I want to kill him, or maybe even kiss him.
After the class ends, I rush out the door and drag him along.
“I could kill you!” I yell, garnering a few stares from people passing by us on the street, which forces me to walk faster and with more purpose. “What were you thinking, Julian? What if someone saw what you were doing?”
Julian reaches for my hand. As he laces his fingers between mine, I fight the urge to scold him further.
“I couldn’t help myself. I had to touch you. So, I did. If you were wearing a skirt, I would have shoved my fingers in your tight pussy and made you come for me in front of everyone.”
“Julian,” I hiss. “Keep talking like that, and we won’t make it to breakfast.”
“I would rather eat you for breakfast,” he says with a wink.
Be still heart.
“While that’s tempting, I need to eat. My stomach has been growling for the last hour.”
Once we reach the SAC, Julian leads me upstairs to the cafeteria with his fingers intertwined with mine. Seconds after my feet hit the top landing, he tightens his grip on my hand and steers me away from incoming traffic.
Julian stops at the entrance of the cafeteria. “What do you want?”
I shrug. “Whatever.”
“No, really, what do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you.”
“A burger, I guess.”
I walk alongside Julian as he slides our tray down the metal rail, picking up food from the buffet as we pass. After he pays, we head toward the table by the window crowded by some of his teammates and a few girls I recognize. The busty blonde sitting next to Ryan Nash is the same girl that caused my breakup with Julian years ago—Abby Gale.
My nostrils flare. “What is she doing here?”
He cocks his head at me, confused. “Who?”
“Abby. You can’t expect me to eat with her.”
Julian sighs as we approach the table, and I can see he’s holding his breath the closer we get.
We sit across from a player I don’t know by name and a girl who’s wearing a pink and white sorority shirt. Thankfully, Julian knew better than the force me to sit anywhere near Abby. At this point, hasn’t she been through the entire team? She made tons of passes at Julian when we were together, and she’s remained a staple in the sports community.
Dirty bitch.
I want to leave the cafeteria and never look back. This was a mistake. I knew his friends would be here, but I wasn’t expecting to see her.
We’re greeted with an awkward silence that chills me to the bone. Everyone is staring at us, their conversations coming to a halt as their heads snap in our direction. I feel the urge to run. That’s what I do when I’m scared. It’s my defense mechanism. My caseworker had labeled me a Runner and would tell all of my new foster parents that they had to keep an eye on me.
Julian’s presence alone could silence a room, but this is a whole new level of weird. It took me months to get used to this when we were dating. But now, we’re nothing to each other. Just two exes who happened to make out in the shower and sleep next to each other this weekend. No biggie. It didn’t mean anything.
Two pretty blondes shoot wicked looks in my direction. Even from a distance, I can feel their cold, hardened gazes. They both look me over as if they’re still deciding if they want to physically remove me from their table. I hate dealing with bitchy rich girls. They’re the worst.
Julian sets a tray between us to share. When the girls’ gazes shift to Julian, their faces light up. They ignore me, as expected, their eyes trained on Julian and every move he makes. Always the center of attention, Julian doesn’t seem to notice. He’s used to it, while I hate every second of being in the spotlight again. My nerves could never handle the popularity that came from dating Julian. He’s like a celebrity at Strickland University.
Julian scoots his chair closer to mine, the metal legs scraping against the tiled floor. Our thighs are almost touching, the heat from his body leeching into mine. And now, everyone is staring at us, as if they expect Julian to explain why he would bring me, of all people, to their precious jock table. I wish they would all fuck off and find someone else to bother. If Julian were some nerdy, average looking, middle-class boy, things would be different. But he’s not.
Julian doesn’t just hand me the burger. Nope, he peels back the paper for me and sets it in my hand like I’m incapable of performing a simple task. Not that I’m complaining. But it looks too intimate, too much like we’re together again. Like he’s babying me and singling me out. I try to ignore the heated stares pointed at me. My cheeks flush from all of the unwanted attention we’re getting. But when I look over at Julian, he’s smiling so hard my expression mirrors his. He’s not uncomfortable like me. No, he’s his usual cool, calm and collected self.
His smile must be contagious because I can’t stop myself once the corners of my mouth curl up.
“Eat,” he says under his breath, “you’ll need your strength for later.”
My mouth falls open in shock, and the sexy smirk he wears like a badge of honor returns to his handsome face. Why would he say something like that in public? I want to yell at him for being so forward around all of these onlookers, but he looks too cute to scold him for something so stupid.
“Oh, fuck this shit.” Abby Gale says in her icy tone that catches everyone’s attention. “Since no one else has the balls to ask, I will. Is this some kind of senior project or charity work you’re doing, Julian? None of us agreed to feed the homeless this month. And I’m not so sure any of us want to sign up for that kind of… undertaking.”
A wave of energy rushes over me, my entire body trembling in the process. Without meaning to, I squeeze the burger in my hand so hard it crumbles. Julian must notice my reaction because he takes the burger from my hand and drops it onto his plate. Then, he holds my ketchup-covered hand on his thigh under the table and traces circles on my skin to calm me down. He knows how much I like this. My mother used to do it when she was alive. It was how she got me to fall asleep on nights when I would wake from nightmares.
