True North Book 3 - Finding Now Kate and Sam by Allie Juliette Mousseau

thinking with the wrong head. They already had every article of clothing off except their jeans. Idiots.
    “Hey, North!” Brandon, the card dealer who I knew from a class last year, called me over. “We’ve got an extra seat. Want me to deal you in?”
    I felt the smile pull across my face. “Bet your ass.”
    The girls were trying to be strategic by starting with the non-essentials like shoes and socks, but two girls were down to undies and t-shirts. When I sat at the table, I realized they also had their bras off and in the pile. They must have thought they were being tricky by taking off their bras under their shirts before they lost them. Maybe they thought they’d get an edge before that happened.
    Not if I played.
    Brandon dealt me in, and I winked at the sweet blonde I’d sat next to, imagining her without the tight pink almost see-through t-shirt that was stretched over her chest. Her nipples poked up into the fabric, just begging to be pinched.
    I forced myself to look away and at my hand. Ah, North luck. I could always rely on it. A four of a kind. Oh yeah, that little shirt was coming off.
    A few of the guys who’d been playing pool peered over my shoulder, saw my hand and thought they’d come a little closer to watch the show.
    I had that top of the world feeling. More hero worship from the guys losing their game and the dudes behind me watching, salivating. And the way the blonde was eyeing me, she looked excited to show me the rack under the cover.
    Then I spotted Jackson by the foosball table, smiling at our goings-on in the poker corner. Jackson would definitely brag about this tomorrow, it would be big news—the blonde was a popular cheerleader. That feeling of dread, like something very bad was about to happen, dropped into the pit of my stomach.
    The girls were looking nervously at the cards in their hands, while the guys wore an I’m-fucked expression. So what was it?
    I groaned when the revelation hit me. “Sorry, guys.”
    I folded.
    The guys cursed while the girls cheered and slammed them. While the good ole boys were taking off their pants and the girls were giggling, heady at their unexpected triumph, I stood up and took off back upstairs.
    I pushed through the crowd to find that pretty little tart who’d lip-locked me when I first came in. It took a few minutes, but I found her dancing with two other girls. Now that could be fun to watch, but I had an agenda. I came up behind her and tapped on her shoulder. She turned, saw me and smiled.
    “I was hoping you’d come back,” she said.
    I gently stroked her soft shoulder and bent enough to whisper in her ear. “Where do I know you from?”
    She smiled. “I was at the concert.”
    “Who invited you?” I asked.
    “A couple of my girlfriends who heard about it through your band’s drummer.”
    “So you don’t go to school at U of W?” I verified.
    “Nope.”
    I took her up on her invitation. “You said your place was nearby. Do you want to disappear?”
    “With you? Definitely.” She took my hand mid-song, grabbed her jacket and bag from out of the closet, and we walked out into the night.
     
    She drove us to her place.
    “I share an apartment with my friend Tracy but she’s back at the party, so we have the place all to ourselves,” she explained.
    “Perfect.”
    The second she got the door open, I had her pushed up against the wall as I kicked the door closed. Usually I’m slow in the foreplay department, but tonight my sex wasn’t even for pleasure, it was to prove something.
    What the fuck!? I had this gorgeous creature in the palms of my hands, literally, and the only thing I was trying to do was prove to myself I wasn’t obsessing over my professor!
    NOT fucking cool! The entire night had been about her, from Will’s phone call, to not wanting anyone from the party reporting back to her about seeing me do anything with any other woman.
    What was that? Was Will right? Was it because I wanted her?
    No, I didn’t