I glance over at Olivia to find her already staring at me. Her brows are pinched together, and her head is tilted to the side in a silent question.
I give her a forced smile. “All good,” I whisper to assure her. “Just had something tickle my throat,” I explain lamely, trying to cover up what really just happened. Because god, if she knew . . .
She looks at me skeptically, concern still etching her features. I flash her another reassuring smile, and even though I can tell she doesn’t believe me, she lets it go, reluctantly returning to writing down notes on the lecture.
Blood boiling, I quietly excuse myself and slip out of the lecture hall and into the long hallway, finding the nearest bathroom. I walk in, restlessly pacing the empty room while tugging at my hair. I kick a stall door, causing it to swing back and slam against the adjacent wall with force.
Damn it, Adrianna.
I can’t believe she’s starting this shit. I’ll admit, freshman year it was sort of flattering having the hottest girl on campus crazy about me, but now it’s just fucking annoying because she doesn’t know when to quit. I’ve told her since the beginning, I never wanted anything serious. She’s played along, but she always gets possessive, always wants something more from me. We keep going around and around. She acts cool with just hooking up, but then she starts hounding me for something more, so I cut her loose, trying to be the nice guy, but she always comes back. The cycle is never ending.
We can’t keep going like this.
Reeling in my anger, I unclench my fists, roughly wiping my palms on my jeans and exhaling. Feeling more composed, I exit the bathroom to find Adrianna leaning against the wall, waiting for me, looking damn pleased with herself.
“Fucking hell,” I growl under my breath. Knowing it’s best to ignore her, I keep my head down, briskly walking back to the lecture hall, but her hand grips my bicep to stop me. “Don’t,” I warn her, refusing to turn around to look at her.
She saunters around me, stopping right in front of me, her face as charming as a snake’s. “What’s the matter, Bronx? Did I get you flustered?” She runs her hand up and down my arm seductively. “I can finish what I started with you in the supply closet.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I take a step back only to have her advance. Knowing she’s not going to ease up, I grip her by her shoulders to literally keep her at arm’s length. “Adrianna, stop.”
As fast as a flash of lightning, her charming, flirty face morphs into an angry pout I know all too well. “Bronx—”
“No, Ads,” I cut her off. “I can’t do this with you anymore. I can’t give you what you want,” I remind her for the hundredth time. I let go of her shoulders, backing away, and when she comes after me, I lift up my hand to stop her. “Don’t.”
With one final look, I turn around and head back to the lecture hall.
>> <<
Running off the field to the sidelines, I find my hand towel and wipe the sweat pouring down my face. It’s hot as hell out today. Grabbing my water bottle, I take a long drink before placing my hands on my hips to catch my breath. When my lungs cease burning, I pick my water back up, guzzling down the remains. I gaze over the rim of the bottle, spotting a number of kids walking by. Probably from a class that just let out.
Scanning the pack, I spot a slender brunet with a powder-blue backpack talking to a curly-haired girl.
Finishing my water, I drop the empty bottle on the ground next to my things, and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before jogging over to the pair. I realize Olivia’s eyes are already trained on me, a smile curving her lips.
“Hey, Finch,” I say. “Hey, Dee.” I slow my jog and stop a few feet in front of them.
“Hey,” they say in unison. Olivia flashes me that sweet smile of hers while Delilah clearly checks out my abs and chest, which are glistening with sweat.
“Looks like you’re feeling better,” Olivia notes, giving me a cautious once-over, trying to detect if anything is still wrong.
After my confrontation with Adrianna, I walked back into the lecture hall and gathered my things, knowing I couldn’t sit and listen to the rest of the lecture with all the awkward tension hanging in the air. I said a quick goodbye to Olivia before I walked out, telling her I wasn’t feeling well. She understood, and offered to lend me her notes later.
“Yeah, a bit better. I may be suffering from heat exhaustion now, but I’m better,” I reply with a grin.
“Yo, Miller!” Brennen yells, and I look over my shoulder at him. “Stop flirting with girls and get your ass back on the field!”
I flip him the bird before twisting back around to face Olivia and Delilah.
“Nice tat,” Delilah notes, having caught a glimpse of it when I turned around.
“Oh, thanks,” I say, instinctively reaching my arm up and around to massage the top of my back, right below my shoulder where my tattoo ends. “So, Finch, any leftovers from last night?” I tease, although I wouldn’t be opposed if she actually suggested I come back over and have dinner again.
She lets out a small laugh. “I think so. You’re more than welcome to stop by and see if my dad’s home and willing to share some with you. I’m sure he’d love to talk football some more. Don’t know if my mom would like sitting at a table with just two men talking about football, though.”
“You’re not going to be home tonight?” I feel slightly disappointed for some reason.
“Don’t even think about hanging out with Liv on Tuesdays,” Delilah says. “Getting her to hang out on a Tuesday evening is like having the pope show up to your birthday party. Impossible.”
