Game On (Westland University)

by Lynn Stevens

Devon opened his mouth, but I wasn’t about to let him defend himself.

  “And how could you take advantage of me like that? I mean, what kind of asshole has sex with a drunk girl?”

  Devon slammed his palms on the wall, hard enough to make me shut up. “And what kind of girl makes snap judgments about a guy she barely knows? Hell, you haven’t bothered to get to know me despite my efforts. You’re so damn quick to tell me what a horrible person I am when you should probably look in a fucking mirror.”

  It was my turn to open and close my mouth.

  Devon leaned closer until our breaths mingled. “For the record, you wouldn’t tell me where you lived. My dorm was the only place to take you, and you were more than willing to go to Donaldson.” His ginger hair flopped over his forehead as he bent his head toward mine. “We didn’t have sex Saturday night. You were too damn drunk. And I’m not the type of guy to take advantage of a beautiful woman no matter how much she throws herself at me. Present company included.” His full lips were inches from mine. The memory of kissing him filled my thoughts and sped my heart. “Believe me, fighting you off was harder than hitting a grand slam to dead center at six-hundred feet.”

  “There isn’t a baseball field in the U.S. with an outfield like that,” I snapped. My pulse raced, pushing me toward him.

  “Oh good. So glad you got the reference.” He leaned back, his face flushed from anger, making his light freckles pop against his skin.

  “I’m not an idiot.” I glanced down at my feet. Part of me wanted to leave, the other part wanted more answers. Even if one of the reasons for my questions was standing in front of me.

  “Nobody said you were,” he whispered. Devon stared at me for a moment before rubbing his face. “Look, we got off on the wrong foot.”

  I snorted.

  “Here are the facts: we didn’t sleep together.” I rolled my eyes. “Fine, we didn’t have sex this time, even if we did sleep in the same bed. You were so far gone that I had to hold you up. The only reason we crashed in my dorm room was because you wouldn’t tell me where you live and I didn’t trust anybody else to keep you safe. Okay?”

  “Then where are my clothes?” I asked, remembering quite clearly how I had on a football jersey and boxers when I woke up the next morning.

  “At the cleaners.” He shrugged like this bit of information was obvious. “Where are mine?”

  My brain immediately started calculating the cost of dry cleaning. It wasn’t in the budget for this month. Yeah, I always planned for unexpected expenses but never the cleaners.

  “What?”

  I stared at him and realized something. He didn’t understand financial hardships. He never would. His dad worked at JenCar, a fact he’d made known the first day I met him. He just said his mom owned a bakery. There was an easiness about him that I never could fathom. Someone who has never had to count change to buy a gallon of milk or had to skip lunch because her little brothers needed it more. Dad wasn’t poor exactly, but after Mom died the strings tightened. His business barely survived without him there. It took months to get him out of the house and back to normal. But he was never really normal again.

  “Where?” I choked on the words. Dad would send more money if I needed, but I did everything in my power not to need it. He helped me with the rent, but I didn’t want to ask for more.

  “Morgan’s.” Devon narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

  I closed my eyes. Morgan’s Cleaners was the most expensive one in Madison. They were also the best, but I really didn’t want to think how much it would cost to get red wine out of that shirt. The only good thing was they were two blocks from my apartment. Paying for the cleaners probably meant not driving home for my youngest brother’s birthday in a few weeks. I’ve never not been there for him. He hated celebrating the day he was born when it was also the day our mother died. “Do you have the ticket on you?”

  “No,” he said slowly. I opened my eyes and stared right back at him. His brows wrinkled as his nose screwed up in concentration. “I can’t figure you out.”

  “Why bother?” I asked. Maybe if I ate soup for the next three weeks I could afford the gas. My truck wasn’t exactly energy efficient, though. There was always my credit card, but I worked hard to keep that balance at zero. I’d figure it out. There was no way I was going to miss Bradley’s birthday. I’d work a couple of doubles at Stockade on the weekends. It would leave less time for studying, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I could handle it. I always managed. This time wouldn’t be any different.

