Rough.”

  We lay there in silence for a few moments. I try to picture him in high school cheering on his sister like a good big brother.

  “You’re close to your sister then?”

  He smiles. “She’s a pain in the ass.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  He laughs. “Yeah, we’re close. She’s just a year younger than me, goes to college in Utah. Do you have any siblings?”

  “No, only child. I used to wish for a sister.”

  “Funny, I used to wish I was an only child. Especially when Tara was playing jokes on me or trying to tag along with my friends.”

  “What’s she like? Is she into sports like you?”

  “Yeah, we both played a bunch of different sports growing up. Our parents were big on getting us out of the house and active. She’s only playing soccer now, but she was pretty good at basketball too.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “She’d like you.”

  I’m not sure what makes him think that, but it makes me smile. “I’m sure I’d like her too. Especially since it sounds like she enjoys picking on her big brother.”

  He grins. “What about you? Any boyfriends?”

  “A few in high school, none that lasted very long.”

  “How come?” He touches a strand of my hair that’s splayed out near his hand, wrapping it around his index finger.

  “I was a little bit fickle and I had a habit of jumping in before I got to know them, and once I did…”

  With a smirk, he pulls my hair lightly. “You didn’t like what you found.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Is that why you threw up the block downstairs earlier when I kissed you?”

  I feel the blush creep up my neck and my ears burn. “Let me explain—”

  “Nah, it’s cool. I don’t usually jump into things so quickly either. I mean, I’ve hooked up with girls and done the one-night stand thing…” He stops and makes a face. “I’m doing a terrible job of explaining, but what I’m trying to say is that even though we don’t know each other very well yet, you seem like a cool chick. I feel so comfortable with you, like we’ve known each other a really long time.”

  “Same.” I scoot closer to him, prepared to kiss him and make up for pulling away earlier. I may not be ready to have sex with him, but kissing�
�� I want more of that.

  He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I breathe him in. He smells like laundry soap and chlorine and something that’s just him.

  He pulls back and I tilt my head up and lean in. “I’m really glad I met you,” he says and bops me on the nose. “Ready to sleep?”

  I pause and he climbs up the bed and pulls down the covers. I get underneath and he goes to turn off the light and then gets in on the other side. He pulls off his T-shirt and tosses it on the floor, then lays down.

  My eyes have barely closed when he says, “Tell me about these times you allegedly saw me last year.”

  “I thought you wanted to sleep.”

  “Bedtime stories, babe.”

  “What do you want to know?” I ask with a laugh.

  “The usual stuff. Where were we, who were you with, how hot did I look, what were you wearing?”

  I open my eyes to find his face not far from mine and a huge grin on it. “Let’s see, I saw you at The Hideout a few times, here…” If I thought long enough I could probably tell him every single time, in order. The details are harder to remember off hand, but that feeling of excitement and hope that it was the night we’d finally talk is the same feeling I have now. Being with Tanner is exhilarating.

  “You forgot the most important part of the story.”

  “You looked hot,” I assure him.

  “Of course I did, but the most important question was what were you wearing?”

  “Oh, I didn’t forget. I wasn’t wearing any clothes, I was naked.”

  His eyes darken and his jaw ticks before I start laughing.

  “You’re so gullible.”

  Big, warm hands find my waist under the covers and tickle my ribs and sides. I jump and squirm to get away, but he holds me tight and continues his onslaught. “Stop, oh man, stop. I’m so ticklish and I will so get you back for this.” I’m not sure how much of my words can be understood as I squeak and laugh. I manage to elbow him in the chest and he finally quits but doesn’t stop touching me.

  “Turn around.”

  “You think I’m going to turn my back to you? No way, I’m keeping my eyes where I can see your hands.”