We've been in Vegas for less than an hour, and I'm already drunk.

When Nia said we were going hard for our senior year spring break, I didn't exactly know what she meant, but when she poured us five shots of vodka each, I quickly realized that she had absolutely no intention of us being sober for the remainder of the day.

I downed the first four shots fine, but I messed up on the fifth and couldn't seem to swallow no matter how hard I tried. I ended up almost spitting out the shot until I caught Nia's eye, and she gave me the if you spit that out, I will literally kill you and bring you back to life to take two more shots look that she always gives me whenever it happens. The liquor burned like hell when it finally went down, and I chugged an entire juice box after since it was the only non-alcoholic thing I could find in our room. The warmth spread through me almost instantly as I fell onto the single king-sized bed.

I'm pretty sure half of Pullman was on our plane here. When we boarded, I was planning on sitting with the rest of the students in the front of the plane, but when Tristan took my suitcase and loaded it into the overhead bin next to his in the back with the rest of his teammates, I didn't argue. James looked over at his coach, who was staring at us with an apathetic scowl, and when James turned back, he took Jenny's suitcase and did the same.

We were barely settled into our seats when their coach ambled forward and booted James and Jenny to the row behind us, though. He made Luke sit next to Tristan and me instead, mumbling something about needing to separate him from Micah "for the safety of this entire aircraft." All he had to do was point to the seat beside me, and Luke dropped into it without argument. I think it had something to do with the near-feral gleam in his eye that clearly said, fucking try me, McConnell, I'm not in the mood.

I sat between Tristan and Luke for the entire flight, which would have been fine if I could have just melted into Tristan's arms and read my book while he napped, but I could tell by Luke's constant attempts at conversation that, while he'd never admit it, he's a nervous flyer. We talked about the most random things, and I'd be willing to bet that he spent his entire night watching The Hangover because I've never in my life heard someone slip so many movie quotes into a single conversation with such ease. Every time he managed to do it, his lips quirked up as if he was waiting for me to realize, and whenever I did, I always laughed because as ridiculous and immature as it is, The Hangover is my favorite comedy too.

When we landed and shuttled to the hotel, it was apparent that their coach had no intention of letting them relax until after the game tomorrow. Tristan barely had time to press a quick kiss to my lips before getting yelled at to get in line so his coach could give out room assignments.

Nia had pulled Jenny and me into the elevators before I could catch Tristan's room number, but it doesn't even matter because according to the itinerary that Nia made for us, the entirety of today is a dedicated girls' day—meaning no boyfriends or situationships allowed.

So now I'm here, sprawled out on the king-size bed with a ridiculous drunken grin on my face. I watch Jenny dance around the room as her music blasts loudly through the speaker, and when she jumps onto the bed next to me, she extends her hand to me.

"Come on, Abby Bear, dance with me. We're celebrating."

"Celebrating what?" I laugh, watching her sway her hips to the music as she wiggles her brows, trying to lure me into her drunken dance party.

"Everything—spring break, Vegas, your article, all of it. We're celebrating all of it."

Her smile is blinding. Although I know it's not just because of the liquor coursing through her right now; it's because she's just as excited about my article as I am. I wasn't very conspicuous when Tristan and I walked into the bar the other night after we left the library, only it wasn't about the sex we just had; it was about the quote I'd just secured from Brenda Morgan. I practically ran across the bar, wide-eyed and panting as I flashed my phone in front of their faces. Tristan wasn't far behind, beaming at me the entire time I explained why the quote was so important. He'd been a trouper. He sat in the O'Malley's parking lot for twenty minutes with me while I added the quote into my article, and after proofreading it out loud twice, I finally pressed the submit button.

I checked the university's newspaper website every thirty minutes after sending it to Paige, just waiting for the new issue to drop, and when it finally did the following day, we spent the entire morning at brunch, celebrating with bottomless mimosas and more waffles than I'm willing to admit. But Jenny's right, we're in Vegas, it's spring break, and after submitting that article, I deserve to celebrate. We deserve to celebrate.

Grinning up at her, I take her hand, letting her pull me up to join her impromptu concert. We're halfway through screaming out the lyrics to the heartbreak song that doesn't even remotely apply to either of us when three loud knocks echo through the room. I jump off the bed and turn down the music a little on my way to the door, already preparing myself for the noise complaint, but instead of an annoyed hotel worker, four familiar faces grin down at me when I pull open the door.

"I see you've started without us." Luke raises a brow, walking past me straight to the open bottle of Grey Goose on the table. Micah follows him in, flashing a lazy grin as he passes.