  His phone rang in his hand. “Shit, it’s Hummel. I have to take this.” He pointed it at me and added, “This isn’t over yet.”

  What is this anyway, I thought as he rushed out of the room and answered his phone. There wasn’t any this to consider. Shaking my head to clear the confusion, I headed toward the engineering building to get to work on a project. I’d need to get ahead if I was going to ask Logan for extra shifts.

  But I couldn’t get the promise of this not being over out of my head. I just didn’t know whether I felt dread or excitement. Or if I wanted to feel anything at all.

  Chapter Five

  The pounding in my temple intensified. Skipping dinner yesterday and breakfast this morning was taking its toll on me. Leaving my sunglasses back at my apartment only added to my torture. The morning started under the darkness of clouds and with a flash of flurries. Sometime between my analytical math class and ethics, the sun made an appearance. It warmed the air into the low forties. A few students shed their jackets. With a little wind, the temperature was almost warm.

  I walked across the quad toward the circular student union. One of my favorite places on campus if only for the smart design. I rarely went inside unless I needed something from the bookstore. The food was too greasy and too expensive. It was cheaper and healthier to eat back at my apartment. But I needed food.

  And I needed to talk to someone.

  Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I sent Paige a text to see if she could meet me at the student union. My mind wandered to before Christmas break. We’d sat in my tiny apartment with a bottle of wine and talked about everything. My focus on my degree and my future since Henry had ended it was the primary target of conversation.

  Paige felt we’d grown apart because I wasn’t spending as much time with her. I wasn’t going to parties or much of anything other than work and school. That’s how the bet came into play. I’d lost and agreed to one party.

  “You act like you’re forty or something,” she’d said after she picked me up at my apartment. “God, Liv, you dress like a Stepford wife. Have fun for a change.”

  “I am having fun.” I’d crossed my arms over the cream button-down shirt I’d chosen for the night. It paired well with the chocolate A-line skirt and leopard-print flats, the only item Paige approved of. My wardrobe shouted professional rather than party.

  “Really?” Paige glanced at me as she drove toward the Gamma house in her sedan. “When was the last time you got laid?”

  The heat had filled my cheeks faster than the mercury rose in the desert.

  “Uh-huh, that’s what I thought.” She’d slowed as we approached a red light. “Let me guess…it’s been about a year?”

  I’d turned away from her. Paige and I became best friends during freshman year as roommates. It was rough at first, but after the first few weeks we finally bonded over a bottle of vodka and a game of Truth or Dare.

  “Let him go.” Paige’s voice had lost the mocking, playful tone she normally used when pushing me into something I didn’t want to do. “Stop punishing yourself. People make mistakes all the time. Let it go, move on. Just find some guy at the party and screw his brains out.”

  I’d snorted. Paige stood by me after I’d almost lost Henry. I’d confessed my one-night stand with Devon to him as soon as he’d arrived on campus. The first month was hard on him, but we stayed together. Then he left anyway in the middle of my sophomore year. His mom became sick, and although she
recovered quickly, he decided not to return.

  We tried the long-distance relationship thing, but he ended it during Christmas break. I hated myself every day for hurting Henry the way I had. He didn’t deserve it. Even if he swore that my screw up had nothing to do with his leaving school and breaking up with me, I promised myself I’d never do something so reckless, so irresponsible ever again.

  “There will be more than jocks there. I promise.” Paige had chuckled under her breath. “Or I could just have Jayce set you up with someone.”

  “That’s not a good idea. Jayce would set me up with some freshman who’d probably brag to everyone on campus.” The thought had made me shudder. “I’m fine.”

  “Wanna bet?” Paige sang the words. My kryptonite.

  I snorted. “That’s not a bet you can win. “

  Paige had laughed. “Just have fun tonight. Allow yourself to relax. JenCar’s not going to learn about one party and decide you’re not the type of person they want as an intern.”

  She was right. One party wouldn’t ruin my chances at my dream job.

