Afterglow (BWWM)

Chapter 2

As soon as I entered the bar, I knew I'd made a mistake.

Franky's was packed wall to wall with students and alumni. The smoke-filled air, sticky floor, and bad music were the first things I noticed when Lindsay and I walked through the door. I was instantly reminded why I avoided this place.

I pulled my jacket closed over the dress Lindsay gave me to wear. I still cringed when I thought about the fact that I left the house in this thing. The red monstrosity Lindsay called a dress looked more like an extended one-piece swimsuit. It was so formfitting and shiny. I felt like I was wearing a dress made out of neoprene. Lindsay thought I looked amazing. She convinced me to leave my glasses at home and she wanted me to wear my hair down to finish the look but I fought to keep my messy bun. I had to draw the line with Lindsay or she would have me looking like Nicki Minaj every time I left the apartment.

I checked my dress one last time to make sure everything was covered and then I looked around the sport themed bar. There were so many people packed in here, it was impossible to move without bumping into someone.

"Okay, we came. Can we go now?" I yelled over the loud music.

"No way." Lindsay linked her arm through mine so I couldn't escape as we squeezed by body after body. "Part of the bet includes celebrating with the team, Ally. You have to stay for at least two hours and that's generous of me since I could make you stay till closing, but I'd rather not put you in a situation where you could potentially murder someone. I know how you get when you're cranky and in a crowd, so I'm going easy on you."

"If you really want to keep me out of prison, you would let me go back to the apartment."

Lindsay released me and hit me with her baby blues and turned their intensity up full blast. I had to take a step back to deflect some of the glare. "Are you backing out on me? If you want to go, then go. I'm not going to force you to stay and keep your word to pay up on the bet you lost. But if you choose to have some integrity and stay, these are the terms."

How could I leave now when that will apparently mean that I have no integrity? Lindsay and damn her guilt trips. I felt sorry for her future children. She looked at me with her brow raised.

"I'll stay," I droned.

"You won't regret it, Ally!" Her arm wrapped around mine again. "We're going to have so much fun. I promise."

Lindsay dragged me straight to the back of the bar where the football players all sat together. A group of approximately forty guys, each of whom were easily twice my size, and an unknown number of females were crammed into run down leather booths and whoever didn't get a seat lined the walls nearby.

Even with everything going on, I spotted the object of my affection right away.

Brandon.

Sigh.

His dark skin resembled bronze and his short, afro curls gleamed a soft black under the bar's dim lighting. The touchable coils wrapped themselves enticingly around his head adding a boyish charm to his chiseled features. I'd give anything to run my fingers through them. My entire body yearned at the sight.

Everything about him was sexy to me, but it was his lips that did me in. His full mouth had to be the most kissable on the planet. They were the perfectly plump, not too big or too wide. They were the right shade of pink, too, not too light, not too dark. His biceps bulged every time he raised his beer to those incredible lips and his fitted shirt stretched across tight abs and his defined chest.

As Lindsay and I walked closer, Brandon's eyes locked with mine. He grinned at me and my cheeks flamed. I offered him a shy smile and gave in to the sudden urge to fidget.