“Well, fuck, ’Han. That’s the shits,” Finn said as we rolled into the gym at dark-thirty for our regular Monday morning lift.
“Ya think?” I dropped my duffel on the floor in front of a bench by the door and pulled out my lifting shoes. As I laced them up, I said, “Maybe now you see the trouble those jersey chasers cause when you let them hang around.”
“Aw, Jesus, I’m sorry.” His tone was glum. “I thought they liked me. And I liked the attention.”
“Understandable. I imagine more than one of those freshmen does like you, fine specimen that you are.”
That perked my friend up a bit.
“Unfortunately, they’re learning the ropes from that viper Tory Miller.” I stood and stretched my torso from side to side. “After what went down with her sister and Freeman when we were freshmen, none of us should spend even five minutes with that girl.” My pointed glare emphasized my meaning.
Finn stared dejectedly at his feet. “I didn’t realize they were related.”
I snorted and his head shot up with his hands.
“What? Miller is a common last name.”
I cuffed him on the back of the head. “The seniors on the team warned us last year.”
His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t listen either. Didn’t Stan catch you mackin’ on her against a wall in Delta Nu last spring?”
Running my hands through my hair and down my face, I said, “Yeah. Except you got it backward. She pushed me against the wall and went to town. I was smashed and had no idea who she even was.”
“Now you do.”
“Before she makes an even bigger mess for anyone else or manages to actually date one of us, the whole team is going to know who she is.” I headed over to a rack of barbells, loaded fifty pounds of weight each on two, and started warming up with a set of curls. “The steroid accusation Tory’s sister made against Freeman was easily refutable with a drug test. Uncovering the truth about the abuse accusation only happened on accident. But she wouldn’t have been able to level it at all if Freeman hadn’t dated her.”
Finn stepped over to the rack, loaded his own set of weights, and started his reps. “Coach is right about only taking out your aggression during practice and games.”
“One hundred percent.” A picture of Jamaica’s soft skin flashed through my mind, and bile rose in my throat at the thought of putting a single bruise on it. “Which is why Celia Miller’s accusations are still dogging Freeman in the pros even after they were proved unequivocally false. Fortunately, there are few entitled girls like her, but when you run into one you make sure not to tangle yourself up with her.” Narrowing my eyes at him in the mirror, I added, “Or her sister.”
“None of this solves your current problem,” he reminded me.
I finished my set, racked the weights, stretched my arms over my head, and blew out a breath. “I know.”
Grabbing the weights again, I finished another set of reps in silence, but inside I was seething. Where the fuck did Buzz Miller get off thinking he could blackmail me into dating his daughter? And why me? Sure, I was technically a college senior, but thanks to redshirting my freshman year, I still had a year of football eligibility left, and I planned to help the team to consecutive conference championships, maybe even a national championship. The NFL draft could wait. I wanted my senior year. So I wasn’t a candidate for whatever NFL dream that dick was after by yoking some poor schmuck to one of his girls.
But my family wasn’t rich. Comfortable, but not rich. Dad was already putting my younger sisters through school, so I not only needed my scholarship but also my sponsorship. Between classes, practice, and games, I didn’t have time for a job to pay for little things—like food. Buzz Miller threatening to force the restaurant to drop me if I didn’t drop Jamaica and start dating Tory made me want to throw the weights in my hands right through the wall.
Finn wiped down his weights and racked them. “You know, the other guys in the house can cover your groceries until you find another sponsor.”
“Except who will sponsor me if Copper drops me?” My weights hit the rack with enough force to rattle it against the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. “’Cause you know they’ll have to make up a reason, and no doubt that reason will be highly discrediting and difficult to refute.”
I stomped over to the bench and started loading weights on the bar. “Spot me.”
Positioning myself beneath the weights, I set my hands exactly as I liked them. Yes, I was mad as hell—and more than a little bit scared about the immediate future—but I wasn’t an idiot. I paid attention to what I was doing. Still, I pushed the weight with more aggression than maybe was called for as I envisioned smashing every rep as an uppercut to a particular alumni donor’s chin.
Hopping up from the bench, I gestured for my friend to take his turn right as Danny walked over to join us. “Hey, man. Heard you’re in a spot with a donor.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “Word travels fast.”
He smirked. “We live in a small house.”
“Who else knows?” I directed the question to Finn, who studiously blew out his breath with every rep.
When he racked the bar and sat up, he said, “Bax.”
I glared at him.
His shoulders came up to his ears. “Like Danny said, we live in a small house.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I might have mentioned something to Fitz.” He put his hands up in a defensive gesture. “But that’s all.”
I shook my head. “Why do I tell you anything?”
Across the room I saw Danny’s brows go up, but he kept his mouth shut. As the new guy, he had a strong sense of when to stay quiet.
“Listen, Fitzy is pre-law. I thought he might know a way around your predicament. That’s all.” Finn took his place to spot my next set. “I mean unless you’re going to give in and date Tory.”
In the moment, I wished for that superpower where I could shoot fire from my eyes.
Finn blew out a breath. “Well, she is hot.”
“She’s a conniving, entitled bitch. She’d make a man’s life a living hell twenty-four-seven.” I shut up long enough to let him count out my reps, racked the bar, and sat up. “Anyone stupid enough to date her will probably end up like Freeman, a top pick who slides into free agency on account of her bullshit. No fucking thanks.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Have you paid attention to my girlfriend? Tory could only wish she was as hot as Jamaica. Or as smart.” A picture of my Island Girl wearing a wicked grin and nothing else as she climbed up my body to give me the ride of my life Sunday morning flashed through my head. “Or as much fun.”
