Nice Guys Don't Win (A College Sport's Romance)

by Micalea Smeltzer

  “Cole,” she starts, her eyes drifting to the ground. She wiggles her toes, staring at them like they hold all the answers in the world. “Look, I like you, a lot. But … I’m scared.” Her dark eyes lift to mine. “I was screwed over in my past, and really hurt, and even though I realize now that he was never the guy for me that doesn’t mean damage wasn’t done. I’m just … trying to figure out who I am.”

  I stare into her eyes, trying to convey a thousand unsaid things. “From where I’m standing, Zoey, you’re pretty remarkable.”

  18

  Zoey

  “Tell me again, how we got talked into this?” I yell through the crack in the bathroom door as I put the final touches on my makeup.

  I hear Cole’s door open down the hall. “Because Teddy is a master manipulator when it comes to us.”

  “True,” I sigh, swiping gloss on my full lips. “All he has to do is give those puppy dog eyes, and I’ll agree to just about anything.”

  Stepping back, I take in my costume. I bought a green sequined mini-dress, strapped some wings to the back, and ta-da I’m Tinkerbell.

  When Teddy first suggested all of us dressing up for Halloween night at Harvey’s I was steadfastly against it. I’ve never much enjoyed the holiday, even as a kid. I mean, knocking on strangers’ doors and asking for candy doesn’t exactly scream safe. And as I got older it seemed childish to parade around in costumes. But Teddy worked his voodoo magic and the next thing I knew I was saying sure, and Cole was too.

  Opening the bathroom door fully, my jaw drops when I see Cole.

  “What?” He pats his bare chest. “Is it awful?

  I swallow thickly, looking him up and down, from the gold sandals on his feet, to what is practically a white sheet wrapped around his waist. A golden laurel sits like a crown on his head and his body is sprinkled with a gold shimmering dust.

  “Wha-who-what are you?”

  He looks down at himself and back at me with an unsure smile. “Zeus. It was my sister’s idea. She’s good at this kind of stuff so I asked her what I should be, and she told me what to get.”

  I needed to both thank and curse his sister.

  He looked incredible, and I had to resist the urge to shove him into his bedroom and have my way with him.

  “A-Are you going to get cold?”

  For the love of God, Zoey, stop stuttering and staring at his man nipples!

  “I’ll wear a jacket and take it off when we get there.” His eyes do a slow glide up and down my body. I feel that look everywhere. My attraction to him isn’t going away, if anything it’s getting stronger day by day. I don’t know how much longer I can resist him. “You look amazing, Zoey.”

  “Thanks.” I tug on the hem of the mini-dress, wishing it was a tad-bit longer.

  “You always look gorgeous,” he adds, clearing his throat. Adjusting his crown, he asks, “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah. Let me grab my phone.”

  While getting my phone from my room I also slip on a jacket to cover my bare arms. There’s not much I can do about my legs, but at least most of the evening will be spent in the warm bar.

  Cole and I are silent on the drive over. When we pull into the packed lot, he grabs a piece of gum and starts chewing. “You want any?”

  I shake my head. “I’m good.” We walk into the bar and I yell to be heard above the music and cacophony of voices, “Do you know what Teddy came as?”

  I glance around, seeing a lot of guys dressed as Marvel superheroes, but Teddy likes to stand out in a crowd. I doubt he’d do something so basic.

  “’Sup,” says a guy dressed as Bucky Barnes.

  “Keep moving.” Cole glowers, removing his jacket. I press a hand to my mouth so the poor guy can’t see me snicker. “No, Teddy didn’t say what he was, but I’m sure everyone’s at our usual table.”

  I don’t protest when he reaches for my hand to guide me along, not only do I not want to get lost in the insane crowd that frequents Harvey’s but I selfishly like the feel of his hand wrapped around mine.

  When we get to the table, he still doesn’t let my hand go, sliding into the same spot he was in the last time with me on the end. I take in everyone seated at the table, figuring out their costumes. Mascen is dressed as The Joker and Rory as Harley Quinn. Kenna is as a blue butterfly, complete with face makeup, and Li is Cruella De Vil.

  But I don’t see Teddy.