James makes a beeline for Jenny, who's already started jumping on the bed again, and that's when my gaze focuses on Tristan, still leaning against the doorway with an amused grin pulling at his lips.

"New man on the Vikings, huh? Should I be worried?"

I raise a brow as if genuinely contemplating it but break into a smile when he reaches out to grab me. His arms wrap around me, pulling me against his warm, hard chest as he guides us further into the room enough for the door to close behind us. Leaning down, he presses a soft kiss to my lips. It's innocent enough not to draw attention, but when he pulls away, I sigh at the loss of contact.

"I thought you guys were going to be in practice all day," I muse, wrapping my arms around his waist as I nuzzle into his chest again.

"We've got to be down in the lobby in five; we just wanted to come to see your room before we go." His hands cup my cheeks, tilting my head back to reconnect our lips. This kiss isn't as innocent as the last, and I'm breathless when we break apart at the sound of Nia's voice.

"Excuse me." She claps her hands impatiently before planting them on her hips as one perfectly sculpted brow cocks. James and Jenny are lying in a tangled mess of limbs behind her, and Luke and Micah are bent down, raiding our mini-fridge. They both pocket a few travel-sized bottles of vodka before standing up, giving Nia their full attention.

"If you have a penis, I'm going to need you to exit the room immediately," she says, pointing toward the door. "This is a girls-only room until the stroke of midnight. We have a strict schedule to stick to for our girls' day."

Jenny places a loud kiss on James's cheek and then smacks his butt, nodding for him to untangle his legs from hers and roll off the bed. He pulls a look of mock betrayal onto his face as he looks between her and Nia as if offended that she sided with Nia's no-boys rule. Tristan's arms tighten around my waist at her words, and he buries his face in my neck as he brushes a soft kiss against my throat, silently begging me to let him stay for a little longer.

"You heard the woman, get out of here." Jenny grins, slapping James's butt again when he lingers by the bed.

"Wait, what about tonight?" he asks. His eyes flick up to Nia, who's now crossing her arms with a raised brow, and he starts walking toward the door with his hands up, as if to say, I'm going, I'm going. "Are we switching rooms or . . ." he trails off, pausing by Tristan, who's still holding onto me tightly, as if his grip on me might save him from getting booted out, too.

"I'll text you." Jenny grins.

"We're in 2503," he says, digging into his pocket before dropping a room key onto the desk. His cheek twitches as he looks back at Jenny, and with one last look up at Nia, he grins, giving a salute of defeat before turning and walking out into the hall. She has a satisfied smile on her lips as she watches him go.

Luke and Micah both grin down at me on their way out, and I catch the travel-size bottles of liquor inconspicuously tucked in their pockets as they go. When I look back up at Nia, her gaze falls to Tristan from her perch on the bed, and he groans into my neck.

"Out, Beck." She points to the door. "She's mine for the next ten hours."

He gives a loud, defeated sigh before placing a kiss on my shoulder and retreating toward the door. I have to hold back a smile as I follow him out because even though Nia is the shortest one in the room, she's clearly the most intimidating. I hold open the door as he walks out, catching his amused grin when he turns around.

"I'll see you later?" he asks. I know he's really asking if I'm going to sneak up to his room later or have him sneak down here, or some variation where we all have our privacy somehow, but that's going to be a little hard to organize since the boys are likely two to a room, and we're all sharing one king-sized bed here. Unless one couple opts to sleep somewhere else, that's not likely to work out.

"I'll text you." I grin, echoing Jenny's words, but we both know that it's a probably not.

He presses a kiss on my cheek as he pulls me in. "Be safe, Abs. Don't let Nia get you into too much trouble tonight."

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises. I'm a wild woman, remember?" I smile.

"That you are." He nods, grabbing my chin. His kiss is soft at first, and then his tongue is slipping into my lips, and I'm threading my fingers in his hair as he walks me back, pressing me against the wall. I forget where we are until the impatient whine of his teammates waiting by the elevator echoes down the hall. When he finally pulls away, he grins down at me, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind my ear before stepping back and following his teammates onto the waiting elevator.

As the door clicks shut behind me, I catch Jenny pulling on her tiny black bikini while Nia fumbles in her suitcase, trying to find the matching top to the red bottoms she has on. When she looks up from the explosion of clothes on the bed, she grins. "Now that the penises are gone . . ." She stands back up, her red bikini top swaying from her hands as she secures a sunhat on her black bob. "Let the games begin, ladies."