Danny stepped over to take his turn on the bench. Shooting Finn a side-eye, he said, “’Han’s not wrong.”
I fist-bumped him. “Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, well, you’re going to need some help fixing your problem with the Millers. That’s all I’m saying.”
As usual, my girl arrived about sixty seconds before Dr. Dair started class. Over the weekend, winter had decided to show up, which meant the morning breeze scattered her curls over her head. It cracked me up how in her focus on making it to her seat before the professor called us to order, she never caught sight of me waiting for her right inside the door to the lecture hall.
She sidestepped along the row to her seat beside Axel, who always grinned past her with a wink at me as I followed her in.
“How is it I never see you on the steps when I race up them, but you’re always right behind me when I sit down?” she asked with accusatory eyes. “Do you apparate here or something?”
Leaning in, I brushed a kiss over the corner of her jaw. “Good morning to you too, Island Girl,” I whispered in her ear.
The bonus of her full-body shiver at my touch improved my morning a hundredfold.
A grin ghosted over her lush mouth. “Seriously, Hotshot. Are you magic?”
“I thought we established that Saturday night.”
“That’s enough, you pretenses of scholarly pursuits,” Dair interrupted. “If you can tear yourselves away from flirting with each other”—his attention focused directly on Jamaica and me—“perhaps we can take care of some important housekeeping. If you checked your email over the weekend, you may have noticed the schedule for presentations. We’ll be starting next week. Benson and Bond will have the honor of leading off.” His eyes shifted to Axel and his partner on Jamaica’s other side, and I heard both of them groan. “Since you’re up first, you’re allowed to earn full credit for a twenty-minute discussion. Those of you slated to go at the end are required to give us thirty minutes of scintillating information and commentary.” Again, his focus shifted to Jamaica. “The extra time should ensure you don’t bore us.”
His tone implied he expected to be bored.
Asshole.
Jamaica’s eyes glittered when she chanced a glance at me and whispered, “Challenge accepted,” and I grinned and nodded. If Dair wanted scintillating, we were up for scintillating the hell out of him. I slid my palm over the top of her thigh and gave her a squeeze. Smiling at the hitch of her breath, I kept my hand on her thigh and my eyes on our instructor who narrowed his gaze in our direction before launching into the day’s lecture.
As we made our way across campus after class, I bumped her shoulder. “You were on it in there today. I think you tortured him with no fewer than seven excellent questions.” I held out my fist, and she smirked as she bumped hers to mine.
“Giving him a preview of the scintillation he can expect at the end of the semester.”
“Thatta girl.”
We sidestepped a group of high-school kids on a guided tour of campus.
“I have the feeling he baits you because he likes your questions though. Have you caught how his eyes sparkle for a second sometimes before he drops back into that bored delivery style he saves especially for you?”
“Sparkly eyes, my ass. Dair is a jerk.”
Chuckling, I put my hands up. “Alrighty then. Tell us how you really feel, babe.”
A lesser man might have crumbled at the disdain in the side-eye she slanted at me. I chuckled again and threw my arm across her shoulders, hauling her in close to my side. The secret grin she directed at the sidewalk told me she was over her snit with our professor.
“You work till ten tonight?”
She nodded.
“Who’s buying candy at ten o’clock at night?” I asked, exasperation ringing in my voice. Seriously, couldn’t people plan ahead for their sugar buzz and let me have my girl?
“Everyone who’s studying in the Union after the cafeteria closes. Nine o’clock on Monday nights is rush hour.”
“Well, it’s dumb.”
She snorted at my articulate observation.
“I’ll pick you up at your place after practice tomorrow night. I made some scintillating notes in class today apropos our project—something that’s going to blow Dair’s doors off.” I waggled my brows and she shook her head.
“Truly must be something if you’re already practicing your vocabulary.”
We’d reached the split in the sidewalk where she went to Huffine and I headed to the gym. My lips had barely brushed over hers when a strident voice interrupted my planned goodbye.
“Callahan. What are you still doing with her?” Tory Miller’s whine grated on every one of my nerves.
I glared at her hard enough to singe her eyebrows. “Go find someone else to harass, Miller. I’m not for sale.”
Thrusting her chest out and twirling a lock of her blonde hair, she changed her tone. “Babe. You know steak is so much better for a star athlete like you than cheap burger.” Staring down her nose, she gave Jamaica a derisive once-over.
“Did you actually just go there? Jesus, woman, have some self-respect.” Angling my girl away from the witch and her posse, I was determined to walk Jamaica to class, burpees for being late to practice be damned.
“Don’t you walk away from me, Callahan,” Tory warned.
It was all I could do to stop myself from tossing her the bird over my head. Since one of her little friends was likely videoing the whole sordid encounter, I kept my composure and kept walking.
“What was that about?” Jamaica asked.
“Nothing important.”
“It sounded like a threat,” she insisted.
“Nothing I can’t handle. See you tomorrow night.”
Troubled eyes met mine. “You’d tell me, right?”
“Trust me, Island Girl. It’s nothing.” I shut up her protest with a smacking kiss. “Gotta go or Coach will have my ass.” With a salute I turned and jogged across the grass to the gym, bypassing Tory Miller and the threats that left the remnants of my breakfast swimming in acid in my stomach.