Julian raises his free hand and points at Abby. “Get your shit and leave my table. Now!”
“But,” she challenges.
“No butts,” Julian growls. “Get the fuck up and take your friends with you. You’re no longer allowed to sit with us. You don’t speak to us. Don’t even think about us. And that includes Nash and Knox. So, get the fuck up and find somewhere else to sit before I move you myself.”
Speechless, Abby blinks back a few tears that are now spilling down her cheeks. One of her friends rolls her eyes at Julian, and the other girl picks up her tray without looking at anyone.
“You’ll pay for this,” Abby shouts as she blows past us, leaving a trail of some nasty designer fragrance. “I’m sure your dad will love to know that you’re back to screwing the help.”
Julian shudders at the mention of his dad. He hates him, and when we broke up last time, his dad had a small part in our final blowout. Between Abby Gale and Jonathan Rivers, I never stood a chance.
Julian bites his bottom lip. He looks worried as if her words have some meaning behind them. And now, I’m starting to wonder if there’s more to the story from two years ago and if I should trust a word he’s said to me.
Chapter Sixteen
Julian
Dr. Carter shines a light in Briana’s eyes and proceeds with the usual checkup. Her reflexes are good now, and she hasn’t shown any signs of a concussion since Sunday night. I sit in silence and wait for the doctor to give his final verdict. I’ve been through this enough times that I have a feeling he’s going to clear Briana. At least I hope he will. She’s been dying to get back to normal. While she hates that I have to follow her around and take her notes, I know she secretly likes it. And if I’m being honest with myself, I will miss being her sidekick.
Dr. Carter shoves his medical instruments back into his leather satchel. “The swelling has gone down, and
I’m almost confident you’ll make a full recovery. But I still want you to be careful, Briana.”
She leans forward on the examination table and digs her elbows into her thighs. “I’ve been through worse, Dr. Carter.”
He nods, a frown tugging at his mouth. “Maybe so, but I still want you to take precautions. Some patients experience immediate relief and assume that means they’re better, only to have more long-term effects appear down the road. It’s not uncommon for someone who had a concussion to start experiencing side effects six months or even years later.”
“It’s happened to me,” I confess.
Briana looks at me, her expression unreadable, and sighs.
“I got hit so hard in high school I couldn’t get out of bed for a week,” I continue. “I thought I was good after a few weeks, and when I got back on the ice and took another hard hit, I thought my hockey career was over.”
Dr. Carter nods and then turns to face Briana again. “I want you to avoid strenuous activity for as long as possible. No exercising…”
He lists all of the things Briana should avoid. I still get headaches and phantom pains from all of the concussions I’ve had over the years. Sometimes, the ache comes back out of nowhere, and I have to sit in a dark room until the migraine passes.
Briana slides off the table and shakes Dr. Carter’s hand. “Thanks for everything.”
He smiles, gripping his bag in one hand and shaking her hand with the other. “Of course. Call me if anything changes.”
Sliding my arm behind Briana’s back, I lead her out of the locker room and into the back hallway. She looks both ways, unsure of where to go. Only student-athletes are familiar with the back way out of the event center on campus. This side of the building is off-limits to anyone who doesn’t play a sport or work at Strickland University.
I drag her into a dark hallway that I know will remain vacant for at least a few more hours. The second we’re out of sight, I have her back against a locker, cupping the side of her face with my hand. She peeks up at me, her eyes meeting mine as her lips part for me.
“What are you doing, Julian?” She barely gets out of the words. Her breath warms my lips as she speaks.
“I was planning to kiss you.”
She slides her hands up my chest and hooks her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. “Then, do it.”
I smirk at her challenge. Man, I love this girl. I’ve always loved the feistiness in her. The fight. She never made anything easy for me, and I loved her more for it.
I lift her in my arms, and she wraps her legs around my back. Our kisses are raw and passionate as if each of us is fighting for the upper hand. I want to claim her. Possess her. I want to show her how much she’s sinking beneath my skin. After years of waiting to be with her again, I can’t stop touching her. I want to feel every inch of her, leaving nothing uncharted.
My hand dips beneath her shirt. Her skin is so soft as I trail my way up to her breasts. She moans when I pinch her nipple over the silky fabric of her bra. More like squeals as my mouth covers hers, softening her screams.
“I love your tits,” I mutter against her lips, cupping her right breast in my hand. “They’re so perfect.” I kiss her mouth, and then continue to plant soft kisses along her jaw and down to her neck, sliding her bra up in the process. “Like you.”
She chuckles, though it’s followed by a moan when I roll her hardened nipple between my fingers. “I’m not perfect,” she whispers.
“You’re perfect for me.” Our eyes meet for a split second before I’m kissing her again, taking in her sweet scent and the moans she makes as my hands travel over each of her delicate curves.
“This counts as strenuous activity,” she jokes with laughter in her voice.
“You want me to stop?” I say the words against her lips, and she licks them in response. “I take that as a no.”
She sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and tugs on it, her hands roaming over my shoulders and down my arms. “Maybe we should save this for our date,” she suggests. “I don’t want to have sex in this hallway or even in your bedroom at the hockey whorehouse for that matter.”
“You want me to get a room?” I continue kissing her neck, dragging my teeth along her skin until she fists my hair between her fingers and moans.
“Yesss,” she purrs, her grip tightening on my hair.
“You want me to make you come right now?”
I already know the answer before she nods, and I slip my hand into her tight yoga pants that I’ve wanted to rip off her from the second I saw her in them.
Briana glances down the hallway. “But what if someone comes down here? I don’t want anyone to see this. What we do together should be private.”
“I can wait until tomorrow night if you can.”
“We’ve already waited two years,” she breathes. “What’s one more day?”
After I lower her to the ground, I move her bra and shirt back into place. “You hungry?”
She bobs her head. “Yeah, but let’s skip the cafeteria. I don’t want to deal with Abby again.”
“Me either,” I admit. “I’m sorry about that. She shouldn’t have said those things to you. She’s just jealous.”
“What’s your deal with her? Why won’t she leave you alone? She’s always been around for whatever reason.”
“My dad loves her. I’m sure you know her dad owns CK Financial. She loves to throw that in everyone’s face. Our fathers have mutual interests, and after we both got into Strick U, they thought it would be a good idea for us to start dating. Of course, Abby was all-in. I never wanted anything to do with her. You think I’m bad because I’m rich and have a trust fund. But she puts me to shame. She’s the typical rich bitch they write movies and books about.”
“There’s more to this story,” she hedges. “What are you keeping from me?”
I let out a deep breath, preparing for my confession. “We were sort of engaged.”
Briana presses her palms to my chest and shoves me. “You pig! You were engaged to her? How could you? So, you did break up with me for her?” She throws her hands in the air, her nostrils flared in anger. “I knew it! I knew I wasn’t making shit up and that I wasn’t crazy. It was so obvious that something was going on between you two.”
“Would you let me explain?” I hold out my hand, which she shakes off. “It’s not what you think, Bri.”
A bit apprehensive, she takes my hand. My heart is racing so fast I can hear it pounding in my ears. And with how much Briana is trembling, her body’s shaking mine. We’re both hopped up on adrenaline, nervous energy shooting through us. I hid this from her for years, all because I didn’t think she could take it. Because I thought it would kill her. She was too fragile and mentally unstable when we first met. After everything she had gone through in her short life, I didn’t want to complicate things by telling her something that would only make her feel more insecure about our relationship.
“It was before I even met you,” I confess. “I broke off the engagement the day after we met.”
“You and she were…” She bites her cheek, mulling over her next thought. “You were together. You had…”
“No, I never had sex with her. I wouldn’t even kiss her.”
She cocks an eyebrow at me. “Really? Why not? Most guys would kill to have sex with Abby Gale.”
“You don’t know her the way I do. She’s not the girl everyone thinks. I’d never known anyone as cold and distant as my father until I met her.”
“But you had to pretend you were together. How did I not know this? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We never publicly advertised our engagement. It was nothing more than a paper deal our manipulative fathers had worked out. Abby was embarrassed that I wouldn’t embrace our relationship and make it legit, so she pretended like she was engaged to an investment banker from New York. I didn’t tell you because she meant nothing to me. I had already broken things off with her before I kissed you.”
“But didn’t your dads want people to know? Otherwise, what was the reason for setting you two up?”
“I had only been home from boarding school for a few weeks before my dad came into my bedroom and threw my great grandmother’s ring at me. He said you’re going to ask Abby Gale to marry you, whether you like it or not.”
“So, you did,” she points out.
I nod. “Back then, he had so much power over me. I was too afraid to challenge my dad. He always threatened to take my trust fund away from me. After growing up the way I did, I wasn’t sure I could make it without him. I gave in because of it.”
“Are you still afraid of not having money?”
I consider her question for a long minute. “Yeah, I guess I am. It’s like a security blanket for me. If I don’t get picked up by a hockey team, then at least I have my father’s money and connections to fall back on.”
“Julian, you’re selling yourself short.” She brushes her fingers along my arm, causing the hairs on my arm to stand at attention. “You’re smart. The last time I checked, you made the Dean’s List. You didn’t get those grades because of your dad or his money.”
“What happened to I’m just some rich asshole who can roll out of bed and have his daddy fix his grades for him?”
She snorts. “I didn’t say that.”
“I’m paraphrasing.”
“I wouldn’t have fallen for you if you were just a pretty face with money.”
I smirk. “A pretty face?”
“And a hot body,” she says as her eyes travel down the length of my body. I wiggle my eyebrows at her, and she grips my shirt between her fingers, pulling me toward her. “Speaking of which,” she breathes against my lips, “I want that sexy body all over mine.”
My head spins from all the emotions swirling around me. “You’re killing me, woman.”
“No, you’re killing me,” she counters. “Please don’t hurt me this time, Julian. I can’t go through this again.”
“I won’t,” I promise, rubbing her bottom lip with my thumb.
Most Desirable Player Page 11
