Page 88 of Campus Heat

The bus rattled steadily along the highway with the steady thump of the tires settling ever so gently into the background like white noise. Outside the window, the late fall trees blurred past in streaks of rust and gold. And the full gray hue in the sky promised to deliver cold rain later in the afternoon.

I sat halfway down the bus with Jenna and two other girls from the cheer squad. Luckily, I had sworn Jenna to secrecy, so for now my secret library encounters with Ethan would remain secret. That was just part of the problem, though. Ethan himself had been bothering me a lot today. I tucked my legs slightly sideways and balanced them against the seat in front of me. A half-empty bag of pretzels rested on my lap, but I hadn’t touched it in what felt like an eternity.

I sighed. I had tried so very hard not to look down the aisle, but I was failing miserably. My eyes flickered up again before I could stop myself. Three rows in front of me, Ethan sat with Cam, Dylan, Malik, and Lucas. The guys had turned the space between their seats into a full-blown card table with the trays flipped down and pushed together like they were running a high-class casino instead of riding the bus to their next away game.

Ethan’s long legs were stretched slightly into the aisle as he held his cards in one hand while the other rested comfortably against Cam’s seat. Everything looked so calm and enjoyable until Lucas slammed his cards down dramatically.

“Boom! Suck on that, gentlemen,” he said, looking all proud. “Three of a kind.”

“Bullshit!” Dylan said immediately.

Lucas gave him a wicked grin. “Check it out for yourself.”

Cam leaned forward to inspect the card, and his body instantly stiffened. “Damnit.”

Malik laughed from his seat across the aisle. I leaned forward and watched with fascinated amusement, relieved that Jenna wasn’t pushing the buttons with my distraction.

“What are you supposed to be playing?” one of the other guys asked.

“Texas Hold’em,” Lucas said smugly.

“This isn’t Texas Hold’em,” Dylan said, shaking his head. “You’ve changed the rules like four times already.”

“I was just being innovative,” Lucas scoffed.

“You’ve been cheating,” Dylan mumbled, clearly getting upset with the shenanigans.

Ethan chuckled before throwing his cards down on the table and leaning back in his chair. He looked so relaxed, which confused me even more.

“You just can’t handle losing,” Lucas said smugly.

Dylan leaned back in his seat as his frustration became even more clear. “Oh, I’m going to handle it alright. I’m about to flip this entire table.”

“If you flip the table, you owe me ten bucks,” Cam interjected.

I tried not to stare, but it was impossible not to watch them. The energy from their section of the bus kept spilling backward and infecting us all. There was so much laughter mixed with the occasional banter and, of course, the random person leaning into the aisle to accuse someone else of cheating now and then.

Jenna followed my gaze. “Poker?”

“Apparently, but according to Dylan, there’s too much cheating for it to be called that.”

“That’s a dangerous game,” Jenna said, nodding.

“Why?” I asked, confused by the random statement.

“Because athletes get competitive about literally everything.”

I turned my attention back to the guys and frowned. I was a very competitive person, but I didn’t bring that into games with friends, so I didn’t think her point was very accurate. Then, as if on cue, Dylan slapped down on his tray.

“You hid a card!” he accused.

“I did no such thing!” Lucas said, feigning innocence.

“I saw it peeking out from under your sleeve.” Dylan grabbed his jacket and shoved the sleeve back. “I’ll find it and prove my point once and for all.”

Malik ran a hand down his face and groaned. Ethan put his cards down but still placed a protective hand over them. And Cam seemed to be consumed by the carnage in front of him.

“I swear to God if you idiots start flipping seats over,” Malik warned.