  We’d also talked about her boyfriend, Jayce. It wasn’t a big secret that I didn’t like him. And he wasn’t my biggest fan, either. He’d broken her heart multiple times but she always took him back. Before Christmas, she’d been on the verge of dumping him for good. What he did to stop that, I had no clue. But I wished she would. Jayce wasn’t good enough for my best friend.

  Jayce’s dreams of NBA grandeur were annoying, short-sighted, and impossible. Not that he wasn’t a good basketball player, even great by Westland standards, but his chances to make it to the NBA were like one in three thousand. Paige deserved a guy who had a solid life plan, or at least goals for an attainable job.

  My head was down, staring at my phone as I waited for Paige’s response. I hadn’t seen the body blocking my path until I slammed into him. He didn’t reach for me as I stumbled back off the sidewalk and fell flat on my ass in the snowy puddle. Mud seeped through my jeans and splattered onto the back of my knees and over my favorite boots. Fortunately, I managed not to roll onto my back so my white parka didn’t get completely muddy, just the bottom. But my ass was already freezing.

  “Damn it.” My messenger bag had spilled its contents. At least they missed the mud puddle. I put my hand onto the ground to push myself to my feet, not bothering to glance at the brute who sent me flying.

  “Jesus, Liv, watch where you’re going.” The heavy voice was one I knew too well and carried too much dislike for me.

  “Of course this is all my fault, Jayce.” I shoved my books into the bag without the careful consideration I’d normally take as to size and weight. It made the bag unbalanced. “You could’ve stopped me from falling.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Or was the show too irresistible for you?”

  Jayce smiled. “What do you think?” He offered his hand to help me up, but I ignored him. I didn’t need his help now. I’d needed it when I was falling. “What’d you say to Paige this time?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I assessed the damage. If my jeans weren’t black, it would’ve looked a lot worse. Regardless, my trip to the student union wasn’t going to happen. I’d have to walk home with a frozen ass and laundry I hadn’t planned on. More fuel for the pounding in my head.

  “She told me she needed some space. Obviously, you’re filling her pretty head with your usual lies.” Jayce tugged at the strap of his backpack. I searched my memory for recent conversations about him, but I came up empty. Paige hadn’t really mentioned him except when we went to the party. Jayce Granger wasn’t the type of guy to get uncomfortable or nervous about anything not basketball related, but whatever was going on had set him on edge. “Why can’t she see through your bullshit?”

  “Gee, thanks.” I pulled the bottom of my parka down in a failed attempt to cover the damage. My legs were already numbing in the cold. “It’s always nice to be called a liar.”

  “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this kind of shit.” He leaned down so he could meet my glare. “It’s the last, though. I’ll make sure of that. For the last two years, you’ve done whatever it took to ruin my relationship with Paige.”

  I almost took a step back. Yeah, I’d pointed out a few reasons why Paige should’ve stayed away from Jayce, but I never thought she would’ve told him. It was mostly about his career path. He didn’t have one. She’d end up supporting him on what little salary she earned with her sociology degree. And what would he do when the NBA didn’t come calling?

  “I’ve got plans, a future,” he sneered with every word, “and Paige knows she’s part of it. She doesn’t need to have anything to do with a crazy bitch like you.”

  He backed away, the sneer turning to a sinister grin. Anybody who walked by would think Jayce’s smile was genuine, like he was the all-American guy he pretended to be. I knew better. I’d seen Paige cry over him. I’d held her when he cheated on her during our freshman year. And sophomore year. I was there for her when he ended up in the emergency room because of alcohol poisoning. Jayce was anything but who he pretended to be.

  But she wanted him. I accepted that and supported her. Even if I didn’t understand what kept her with him. If he thought I was sabotaging their relationship, he’d do whatever it took to stop me.

  Heading back to the apartment. Fell in a puddle. Long story. Ran into Jayce. What’s going on?

