I could feel her eyes on me. She had tried to escape at lunch yesterday, but now, she was looking straight at me. I shouldn’t have turned around, and I shouldn’t have winked, but I couldn’t help it. The deer caught in the headlights look was too hard to resist. When she lowered her head and muttered something under her breath, I couldn’t help but laugh. Up until yesterday, I hadn’t even been sure she knew I existed. Now all that was changing. Now I just needed to convince her that I wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought I was.

Turning my head to the side, I nudged my cousin and leaned in. “Mate, you still having a get together after the game on Friday? To celebrate the win and all?”

My cousin Jake was known for his crazy parties. It was a plus having my Aunt Helen working so far away. Jake pretty much got to do as he pleased. The parties usually ended up in a total mess with the police being called and chaos everywhere, but they were the place to be. With dirty rich parents, you could almost imagine how his house looked. It reminded me of my old house before it was repossessed and we were sent packing to the nearest hostel, waiting until Uncle Colin came to pick me up.

My Aunt Helen was Mum’s younger sister, and although she no longer spoke to my mother, she never treated me any differently to her own kids. I guess she felt sorry for me or something, which was why she took me in. She was a good woman, and I think if Mum hadn’t fallen off the wagon, Aunt Helen would've taken her in, too.

“Yeah, man. You’re gonna be there, right?”

I smirked and sank back in my chair. “Where else would I be?”

“I dunno. Mel’s?” he said, rolling his eyes. I shook my head, not bothering to answer him.

The bell rang out, signalling the end of class. Students quickly filtered out of the door in a mad hurry to get to their next class, but I held back, wanting to catch the girls before they had a chance to run out on me again. Most guys would have taken that as their cue to back off, but not me. It only made me more determined.

I loved a challenge.

I glanced behind me, noticing the empty space where Lola and her friend had been sat, and my eyes quickly darted to the door, seeing them about to leave. I gathered my shit together and took the steps two at a time, reaching for the door before it shut behind them.

“Hey, wait up,” I called out. Both girls stopped in their tracks.

Chucking my textbook in my bag, I fell into step beside them, throwing my arm around the dark haired beauty who couldn’t stand me. She instantly tensed and I chuckled lightly before going in for the kill.

“You girls coming to the party on Friday? The whole team are heading out there after the game. Looks like there’s gonna be quite a turnout.”

The girls looked at each other and the redhead raised a brow. “I’m dating Riley. Of course I’ll be there,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. I wasn’t sure Riley was aware of this. Like me, Riley didn’t date. Girls like the redhead had tried to tame us, but that was about as far as it went. It took a while, but eventually they backed off.

If only I could have said the same for Melanie.

“What about you?” I finally managed to say, nudging Lola’s petite shoulder with my own. When she didn’t acknowledge me or say a word, Brie—the redhead—jumped in.

“Umm… Lola doesn’t do parties. In fact, she hates them. Right, Lo?” she said on Lola’s behalf.

“I don’t hate them. I’m just not interested in going, that’s all.”

I’d never heard her speak before. In fact, I was beginning to think she was a mute. But when she eventually did speak, even I couldn’t ignore the twinge in my pants, despite the fact the words weren't exactly the ones I wanted to hear. Damn, her voice was fucking sexy as hell.

I gave her shoulder a squeeze and pulled her closer. “Ah, come on. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

She choked out a laugh, causing my mouth to fall open in shock. When I eventually managed to gain some form of control, I dropped my arm and stepped in front of her, forcing her eyes to mine.

“You got something to say, sweetheart?” I asked, loving the fact that her cheeks instantly flared up in embarrassment.

“Nope,” she mumbled under her breath and shook her head. I almost felt like a prick. Almost.

“I’m just messing with ya, but really, you should come.”

“If you’re trying to get in her pants, it won’t work,” Brie said.

“Why? You not into men?”

“What the hell?” Lola all but shouted, glaring daggers at her friend.

Shit. Even angry the girl was hot.

I shrugged and shot her friend a wink. “Don’t worry, Firebox, I get it. You’re not interested. It’s cool.” Then I left them to argue amongst themselves, pretty confident I’d just stirred a few thoughts in Lola’s head.