  I open my mouth to ask where he is when there’s a rough shout of, “Avada Kedavra!”

  My head jerks in that direction, my jaw dropping. “Oh. My. God.”

  Cole snickers beside me. “Teddy.” He shakes his head, trying not to dissolve into full blown hysterics.

  Teddy took his costume to the highest elevation he could. I don’t know how he pulled it off, but a full makeup and prosthetics team had to be involved to pull of his perfect recreation of Lord Voldemort.

  “Avada Kedavra!” He shouts again, pointing his wand and mimicking the way Ralph Fiennes did it in the movies. In his other hand he carries a tray filled with shot glasses.

  “Is there a costume competition?” I ask Cole under my breath.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. But Teddy does everything over the top. You get used to it.”

  “If he ends up shit-faced back at our place, I’m not peeling that thing off his face.” I shudder at the idea of removing whatever prosthetic is glued to his face to give him the snake like appearance.

  “Nah, we’ll let Jude deal with him.” He nods at the guy on the other end of the table dressed as Cupid with several girls hanging off him. One is dressed as a sexy nun, which I can’t help but roll my eyes at.

  Teddy reaches the table and sets the tray down. He passes a shot to me and another to Cole.

  “Mom and Dad go first.”

  Mascen chortles. “You call them Mom and Dad?”

  “Sure, they’re my college parents.” Teddy passes out the rest of the shots. Picking up his own, he stands at the front of the table and lifts it high in the air. “To great friendships, memories made, and of course, finally, to that bitch ass Harry Potter. Cheers.” He downs his shot just as a wide-eyed guy side steps our table, ironically dressed as Harry Potter. Teddy spots him and in his best Lord Voldemort impression says, “’The boy who lived. Come to die.’”

  Cole leans over to me, his lips brushing against my ear and sending a shiver racing down my spine. “He’s having way too much fun with this.”

  “Jude,” Teddy points his wand at the football player, who cocks his head, waiting for him to go on, “next round is on you, my friend.”

  Jude lifts his empty shot glass. “You got it. Excuse me, ladies.” He extricates himself from his posse of girls.

  Still standing in front of the table, Teddy adjusts his cloak, and grins, wiggling his eyebrows when he slides his hands inside. “It has pockets.” And then he does a little spin like a girl who’s just discovered her dress has pockets.

  “How much has he already had to drink?” Cole asks Mascen.

  Mascen stares into his glass of beer. “Just a beer when he first got here and the one shot. Teddy never needs much alcohol to be … well, Teddy.” He raises his glass toward Teddy’s figure where he’s shouting random spells at patrons. He takes a sip of his drink and eyes Cole. “What are you supposed to be anyway?”

  “Zeus.” He plays with the laurel on his head. “You know, the Greek God.”

  “And you must be Tinkerbell?” He arches a brow at me.

  “Ding-ding-ding we have a winner.”

  Jude reappears with more shots and Teddy grabs one, doing a little happy dance.

  I’m so glad I didn’t come up with an excuse to not come tonight, because witnessing Teddy as Voldemort is worth it.

  “Are you singing tonight?” I ask Cole, passing him a shot and taking one for myself.

  He makes a face like something tastes sour, but he hasn’t even downed his shot yet. “Probably not.”

  “Come on.” I nudge his shoulder. “
You’re so talented.”

  “Maybe if I get drunk enough,” he half-whispers, but gives me a tiny smile.

  I take my shot, trying not to wince at the bitter bite of alcohol going down my throat. “Get me drunk enough and I might even sing with you.”

  He turns his body toward me, his smile making his eyes twinkle. “Now that has me intrigued.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up too much. It’ll take a decent amount to get me there.” I lift my empty glass and set it on the table.

  “Well, if Teddy has anything to say about it that can be arranged.” He flicks his fingers toward his friend who’s dragging Murray, dressed as Iron Man, out from the booth with orders for more drinks.

  After another shot, I slip out of the booth and head to the bathroom for a pee break. On my way back to the table I stop off at the bar and request two glasses of water. At the table, I pass one to Cole and he smiles gratefully. That smile does weird things to my stomach, like make it flip and jump around like a horde of butterflies are taking flight.

