Not everyone is so sad to be done.
Jordan’s face is red and splotchy and he mutters, “Oh thank god. I was burping ham and cheese. I swear it was coming up in the next five minutes.”
I’m the last one off the ice. Adam notices and laughs at what I’m guessing is close to a pout on my face. I’m totally not beyond kicking and screaming and throwing a tantrum if I thought it’d work instead of Coach Meyers making me run laps around the football field.
“Come on, Payne, I’ll buy you a beer.”
At The Hideout, Adam pays for two pitchers and sets it down on the table before handing out glasses.
Mav’s filled his glass and taken a long drink before the pitcher even makes its way to me. “Dude, maybe it’s the beer gut and not your ass that’s the problem.”
He flips me off, continues drinking and then says, “Hey man, how much do you think Coach Meyer will pay you to babysit Liam and Jordan this year? Minimum wage?”
I grimace and he laughs, knowing he’s hit a sore spot. Coach had me on a line with two freshmen forwards today, both need a lot of work.
“It’s going to be a great season,” Adam insists, always wearing his captain hat. “Frozen four this year. Last chance to secure my legacy as a frozen four champ before graduation.”
I lift my glass.
Ginny is waiting at the apartment when we get back.
“What are you doing here?” Adam asks and takes a seat on the couch next to her.
“Maverick and I are studying Shakespeare.”
Adam looks to Mav. “You know, you don’t live here, man.”
“I ordered pizzas,” he says, standing in the doorway. “Gotta take Charli out. Back in five.”
When he’s gone, Ginny looks from Adam to me. “How was it being back on the ice?”
“Amazing,” we say in unison.
Ginny giggles.
“I’m going to shower,” Adam says, standing and pulling off his shirt. “Save me some thin crust.”
“Come keep me company while Mav is gone.” I motion for Ginny to follow me back to my room and she does.
She walks in and scans the room before taking a seat on the bed, feet dangling off the side. I drop my bag and then pull out a pair of basketball shorts and T-shirt. I take off the shirt I’m wearing and toss it in the hamper without thinking about it. Ginny’s eyes are fixed on my chest. I wait for her to catch herself, but she’s full-on checking me out.
“Hey, friend?”
“Hmm?”
“Eyes are up here,” I say with a wink.
She rolls her brown eyes, but then they land back on my bare upper body. “You’re seriously cut. Maybe I should give up ice cream.”
“Don’t you dare. You’re perfect.”
Charli zips into my room, jumps onto the bed, and covers Ginny with slobbery kisses. She smiles and leans away but pets her behind the ears.
“Down, Charli.”
Mav appears in the doorway and Charli goes to his side. “Ready, Ginny?”
“Yeah.” She scoots off the bed. “See you out there?”
I nod and watch my friend and the object of my fascination walk out of my room. I might need a shower and some Mariah first.
13
Ginny
The following night Reagan’s sitting at her vanity with the laptop open in front of her while I stand off to the side doing her makeup.
“I can’t believe how much it looks like the girl on the video. I swear I’ve tried a few of these and it never looks anything like it’s supposed to.”
“Ava’s been letting me practice on her.” I glance at the girl on the screen and back to Reagan. “The winged eye looks really good on you.”
Putting makeup on Reagan is fun. She’s so naturally beautiful I probably couldn’t make her look bad if I tried, but she’s right, I managed to get it pretty close to the girl on camera.
“You’re hired. Someday when I’m a big well-known actress, I’m going to force you to do my makeup every day. In fact, I wish you could do my makeup for the winter play.”
Reagan is a theater major, and according to Dakota, she kicks ass in the school plays.
“Doesn’t the department hire someone to do makeup for the performances?”
“Yes. The previous stage director’s mother, Ms. Morrison. She’s lovely and nice and has been doing makeup for the university performances for something like twenty years, but last spring she had me looking like a clown. There’s stage makeup, and then, there’s straight-up too much blush.”
I brush a little shimmer powder along her cheekbones. “Well, I’m happy to do it anytime. Seriously, doing your makeup every day is my dream job.”
“Why aren’t you going to school to be a makeup artist?” Dakota asks from the bed. She’s lying on her side looking at her phone.
“Unless you work in a salon or store, it’s a lot of freelance gigs like wedding days and special occasions. Plus, there’s so much pressure to get it perfect so they feel beautiful and confident.”
“Well, I feel both right now, so I think you’d be great at it.” Reagan purses her lips and then smiles.
“Speaking of jobs, I need to find one if I’m going to be able to move out next year. Do you guys know of anything on campus or off? I was thinking about checking local restaurants and cafés.” Rooming with Ava’s been great. We get along well, and she doesn’t have any crazy habits like leaving out old food or rummaging through my things without asking, but I don’t want to do dorm life again next year.
“The Hall of Fame is always looking for guides,” Dakota says.
“Guides?”
She sits up and abandons her phone. “Yeah, we do tours for local groups like schools and other organizations, but we also get to help with recruitment. I can ask my boss if you want.”
“Just like that?”
“Well, I’m not going to lie, the fact that you’re Adam Scott’s little sister will probably help. My boss has a giant crush on him.”
“What?”
