Chapter 14

Bradley sat on the packed bleachers and cheered along with the crowd as the Harmony Falls Hawks scored the game’s first touchdown. The noise was deafening as people shouted, whistled, and stomped their feet. Beside him, Jeremy stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled around them, the sound loud enough to nearly pierce an eardrum. Bradley leaned away to avoid any permanent damage, then shoved his friend, laughing.

Garrett sat on Jeremy’s other side, followed by Tiffany, then Carissa, and finally, Danny. Bradley had hoped he’d be able to snag a spot right next to Carissa, but thanks to an accident on the way to campus, he’d been late arriving. Now he was stuck all the way at the end, the farthest possible seat away from Carissa. At least they’d be at the bonfire together later. He could talk to her then.

He focused his attention on the game until halftime. Harmony Falls was in the lead by a single touchdown, and the opposing team would have possession when the third quarter started. Bradley wasn’t usually a huge football fan, but watching live, surrounded by diehard fans—and his friends—he could understand why the game was addictive to so many. The atmosphere was downright electric.

“I need to get up and move around.” Tiffany stood and stretched her arms above her head, causing her shirt to lift just enough to show some skin.

Jeremy stared, and Bradley elbowed him. Not that Bradley had any room to judge; he’d do the same thing if that was Carissa showing off her stomach. Or any other part of her body, for that matter. Even her slender, delicate, soft hands were attractive to him.

“My ass is numb.” Garrett stood and rubbed his butt.

Bradley laughed and stood, too. A moment later, Jeremy joined them. Glancing down the row of bleachers, Bradley’s gaze stopped on Danny and Carissa. They had their heads bowed together as if deep in conversation they didn’t want anyone to overhear. But then Danny jerked away, his face red with anger. Carissa stood, her back to their group, and then she proceeded to walk away in the opposite direction.

“Hey.” Bradley gently nudged Tiffany and pointed behind her, brows raised.

Tiffany turned to look, muttered, “Shit,” then took off after Carissa.

“Everything alright?” Garrett asked Danny and slapped him on the back.

Danny smacked Garrett’s hand away and abruptly stood. “No. Everything’s not alright. My girlfriend thinks everything is more important than me.” With a scowl, Danny pushed his way down the bleachers.

“Well, he seems super nice,” Jeremy said. “C’mon. I need food and beer.” He patted his stomach.

Bradley watched until Danny was swallowed by the crowd; then he turned and followed Jeremy and Garrett toward the concession stand. The line was a mile long, and Bradley was positive they’d be late getting back to their seats, but he didn’t care. He was more worried about Carissa. Where had she gone? Was she okay? Had Tiffany found her?

“Where’s Cory tonight anyway?” Jeremy asked.

“No idea.” Garrett shrugged. “Last I knew, he was supposed to be here. Maybe he’ll show up at the bonfire.”

“I hope so. He’s a cool guy.” Jeremy nodded and moved forward in line.

Bradley looked around under the guise of people watching, but in reality, he was hoping to see Carissa. Would she come back to watch the rest of the game? She’d told him last night she had to work the S’mores table at the bonfire, so even if she didn’t return for the second half of the game, at least he’d see her later.

“Hi, Bradley.” A petite girl with dyed blue hair walked by and waved, giving him a flirty smile.

He smiled in return.

“Friend of yours?” Garrett asked.

“We have a couple of classes together, but I wouldn’t exactly call her a friend.” The line moved again, so Bradley stepped forward.

“Seems like she might want to be more than your friend.” Jeremy suggestively nudged Bradley and waggled his eyebrows. “Know what I’m saying?”

“Everyone knows what you’re saying.” Bradley laughed. “And she may want more than friendship, but she’s not getting it from me.”

“Why not?” Garrett leaned to the side in a dramatic way, making his actions clear—he was watching the girl walk away. “She’s cute.”

“She’s not my type.” Bradley crossed his arms, suddenly very uncomfortable with where this conversation was headed.

He shifted on his feet and let out an aggravated sigh, hoping he could divert attention to the fact that they’d only moved three places in line and still weren’t any closer to getting food and drinks.

“Hey.” Tiffany joined them in line—alone—hands shoved into her pockets.

“Where’s Carissa?” Garrett asked.

Relief flooded Bradley that Garrett had asked so that Bradley wouldn’t have to. The last thing he needed was for Garrett or Jeremy to learn about his true feelings for Carissa. The situation was complicated enough without his friends giving him shit about liking her.

“She needed a few minutes alone. She’ll be back soon,” Tiffany said with a small frown. “Any idea where Danny went?” She twisted around as if looking for him.

“Nope. He complained about Carissa thinking everything else is more important than him, and then he took off,” Bradley said with a biting tone.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything further. Bradley wasn’t sure if he was pleased or pissed with her silence. He wanted to know more, to know that Carissa was okay and to know what was truly going on between her and Danny. But he also didn’t want to know, because if he found out Danny was treating Carissa poorly, Bradley might not be able to stop himself from giving Danny a major attitude adjustment.