  “We need to stay hydrated if we have any chance of survival,” I hiss to Cole, just as Teddy’s next volunteer, Cree, shows up with drinks for the table.

  Under his breath, he says, “I think Teddy’s trying to kill us all tonight.”

  “Ah,” Teddy leans in, somehow having overheard with his supersonic hearing, “but what a fun death it will be.” He hands Cole and me each whatever concoction Cree bought, some sort of Halloween special if the fake eyeballs floating in the glass are any indication.

  I shrug, eyeing the drink and take a sip. It’s not bad, there’s definitely berries mixed in with whatever alcohol has been used. It’s one of those drinks that tastes harmless but will get you shit-faced in no time.

  “Are you hungry?” Cole asks, passing me a menu.

  I didn’t realize it until he spoke, but I’m starving, and with the amount I’ve already drank I definitely need to get some food in my system to absorb it.

  “Food. Yes. We should get that.” My words come out disjointed, not because I’m drunk but because staring at Cole renders my brain useless.

  He chuckles. “Order what you want. It’s on me.”

  “No.” I wrinkle my nose. “I can buy my own food.”

  “I know you can, but I’m buying.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “Mom. Dad,” Teddy interjects. “No fighting in front of the kids.” He spreads his arms wide to encompass the table where he’s finally taken a seat. It’s hard to take him seriously, considering he’s lacking a nose at the moment.

  “Say that in parseltongue,” I challenge.

  “Hiss-hiss, motherfuckers. No hiss-hiss fighting.”

  I snort, slapping a hand over my face in hopes no one heard the horrid noise but from Cole’s amused look he definitely didn’t miss it.

  Cheeks flushed, I hold up the menu to hide my face from everyone at the table.

  When a waitress comes by, I order a cheeseburger called the Wild Cowboy Ride. I hate to admit it, but the name is what sold me on it. I’m easily amused.

  My phone lights up on the table and I pick it up, grinning at the photo my dad sent me of the boys in their Halloween costumes. Gabriel is dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Isaac as a pirate.

  Dad: The boys had fun. They’re already passed out from a chocolate coma. Wish you could’ve joined us. Hope you’re having fun with your friends.

  Me: They looked adorable.

  Dad: They’re really excited you’re taking them to the movies this weekend.

  Me: I’m excited too.

  “Are those your brothers?” I jump at the sound of Cole’s voice, somehow having forgotten in the past minute that he was beside me.

  “Yeah,” I bring up the picture of them in their costumes, “aren’t they cute?”

  He smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners. “They’re adorable.”

  I put my phone away and pick up my glass of water, taking a couple of sips to help cool me down from the sudden heat I feel rolling off the man beside me.

  I smile gratefully at the waitress when she drops off our food. I stuff my face, so I don’t have to look at him or talk to him and try to slow down the racing of my heart.

  Why. Why does he have to affect me this way? My attraction to him isn’t dimming, it’s only growing. But I’m scared. To make that move. To ruin a good thing. To put myself out there at the risk of being hurt again.

  Just because I realize Todd is a piece of shit now, doesn’t mean the hurt at the time wasn’t real.

  Scarfing down the rest of my burger I then allow myself to be dragged onto the dancefloor by the girls.

  Lately I haven’t had the best luck dancing. It seems to lead to a dangerous temptation with Cole and me, but I figure dancing with them is safe enough.

  Letting myself get lost in the music, I lose track of time, until my body’s demand for me to quench my thirst is too much to take and I return to the table to gulp down some water. I feel Cole’s eyes rake over my sweat dampened skin.

  “Having fun out there?” He raises a glass of beer to his lips, his eyes darker than normal in the shadowed bar.

  “Yeah. I like to dance. I took classes for years.”

  “Hmm,” he hums, and I can tell he’s filing back that tidbit of information.

  Gulping down every drop of water from my glass, I wink at him.

  Teddy appears from out of nowhere, grabbing my elbow. “Come on, Z. They’re about to announce the winners.”

  I guess there is a costume competition then.

  I allow Teddy to drag me away toward the front of the stage where Cole sang weeks ago.