  I sent the text as I turned away from the student union and started walking as quickly as I could without drawing attention to my icy ass. Jayce had gotten between us before. Paige didn’t talk to me for three weeks during our second semester after he’d told her some bullshit lie. He’d claimed I’d hit on him. Fortunately Henry had been with me the entire night and finally got through to Paige. Jayce blew it off, claimed he was drunk and thought it was me.

  At the fountain where all the sidewalks met, I glanced up and met the gaze of Devon Miller. Guys surrounded him, but he stared straight at me. Shaking my head more to myself than at him, I hurried past his entourage and toward my apartment. My face burned, a stark contrast to my bottom. I didn’t want anybody to see me like this, especially him.

  Paige still hadn’t responded. Maybe Jayce had gotten in her head and convinced her to ignore me.

  Tears threatened for the second time in as many days. It was stupid. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t the type of person to cry at the drop of a hat. I’d always kept my emotions in check. There wasn’t any reason to let other people see you angry or upset or to see you cry. It was private, personal, and nobody’s damn business. It was my job to be strong, to face things head on. A role I’d taken when Mom died.

  When Henry decided to end our relationship, I didn’t cry. I accepted his decision with fortitude. I’d cried out of humiliation when I ran from Devon’s room. And I thought I was alone when I entered my apartment. Had I known Paige was there, I wouldn’t have let a single tear drop. It was my pain to feel alone.

  And if Paige wasn’t going to talk to me anymore, so was this.

  With my head down, I barreled home as fast as I could.

  Chapter Six

  Everything changed on Wednesday morning. My phone rang on the way to Introduction to Heat Transfer. I didn’t recognize the number, but it was local. I answered anyway, expecting a sales call or spam message and hoping for something better.

  “Hello?” I said, trying to keep the hustle out of my voice. My next class was on the other side of campus. I hated being late anywhere.

  “May I speak with Olivia Dawson?” a man asked.

  “Speaking.” I hid the irritation in my voice. Most spam calls started like this.

  “Ms. Dawson, my name is Rex Anderson and I’m the senior engineer at JenCar.”

  I stopped at the fountain and sat on the cold concrete.

  “We would like you to come in and interview for our internship program. Will you be available tomorrow morning?”

  “Yes sir, anytime.” It
was happening. I was getting my shot.

  “Great. We’ll see you at ten.”

  “Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”

  I texted Paige as soon as we hung up. She responded with a thumbs up emoji followed by a confetti giphy. I barely contained my excitement during class. The minute it let out, Devon caught up with me.

  “What’s got you in such a good mood?” he asked, falling into step beside me.

  My grin widened. “My interview with JenCar tomorrow.”

  “That’s great. Congrats.” He smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I’d seen that look before, and it made me nervous. “Oh, hey, I almost forgot.” He dug a notebook out of his backpack and handed it to me. “I promised my notes from Dorchester’s class.”

  “Thanks.” I put the notebook in my bag, a little surprised he had come through. “I appreciate it.”

  “What time’s your interview?” he asked as we started walking toward the center of campus.

  “Ten.” My step bounced more than normal when I thought about the possibility of getting my dream internship.

  “Wanna grab lunch after?”

  I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and Devon kept walking. A few strides later, he realized I wasn’t there and turned around.

  “Did you just ask me out?”

  Devon smiled and dipped his head as he walked back to my side. “Well, yeah. I mean, we’ll get done at the same time, so why not just grab some food together—”

  “Get done with what at the same time?” I asked, dread filling my stomach.

  “The interview.” He cocked his head to the right. “You didn’t think you were the only one interviewing for the internship tomorrow, did you?”

  “Wait a minute.” I swallowed this new information hard. “When were you going to tell me they called you? Or was it going to be a surprise?”

  “I just told you.”

  “After you asked me out.” Who did this guy think he was?

  “So?”

  I stared at him, wondering how such a brilliant mind could be such an idiot. He should’ve just said he had an interview, too. It was like he wanted to throw me off my game. Every single class since freshman year, we’d been in this dance to one up each other. This was just his latest play. He didn’t really want to have lunch with me.