Page 5 of Final Score

My pulse raced. My breathing shallow as I stared back into brilliant emerald, green eyes. His gaze locking me in place on the floor. An appreciative smirk lifted along one side of his mouth, as his eyes traveled along my body not once, but twice.

I felt the room slip away. The crowd, the music, the lights, and smoke, all of it fading until the only thing left was him. I watched disappointedly, as another player at the table pulled his attention back to the game, breaking our connection. Maybe Fallon was right. This party won’t be so bad after all.

CHAPTER 4

Tonight, would be legendary. Not only was the house Oliver, Ronnie and I shared packed with people, but we had an abundance of alcohol and an open schedule for the next two days. I had no doubts, that we’d each have hangovers and long-winded stories of our different vices to tell in the morning.

One vice we all shared was poker. We played harmless games during the week, but on weekends and parties were different. Especially when we had the next day off. The rules were simple: instead of using money, we traded chips for “scores”.

1 Score = 1 task or favor the holders’ choosing

Scores could be used for any reason. Something simple, like no chores for the week. All the way to something more complex, like completing a dare with no questions asked. The higher the stakes of the task, the more scores it took off the board.

A large chalkboard behind the poker table held a list of players and their scores. Over the past year, I had held the lead, Oliver chasing close behind. Too close for comfort some days. The other players would swap their scores easily, but I had yet to cash in. I preferred to save them for special occasions.

Tonight’s game was proving my winning streak. I had four of a kind in my hand. I felt the crowd behind me creep closer. The usual groupies were hanging around, pretending to understand poker. Hoping to snag one of us for a quickie once the game ended. Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of hookups before, during and after these parties. As tempting as it seemed in the moment, it always left me feeling unsatisfied. But a man has needs…

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I felt a new pair of eyes glance my way from across the room. I looked up, expecting to see one of the usual girls hoping to get my attention. Only to find the culprit wasn’t one I recognized and a cute one at that.

Not breaking eye contact, I made sure she caught me checking her out. A low-cut red dress drew my attention to her chest first, then further down to a short skirt that clung to her ass and long tan legs despite her short stature. She had curves other girls would kill for, a perfect hourglass figure. My hands twitched, itching to see if her skin was as smooth as it looked.

I expected to find her blushing from my obvious attraction. Instead, I found her watching me with the same instant curiosity. Dark brown curls and makeup framed her innocent face as she stared back, unwavering. Mischief filling her eyes as she dared me to make a move. Just my type.

Oliver’s thick British accent diverted my attention as he punched me in the arm. “Why don’t you go talk to her instead of undressing her with your eyes?”

“The night’s still young.” I smirked, winking at the girl. There would be plenty of time to catch up with her later. I had a game to finish. But that didn’t stop me from letting my eyes linger on her backside, moment longer than necessary as she walked into the kitchen.

The poker table was offering a magnificent view of the dance floor tonight. Particularly of a pretty brunette in a red dress, who was distracting me just enough to throw me off my game. I watched as she spun joyfully around the floor of our living room, looking free as a bird. Yet the longer I watched her, the more familiar she seemed.

I had been racking my brain for the past ten minutes trying to figure out where I could have known her from. I was coming up empty. She didn’t go to this campus. I would have known her then. Maybe she was a transfer? More than likely, she was a party crasher. Not that I would hold that against her, the more the merrier and all that. Oh well, I’ll figure it out soon enough.

“Jenner, are you all in or not?” Ronnie asked from across the table.

“I’m in.” I answered, throwing 4 more chips into the middle of the pile.

As it was, I still had the largest pile sitting in front of me. Oliver was second and Ronnie was dead last. He had yet to learn the rules of this type of game, and the kid was an open book on his best day. When he was drinking, it got even worse. One by one, everyone placed their cards face up on the table, each one more confident than the last.

Post Malone’s “Motley Crew” blared through the speakers, as movement caught my eye. My girl and her friend were moving to the edge of the dance floor. There was my opening.

“Sorry boys. I’m gonna take a break.”

Cheers and snide remarks rose around the table. I noted how many scores I was winning so the boys couldn’t cheat before tossing my cards into Ronnie’s hand, winking as his face light up.

The boys’ loud arguments drowned out the music as I walked through the crowded room. Ronnie had laid the cards on the table, bringing his scores up even higher. Zach’s grumbling “That’s not fair!”, then Oliver’s swearing “Jenner, you wanker! Ronald, give me those cards!” Their voices faded into the background as I approached the girl I’d been watching all night.

Up close, she was even prettier than I thought. Lost in conversation with her friend, she didn’t notice my approach, giving me a few moments to think of a good opening line. First impressions were important, and this needed to be perfect. Running a hand through my hair, creating that messy look all girls loved, I cleared my throat, announcing my arrival.

Obviously, under the influence, the girl yelped. Oh great, I had startled her. She tumbled, tripping over heels that were too high as she turned, landing face first against my chest. Ok, not exactly the way I had planned on introducing myself, but I could make it work.

Catching her easily, I took a step back. My hands slipping from her waist as the air around me evaporated. My original thought was correct. I did know her, but she definitely didn’t belong here.

This particular girl had disappearing from my life as quickly as she had entered it. Taking my heart and memories with her. And now, she was standing in my living room, a long way from home, looking more beautiful than I had ever seen her.

My right hand hung in the air between us, half extended, as if it was reaching out to make sure she was real. Surely, I was having some sort of psychotic break. Someone had spiked my drink. In a state of shock, I said the only thing that came to mind.

“Katherine?”

CHAPTER 5