Chapter 6

Cole

I always get the girl.

It’s not something I usually say out loud because it sounds like something an asshole would say.

But it doesn’t make it any less true.

Girls have always been easy.

Not because I think I’m God’s gift to women.

Not because I spend my time chasing them.

It’s just… simple.

A smile.

A little confidence.

A conversation.

The ending usually writes itself.

That’s part of being Cole Ryder.

Part of being the football captain.

Part of being the guy everyone assumes has life figured out.

People look at me and think everything comes easy.

Football.

Friends.

Women.

The truth?

Most of it does.

Or at least it used to.

Because right now, I’m standing in my own hallway watching Maya walk away.

And I hate it.

The worst part?

I don’t even think she’s doing it on purpose.

Maya isn’t playing games.

She isn’t trying to make me chase her.

She genuinely thinks leaving is the reasonable thing to do.

Which somehow makes it worse.

“Come on, lady in red.”

Bree hooks her arm through Maya’s and starts pulling her toward the stairs.

Maya glances back once.

Just once.

And that tiny look hits harder than it should.

Then she’s gone.

The sound of the front door opening reaches me a few seconds later.

Then it closes.

Silence.

I stare at the empty hallway.

The same hallway that felt way too small five minutes ago suddenly feels way too big.

“Well.”

I don’t even have to turn around.

I know that voice.

Parker.

One of my teammates.

Professional pain in my ass.

I close my eyes.

Slowly.

“What?”

“Damn.”

I turn around.

Parker is leaning against the wall.

Two other teammates stand beside him.

All three of them are grinning.

Which means I’m about to hate this conversation.

“Damn what?”

He gestures toward the front door.

“That was brutal.”

My jaw tightens.

“Nothing happened.”

“Exactly.”

The idiots start laughing.

I immediately regret not running extra conditioning drills during practice.

If I’d worked them harder, they might not have enough energy for this.

Parker points toward the stairs.

“Did the great Rogue Ryder just get left standing in his own hallway?”

“No.”

“Looked like it.”

“She went home.”

“Without kissing you.”

I hate all of them.

Every single one.

A second teammate whistles.

“Wow.”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously.”

He shakes his head.

“I’ve never seen that before.”

“Seen what?”

“You trying.”

The words hit harder than they should.

Because he’s right.

Usually I don’t try.

I don’t have to.

Girls flirt.

Girls approach me.

Girls make things easy.

Maya…

Maya showed up to mess with me and somehow ended up completely wrecking my evening.

Parker studies me.

Then he starts smiling.

A slow smile.

The kind that means trouble.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“You like her.”

I laugh.

Immediately.

Too quickly.

The wrong answer.

Three sets of eyebrows shoot up.

Damn it.

“No.”

“Ryder.”

“No.”

“Buddy.”

“No.”

Parker folds his arms.

“Your coach just threatened your future. You sprinted upstairs the second he left.”

I don’t respond.

“To find her.”

Still nothing.

“Then you stood in a hallway looking like someone stole your puppy.”

“I did not.”

“You absolutely did.”

The guys lose it.

Laughing.

Pointing.

Being generally useless.

I drag a hand through my hair.

“Can you all leave?”

Parker ignores me.

“What’s her name?”

“You know her name.”

“Maya.”

He nods thoughtfully.

“The pizza girl.”

I point at him.

“Don’t call her that.”

The second the words leave my mouth, I know I’ve made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

The hallway goes silent.

Parker’s grin grows.

“Oh my God.”

“No.”

“Oh my God.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s exactly like that.”

One of the guys looks genuinely concerned.

“For your sake, I hope she’s not a psychology major.”

“What?”

“They’re terrifying.”

“She’s not.”

Parker looks at me.

“You know her major?”

I swear under my breath.

The idiots start laughing again.

This is a disaster.

An absolute disaster.

And somehow it’s still better than watching Maya leave.

Which is a problem.

A massive problem.

Because now I’m standing here thinking about whether she made it home safely.

Whether she’s laughing with Bree right now.

Whether she’s talking about me.

Whether she’ll show up tomorrow.

Whether she’ll avoid me.

Whether—

Yeah.

Definitely a problem.

Parker bumps my shoulder.

“You’re smiling.”

I immediately stop smiling.

“I wasn’t smiling.”

“You were.”

“No.”

“You looked happy.”

I glare at him.

He grins right back.

“Rogue Ryder is cooked.”

“Nobody says cooked.”

“We do now.”

The guys start heading downstairs, still laughing.

Still throwing comments over their shoulders.

“Night, Romeo.”

“Don’t text her too fast.”

“Try not to stare out the window waiting for her.”

I flip them off.

Maturely.

Professionally.

As a team captain should.

Their laughter echoes through the house.

Eventually, I’m alone again.

The hallway is quiet.

The party is over.

The night should be over too.

Instead, I find myself walking toward the window overlooking the yard.

And there she is.

Across the lawn.

Standing under the porch light next door.

Bree is talking with her about something.

Maya laughs.

Even from here, I recognize it.

Then, like she can somehow feel me watching, her head turns.

For half a second, our eyes meet across the darkness.

Neither of us moves.

Then she shakes her head.

Almost like she’s annoyed with herself.

And disappears inside.

The porch light shuts off.

I stand there for another second.

Maybe two.

Then I laugh quietly to myself.

Because this is ridiculous.

Completely ridiculous.

I’ve known her for what?

A week?

And somehow she’s already the most interesting thing in my life.

I shove my hands into my pockets and head downstairs.

But one thought follows me the entire way.

I always get the girl.

That’s the story everybody tells.

The story everybody expects.

The story I’ve never questioned before.

But Maya?

Maya isn’t a trophy.

She isn’t a game.

And for the first time in a long time…

I don’t think I want to win.

I think I want the chance to earn it.