By the time they reached the concession window, placed their orders, and returned to their seats, Carissa still hadn’t come back. Worry nagged at Bradley. Had she decided to leave? If so, why hadn’t she told anyone? Or had Danny found her? Were those two off arguing somewhere?

Bradley set his food next to him on the bleacher and pulled his phone from his pocket. No message from Carissa. He frowned, disappointment landing in his gut. Unease filled him, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that Carissa was in trouble.

“Hey, Tiffany.” Bradley leaned closer to her. “Has Carissa contacted you? She’s been gone a long time.”

Tiffany eyed him, and he held his breath, waiting for her to question why he was so concerned about someone he barely knew. But she didn’t. Instead, she checked her phone and shook her head.

Bradley opened his messages and sent a quick text to Carissa to ask if she was okay. Then he stood, slipped his phone into his back pocket, and said, “I’m going to go look for her.”

“Look for who?”

Bradley whipped around at the sound of Carissa’s voice. “You,” he said, concern furrowing his brow. “We’ve been worried. Are you okay?”

Carissa nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

The fear squeezing his chest loosened, and he took a deep breath. Thank God she was okay. She certainly didn’t look so great, though. Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy. Clearly, she’d been crying. Again.

“What did I miss?” Carissa smiled as if nothing was wrong, and then sat on the bleachers in what was his spot a second ago.

He didn’t mind, though. Sitting beside her, he reached for his food—two hotdogs, a bag of chips, and a cup of beer. He held a hotdog out to her. “Want one?”

She graced him with a breathtaking smile, her face lighting up. “You sure?” she asked as she reached for the food.

“Yeah, I’m trying to watch my figure anyway.” He winked, and her face flushed.

Carissa rolled her eyes and took the hotdog. She took a large bite, her tongue peeking out to lick the ketchup from the corner of her mouth. Watching her fascinated him, and he’d sit here all night and watch her if he could. But the whistle blew to signal the start of the second half, and his attention was drawn back to the football field.

Halfway through the third quarter, she poked his arm. “Can we switch spots?”

He tilted his head, confused. “Yeah, sure. Why?”

“I need to talk to Tiff, and I don’t want to shout over you,” she said.

Bradley stood so Carissa could scoot down the bench toward Tiffany, and then he sat back down. But as soon as he did, the crowd was on their feet, cheering on the team for running another touchdown.

“Our team isn’t half bad.” Jeremy laughed. “Wonder if the basketball team is just as good.”

“They’re not.” Garrett shook his head. “Trust me, you do not want to watch one of their games. You’ll walk away hating the game.” He laughed.

From the corner of his eye, Bradley watched Carissa whisper to Tiffany. The girls laughed, and his heart soared at the joy he heard in Carissa’s laughter. That’s how she should always be—happy and carefree. Not sad and in tears. And God help him, he wanted to be the man to make her happy. So what if she had a boyfriend? Bradley could earn her affections fair and square, without playing dirty.

The game ended with Harmony Falls winning by a single field goal, and excited chaos erupted all around. Even Carissa was on her feet, clapping and cheering. He watched her with a smile, wondering what had caused her mood to change so drastically.

Carissa turned to him and clutched his arm. “Tiff and I have to head to the bonfire to help with setup. We’ll see you there, right?”

“Wouldn’t dream of missing it,” Bradley said, momentarily covering her hand with his, and she didn’t try to pull away from his touch. “Do you need a ride there?”

“No. Tiff has her car. I’ll ride with her.” She still didn’t remove her hand from his arm. In fact, she gave his bicep a gentle squeeze.

“Well, do you need an extra pair of hands to help?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “TOP is co-hosting with the Betas, so all those guys will be there.”

So much he wanted to say to that, but he bit his tongue. Carissa wasn’t his girlfriend, and even if she was, he had no right to tell her what to do or who she could hang around with. While he didn’t like the thought of her spending any length of time with an entire fraternity, he was powerless to do anything about that.

“Lucky guys,” he finally said.

Laughing, she eased his hand from his arm and propped her hands on her hips. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that they get to be there with you.” He shrugged, trying to act cool and unconcerned when he was anything but.

She tilted her head, a slow, seductive smile curving her lips. “Are you jealous?”

“Should I be?”

“Do you have a reason to be?” she fired back just as quickly.

He grinned. “You know we could stand here all night and go back and forth with these questions. Which, I mean, I don’t mind, but then you’ll be late…”

Carissa narrowed her eyes, the smile never fully leaving her face. “To be continued, then.” She leaned around him to say goodbye to Garrett and Jeremy, and then she patted Bradley’s chest, spun on her heel, and sauntered away with Tiffany.

If Bradley wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn Carissa added a little extra sway to her hips for his benefit. He wasn’t certain, but he certainly enjoyed the view of her leaving.

“We’re gonna hit the bar downtown, grab a drink, then head to the bonfire. You coming?” Jeremy asked.

Bradley nodded and dug his keys from his pocket. He’d driven tonight, which meant he wouldn’t be drinking. That was fine with him. He’d much rather be alert anyway. Who knew what might happen with Carissa later? And he had a sinking suspicion everything was going to change tonight. For better or worse, he couldn’t say, but he was definitely ready to embrace change.