  A guy, the owner perhaps, stands at the mic and calls out the top five costumes as voted by the patrons. Teddy beams proudly on the stage, but that smile falls when he’s announced as second place.

  “Second place,” he scoffs to me when he returns, “what kind of blasphemy is this. Losing to a guy with little pom-pom things glued on his shirt, calling himself a gumball machine, when I’m wearing this.” He motions to himself in his massive flowing black cloak and full makeup. “Avada Kedavra to all you idiots. You know nothing.” He shoves the gift card he won into my hand. “Here, you take it. I don’t want it.”

  Two hours later, despite joking we’d let Jude deal with Teddy, Cole and I find ourselves helping him into the apartment. After losing, he got a little carried away with the drinks and I didn’t think it was smart to leave him in the care of his roommate.

  Cole deposits Teddy’s heavy form onto the couch and I sit down on the coffee table, taking a look at the prosthetics adhered to his face.

  “Why are you staring at me like that? Do you think I’m beautiful?” He puckers his lips.

  “Not a chance.” I shove his face away, trying not to laugh.

  “It’s better you don’t kiss me. Cole will get jealous and punch me in the face and I’m too beautiful to have my face messed up.”

  “Beautiful, huh?” I pick at the edge of the prosthetic where it’s already peeling up on the side. “I’m not sure beautiful would be my choice word at the moment.”

  “Rude,” he grumbles good naturedly.

  Picking up the remote, I turn the TV on for background noise and holler for Cole to bring me my makeup remover from the bathroom when he’s done.

  “Thanks for helping me,” Teddy says.

  I pause, tilting my head to the side. “That’s what friends are for.”

  He peers behind me at the TV screen. “The Chronicles of Narnia, huh?”

  I glance over my shoulder since I hadn’t been paying attention to what was on. “Looks like it.”

  “The one kid is named Edmund, right?”

  “I think so. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched it.”

  “Edmund,” he repeats with a humorless laugh and roll of his eyes, “what a stupid name. Sounds like something only a rich prick would name his son.”

  I arch a brow. “Have you been personally victimized by an
Edmund?”

  He snorts, looking away. “Something like that.”

  Cole comes out of the bathroom, holding a towel around his waist and passes me the makeup remover and some cotton pads. “I’m hopping in the shower. You got this?” He tosses a thumb at Teddy.

  I laugh. “We’ll see, I guess.”

  Cole walks down the hall and as soon as the door closes, Teddy smirks. “Will you two just fuck already and put us all out of our misery?”

  My jaw drops. “Teddy!” I swat at him.

  He laughs, dodging my hand. “It’s going to happen eventually. You might as well get it over with.”

  I narrow my eyes. “I’m not helping you remove this junk from your face.”

  “I take it back, Mom.”

  “Mhmm.” I eye him doubtfully. I dampen a cotton pad with the makeup remover and rub it gently against his face where the prosthetic is peeling. I have no idea if this will actually work or not, but it’s worth a shot.

  Teddy quiets as I work carefully to free him from all the various pieces glued to his face and then I remove the wig cap. He yawns, rubbing at his face and smearing the face paint on his actual skin.

  “You’re going to need one hell of a shower,” I tell him. “Scrub a dub dub.”

  He throws his head back and laughs as I pick up the various pieces that were once attached to him and toss them in the trash.

  Cole reappears, now in his pajama pants. “Hey, you got it all off. Well … most of it.”

  “I’ll get the makeup off in the shower. Z, you mind if I hop in?”

  “Go ahead.” I wash my hands at the kitchen sink, ignoring the heat from Cole’s body behind mine.

  He eases around me and opens the fridge, grabbing a water. “I’m beat. I’m headed to bed.”

  Drying my hands, I turn around to face him. “Goodnight.”

  He lowers his head, and my heart skips a beat with the stupid hope that maybe he’s going to kiss me. It’s such a dumb, foolish desire. He’s not going to kiss me, not after all the times I’ve pushed him away any time something gets close to happening between us.

  “Night.”

  I watch him walk away, the door to his room clicking closed behind him. I can’t help but think about what Teddy said, and he does have a point. There’s only so long we can keep avoiding our feelings. At some point it’s all going to come spilling over.