Into Your Arms (Squad Stories #1)(22)

We claim a spot at the end of the bar, in full view of the door.

"You gonna talk to her?" he asks. He doesn't need to say Freya's name.

"Nope. I'm playing hard to get," I say with a grin.

"You're a fucking idiot," he replies, shaking his head. I shrug and nurse my beer. I do not want to get wasted tonight. That would definitely be a bad idea. I haven't been shit-faced in a while, and the last time I got that way, it wasn't pretty.

I try not to watch the door and instead scope out the crowd. I see a few pretty girls here and there, but no one can match Freya. It's not even her physical characteristics, although those are nice. I like the way she walks. The way she moves. Her presence.

Jem nudges me and my eyes snap to the door. Speaking of Freya's presence . . .

I think about ducking under the bar so she can't see me and then sneaking out like a loser, but I would never hear the end of it from Jem. So I sit on my stool and drink my fucking beer and try not to let my eyes be drawn to her.

"She's looking at you," Jem says over the music. "I think she wants you to come over." Nope. I'm gonna leave her alone.

"Fine. If you won't, I will," he says, setting his drink down and getting up.

"What are you doing?" I ask before Jem carves his way through the crowd, heading straight for Freya, Tobi, and the rest of the cheer girls. I'm not sure what to do, so I hang back a little, but then realize what he's going to do. Fucking Jem.



       
         
       
        

I push my way through the crowd, which isn't that hard. There are quite a few advantages to being tall, and easily clearing a space to walk in a roomful of people is one of them. I reach the group just as Jem is turning on the charm. He's gone full dimple.

Freya's eyes flick to me as I sling my arm around Jem.

"You aren't bothering these lovely ladies, are you, man?" I ask, squeezing his shoulder a little hard so he gets the message.

"We were just talking. No law against that, is there?" he says, winking at Freya. She just rolls her eyes.

"Did you send him over here?" she says to me.

"Nope," I say. Jem has now turned it on for Tobi, but she's looking like she wants to kick him in the balls. Willow and Carrie are whispering together, and a few of the other girls from the squad have stopped dancing and are watching the show with interest.

"Come on, Jem. Let's not take up any more of their time, okay?" I say, but Jem has a gleam in his eye that I've seen before and don't particularly like.

"I just wanted to say hello to Freya, here. And meet the rest of your team. What's wrong with that?" Our first game is tomorrow, and Jem had joked about coming, but now I'm thinking he's definitely going to show up. Probably just to heckle me, but I would rather have him doing that than what he's doing right now.

Freya takes a breath and smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Jem. But I'm not interested in whatever it is you're selling. Thanks, but no thanks." I've never seen a girl shoot a guy down that quickly before. Jem chuckles.

"That's just fine. Anyone else interested?" He holds out his arms and turns to look around. A few of the girls snicker, and Tobi snorts and says "seriously?"

"You wound me," Jem says, pouting and then putting a hand on his heart. "Ah, you can't win 'em all. It was lovely to meet all of you, and I look forward to seeing more of you at the game tomorrow." With a quick grin, he's off again, heading for another group of girls standing near the bar.

I open my mouth to apologize, but I'm not really sure what to say.

"That's Jem?" Freya asks.

"Yup. There's really no explaining him," I say, a little embarrassed by Jem's display. He can't help himself sometimes. It's no wonder he can never get a girlfriend, even if he wanted one. He's definitely not the kind of guy a girl wants to bring home to meet their mother. Jem's more of the guy you bang in the dirty bar bathroom and never call again.

"He's . . . different," she says. It almost sounds like a question. 

"Indeed he is," I say. If Jem was still standing here, he wouldn't deny it.

"Huh," she says, turning back to Tobi. "Shall we dance?" she says, and I know she's not speaking to me. I've been dismissed. Tobi gives me a hard look so I don't try to engage Freya further in conversation.

"He's not always like that," I blurt out, and Freya turns back around. "He's a good guy, underneath all the bravado and swagger. He's had my back more times than I can count." She raises one pale eyebrow.

"So are you telling me I should go for him?" I almost gape at her. This girl always manages to knock me off the feet with the things she says. She has a little smirk on her face, and it's too cute.