Ryan Hunter

again, so I grabbed the first familiar girl I saw and pulled her to my side. “Sorry to disappoint you,” I told a baffled Sandy. “But I just came over to get my girl.” I tilted my head to see who my girl actually was and found myself nose to nose with Cloey. She lifted a delicate brow at me but was cool enough to handle the moment. “You ready to come back to the table with me, hun?” I said through a grin.
    Cloey caused me a second of panic, but then she smiled. “Of course, baby. Let me just tell the girls that we’re moving. And that you agreed to pay for a round.”
    I gritted my teeth behind a tight smile, but the rescue was worth it. With my arm still around Cloey, I walked her over to our table in the back, knowing that Sandy would stare after us with those disappointed navy blues.
    Cloey played her part a little too well. She overdid it when she wrapped her arm around my waist and shoved her hand into the back pocket of my jeans.
    “Hands out of there, Summers,” I growled, but kept her tucked to my side.
    “Why? You have a sexy ass, Hunter.” She laughed and pinched my butt cheek before she moved her hand out of the pocket and up to safer grounds.
    The guys had found chairs for the ladies, and I was more than happy when I could let go of Cloey and slump back into my seat.
    “Wow, this looks like you’ve been expecting us,” she said as they all sat down. “What’s up?”
    “There’s something we want to discuss with you,” I replied.
    “Really? And here I thought you only wanted to use one girl to escape another.”
    I grimaced. “Yeah…thanks for that.” Then I ordered sodas for all of us, and we told the girls what we had in mind.
    All of them were intrigued by the idea, especially since they didn’t have a girls’ team back in Grover Beach. The most they could play soccer was in gym class, and only when their teacher had a good day.
    “I know of a few girls at school who would love to be on a team,” Brinna said. “If you don’t mind that they aren’t all going to be seniors next year.”
    “It’s actually only Sasha, Tyler, and myself, who are going to be seniors on our team,” I pointed out. “So you don’t have to worry.”
    “Cool. I can text a few girls back home and we can all meet up when we’re back. How many girls do you need for the co-ed team?”
    “I guess it makes sense to split the team in half, so eleven players would be good. If there are more who want to join, we’ll have to hold tryouts.”
    The evening wore on a few more hours, before we finally left the bar together.
    “Everybody grab a girl,” Alex said over his shoulder with a grin as we passed Sandy and her lionesses by the bar.
    I wanted to tuck Cloey under my arm again, because she was walking next to me, but the blonde gave me a grim look. “Take Brinna,” she snapped, then she hooked her arm through Tony’s and cast him a flirtatious smile. “I want to be his girlfriend for the walk out.”
    Mitchell raked a hand through his blond hair and let loose a shit-eating grin. “Sorry, Hunter.”
    He didn’t have to be. Brinna was as good a match as anyone, and I released her as soon as the door had fallen shut behind us. However, Cloey clung to Mitchell’s arm the entire way home. Later, I got an update from Frederickson on the flirting that had apparently been going on all evening, and which I had completely missed.
    Summers and Mitchell? Now, why did that thought make me grin to myself?
    Back at camp, I threw a quarter into the soda machine in the hall, just to get a chance to see how Tony and Cloey would part tonight. Knowing Cloey, I was sure she’d go for a kiss, and if she did, this could finally be my chance with Liza. If Tony was taken, she’d sooner or later realize that he wasn’t the only boy in the world.
    I took a swig of Coke, watching them from the corner of my eye. To my total frustration, they didn’t kiss. They didn’t even talk about meeting the next morning at soccer training. All they said was “Goodnight,” and Cloey added, “Sleep tight, Anthony.”
    Tony waited for me when she was gone and, together, we climbed the steps to the boys’ dorm. I didn’t touch on the topic, and neither did he.

Chapter 2
     
    CLOEY SUMMERS WAS the female equivalent to me. Heading from one fling into the next, enjoying uncomplicated relationships that lasted about two to three weeks maximum and left us free of any ties. I was perfectly aware of the term womanizer or school