Player (What Happens on Campus Book 1) by M L Sparrow

funny?”
    “What are knickers?” Riley asked, still cackling with laughter, “It sounds like something my Nana would wear.”
    “Very funny.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Come on, quit laughing and help me.”
    “Sorry,” she said unrepentantly, holding up a hand, the other one still covering her mouth to hide her mirth.
    Unimpressed, Chloe arched an eyebrow, which only made Riley laugh harder. “Do you need a minute?”
    “Yes, please,” she sputtered. A few minutes later, she finally sobered. Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, she folded her hands in her lap, all demure, as if nothing had interrupted the conversation. “So, you and Parker have all the parts of a relationship, except the sex?”
    “Pretty much, yeah.”
    “Are either of you having sex with other people?”
    “I’m definitely not, I don’t know about him.”
    “It sounds like we need to do a bit of recon,” she exclaimed, her bright eyes gleaming as she all but bounced in place. “This is going to be so fun!”
    “We are not spying on Parker. Anyway, what would be the point, he’s always with us when he’s not in class, or at practice. When does he have the chance to get down and dirty?”
    “Oh, there is always time for sex,” Riley assured her, “and lots of covert places to do it.” Holding up a hand, she began to count on her fingers, “Storerooms, dark corners, unlocked bedrooms, toilets…”
    “Really, toilets? That’s disgusting.”
    Riley just shrugged, smirking. Not for the first time Chloe wondered who the real Riley was, the innocent, over-excitable girl who’d never been to a party, or the flirty, sexually-experienced temptress.
    Deciding to change the subject, Chloe asked, “Is Joey coming to the game with us tomorrow?” Over the past month Riley and Joey had grown close and she had been staying around his most nights – it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were doing.
    “He’s going with his friends, so we might cross paths,” she shrugged, not looking particularly bothered by the fact that her boyfriend wasn’t hanging out with them, which was good because Terri, Jet and even Parker had made it obvious that he wasn’t welcome.
    It wasn’t that he was outright offensive, but there was just something about him that rubbed everyone up the wrong way. There was a cunningness beneath his amiable smile. Riley was the only one who didn’t see it, either that or she just didn’t care. Some girls liked bad boys after all – wasn’t that part of the reason she was attracted to Parker? – it just worried Chloe exactly how bad Joey might be.
    The next day, Saturday, they both rose early and headed down to the canteen to get breakfast, before heading back up to their room to prepare for the game, which the whole school had been getting hyped up about all week. After showering, Chloe stepped out of the bathroom to find Riley wearing a football jersey and a seriously short denim skirt.
    “I didn’t peg you as a football fan.”
    “My dad played in the NFL,” she explained, “once he retired he became a sport commentator, so Terri and I pretty much grew up with it.” Suddenly something occurred to her and her head snapped up. “What are you going to wear?”
    Gesturing vaguely at the wardrobe, she shrugged, “Shorts and a tank top I suppose.”
    Riley wrinkled her nose. “It’s a shame I don’t have a spare jersey.”
    “It’s fine,” Chloe waved her off, “I’m sure no one’s going to care if I’m not wearing the correct uniform.”
    Luckily for her she was right; when they arrived at the pitch it was to see that many of the spectators were in normal clothes. With the bustle and noise, it seemed like a huge party. Pretty much the whole school had come to see the first game of the season and they were all chatting excitedly, bustling to find seats. Parents and staff had also turned out in force and were watching the cheerleaders who were already on the field, dutifully adding to the