Free Catching Summer by L. P. Dover Page A

through his dark blond hair. His breathing deepened and I knew he was steadily falling asleep. I pressed my lips to his and breathed him in, closing the distance. “You
are
more, Evan. And just so you know, you wouldn’t have found me in the locker room with anyone else. I’m not interested in anyone but you.” Ever so gently, I slid off the bed. “Good night.”
    I left his door open and tiptoed down the hall. Before leaving, I walked outside and picked up a few cups that were left lying around. From the size of the party, I was surprised there wasn’t more debris. There were only a few more cups left to pick up, but I stopped when I heard footsteps approaching from the side of the house. My instincts went on alert. Who the hell would be coming by this late? Panic started to set in. As quietly as I could, I raced back to the door and froze when a voice called out my name.
    “Summer? What are you doing?”
    Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned and huffed. Jaxon stood there wearing a fitted navy T-shirt, jeans, and a wolfish grin; I didn’t like it, and I sure as hell didn’t like him sneaking around. “Jax, you scared the hell out of me. What are you doing skulking around this late at night?”
    His nose was still black and blue from the other day when Evan threw the football at his face, but he wore a baseball cap to help conceal it. “I thought I would come by and see if the party was still going on. I guess it stopped early.”
    “It’s two in the morning, Jax. It’s late.”
    “Not late enough for you, I see,” he said, taking a step closer. “Do you need me to take you home?”
    I shook my head. “No, I drove and I only had one glass of wine. I think I’m okay.”
    About that time, another car pulled into the driveway. What the hell? Did Evan always have people showing up at all hours of the night? A door slammed and I rushed past Jax to the side of the house to see who it was. It was Luke, in a pair of khaki shorts and a green T-shirt,. He started toward the front door, but I stopped him.
    “It’s locked,” I shouted. His eyes went wide, but when I walked into the light, he visibly sighed.
    He approached me slowly. “I thought you were Lara.”
    “Nope, just me.”
    “And me,” Jaxon called out, coming around the corner.
    Luke narrowed his eyes, the tension growing thicker as they stared each other down. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
    I stepped out of the way as they faced off. Jaxon smirked and stood beside me. “I came to join the celebration. I happen to be a part of the team, you know,” he said.
    Luke scoffed. “Yeah, but you know very damn well you’re not welcome here.”
    “Whoa, okay, what’s going on?” I said, backing up and away from them.
    Keeping a venomous glare on Jaxon, Luke said, “Dumbfuck here has a habit of fucking people he shouldn’t. He only cares about getting pussy, no matter the cost. Evan banned him from coming here.”
    I scoffed and turned my own glare on Jax. “Then what are you doing here?”
    “I’d like to know, too,” Luke snarled.
    While they faced off, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Something moved inside the house. “Luke, someone’s inside. I just saw movement.”
    “Ah, it’s probably one of the guys who passed out on the floor somewhere. I’ll check it out.”
    Luke took off for the back door and I followed behind him. But Jaxon grabbed my arm before I could get to the door. “Maybe you should stay outside with me,” he suggested.
    “Why? It’s probably just one of the players.”
    “Yeah, but you don’t know that. Is it so bad to hang out with me for a few minutes?”
    Clenching my jaw, I looked down at his hand, which was still wrapped around my biceps. “It’s going to be bad if you don’t let me go. I’ll be happy to give you a busted lip to go with your nose.”
    Immediately, he let me go and stepped back, lifting his arms in the air. I stopped at the door and watched him disappear