If he kept his hands to himself, I could see us being friends. Honestly, we might already be friends, considering the surprising amount of information he’d gotten from me since we’d met. I frowned at the thought. Friendships weren’t a thing I did with any amount of confidence, but Derrick made it easy to like him, easy to forget athletes like him couldn’t be trusted.

He touched my back to urge me forward, and I wondered what would happen if he didn’t keep his hands to himself. I may suck at friendships, but there were other ways Derrick could meet my needs without requiring me to be vulnerable.

A smile tipped up my lips. Thus far, he’d been the driving force in our relationship, but Derrick wasn’t the only one who could play this game. Maybe I’d do some tempting of my own.

I stepped into the humid sunshine and threw a little swing into my hips as I led the way across campus.

4

NADIA

Derrick wasn’t kidding about the healthy stuff. It looked like the school had bought out a Whole Foods and transported it to the special, athletes-only eating hall. He’d failed to mention that all the athletes ate here. I expected to stand out, but no one paid me any attention. Even more surprising, no one paid Derrick any attention either.

After having to stop every four feet on the way across campus so people could tell him how much they loved him, it was kind of nice to just get our food and find a table without the fanfare. No wonder he’d wanted to eat here.

We chose a spot in the corner, away from most of the other students. After we’d set down our food, Derrick hopped back up to get us both drinks, and I watched him through my lashes. Maybe I’d been too quick to dismiss his gentlemanly tendencies. Even here, he had a smile and nice word for most of the people he passed. If I wasn’t careful, he’d ruin my impression of hotshot jocks.

Judging from the trio of blondes in our class that continued to sit in front of the Derrick Asher, the football players could have their pick of dates. All the guys had to do was feign a little bit of interest and the groupies would be tossing undies at them left and right. Except Derrick either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

What did that make me when I couldn’t seem to tear my attention away from him either? To prove myself above the groupies, I scanned the room, but like a magnet, my eyes returned to Derrick. I sighed—at least I wasn’t openly ogling him. Okay, maybe my gaze lingered on his ass longer than necessary, but it was a really nice ass. I’m only human.