Tex waved at them. “Hi, I’m gay.” He stood and stepped toward us. “Hey, I’ll let you two make whatever poor decisions you’re about to make and catch an Uber. I’m tired anyway.”
“You sure?” Malik eyed him. “Maybe next time we can hit up the gay bar down the street.”
There was a gay bar down the street? My brows flicked up. Could I handle a place like that? I’d never tried it. But, fuck, both my roommates were queer. It was only fair to them. “Yeah, next time we’ll do that.”
Malik’s gaze swung to mine, and he chewed his lower lip. “You sure about that?”
With a shrug, I said, “Why the hell not? I can handle it.” As long as I had Malik by my side, everything would be fine.
“Okay then, I’ll leave you to it.” Tex patted my shoulder and then Malik’s. “See you both at home.” After briefly greeting the women, he lumbered from the bar.
“Let’s sit at your table. It’s bigger.” The brunette said while curling her hair around a finger.
“Sure.” I stepped to the table and tugged Malik beside me onto the bench seat. “What’s your name?” I observed the brunette situated beside me, while her two friends, blondes, sat opposite us.
“Carrie.” She ran her tongue across her lower lip and waved her hand at the blonde on the left. “And this is Jenny.”
Jenny wiggled her fingers at us. “Hi.”
“And my other friend there is Riley.” Carrie set her forearm on the table.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” I stretched my hand out, giving each of them a quick, loose handshake. “I’m Greyson, but you can call me Grey.”
“Who’s your friend?” Riley eyed Malik and licked her lips.
“Name’s Malik.” He poured beer into our glasses. “Do you girls want drinks?”
“Sure, are you buying?” Carrie asked, inching closer to my side.
“I am.” My gaze swept the room for our server. The girls seemed nice enough.
“Hey, aren’t you Malik Thompson, the running back for the football team?” Riley narrowed her dark eyes at him.
“Yeah, that’s me.” He drank some beer. “Do you go to the games?”
“Sure.” Riley gave him a wide grin. “And what about you, Grey?”
“I’m also on the football team, but I transferred from Cornell this year. I’ll be playing running back as well, second string behind Malik.” Would all the attention be on Malik now?
All gazes swept to him. With a quick chuckle, Malik said, “But Grey here is a fantastic player. I’m sure Coach will play him in the fourth quarter, when we’re beating the shit out of U of A.” He wagged his brows at me.
I could always count on Malik to pump me up. “Thanks, man.” I squeezed his thigh. “What are you girls studying?”
Carrie said, “We’re all studying business. We’re going into our junior year.”
“Oh, I’m studying business too.” Would any of them be in my classes? But I was a senior, so maybe not.
“What about you, Malik?” Riley ran her gaze over him.
“I’m studying biology. In case football didn’t pan out, I wanted to be a medical researcher. You know, maybe find the cure for cancer or some shit.” With a clipped laugh, he sipped his beer.
Our server stopped at the table, and the girls ordered mixed drinks while Malik and I got another round of beer.
Riley wrapped her hand around Malik’s forearm, resting on the table. “So, you’re athleticandsmart.”
Squirming closer to me, Malik said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He glanced at me. “Grey’s pretty smart too, aren’t you, dude? If he doesn’t make it in football, he’s going to Harvard for his MBA.”
All the women’s attention drew to me while their lips parted, Carrie saying, “Where are you from, Grey?” She wrapped an arm around mine and leaned in. “You look like a model.”