Chapter 52: Violet

Thirty minutes slide by and the bar is packed to the gills. Several other football players have joined our group. They've pulled up chairs or stand around the table laughing and talking, swigging beer from their bottles.

Where the college athletes go, the inevitable groupies who are looking for a little hookup action at the end of the night follow. They've found laps to hang out on in tiny skirts that barely cover their asses.

Thankfully, none of them have planted themselves on Sam.

I don't think I could bear that. The facade I've donned for the evening is fragile. To sit next to him and pretend that everything is normal is more difficult than I imagined. Even though I'm having a good time, I'm unbearably aware of Sam's presence beside me. The way his knee settles against mine. The subtle touches here and there. I'm wound up so tight that it feels like I could explode from the pressure building inside me.

It's only when his fingers slip gently over mine and he drags me out