Campus Player

by Jennifer Sucevic

I almost roll my eyes. These girls need to move it along.

  As if sensing my annoyance, Rowan clears his throat and points to the textbook on the table. “Sorry, ladies, I hate to cut this short, but we still have a lot of work to plow through.”

  Instead of taking the hint, one of the girls peers down at the book. “Oh, is that statistics?” Her eyes light up as she bounces on the tips of her toes. “I could help with that! There’s no reason for you to pay a tutor.”

  “Yeah,” the other two girls chime in with excitement. “We’ll all help!”

  Oh lord...

  Why do I get the feeling it would be like the blind leading the blind?

  Rowan quickly shakes his head. “No, Demi is a great tutor, but thanks.”

  “Are you sure?” one wheedles.

  “Yup, one hundred percent sure.”

  “All right. If you change your mind, let us know!”

  “Will do.” Rowan presses his lips together and waits for them to leave.

  It takes another five minutes before the trio vacates the area. And even then, they settle at a neighboring table and continue to shoot seductive looks at Rowan.

  He squeezes my fingers, drawing my attention to him. “You ready to get out of here?”

  “Yeah.”

  Rowan glances at the girls who perk up and wave before his gaze slides back to mine. “You know I have zero interest in them, right?”

  That’s the thing...

  Why wouldn’t he be drawn to them? They’re all beautiful in that airbrushed sort of way. And clearly, they’re sisters who enjoy sharing.

  Most guys would be all over that.

  Literally.

  “Demi?” His voice deepens, and I blink the errant thoughts away. “You know you’re the only girl I want, right? It’s always been you. And that won’t change any time soon.”

  All of the jealousy eating me up from the inside out dissolves.

  When it comes down to it, I do know that. Rowan has been nothing if not straightforward and totally honest with me. Unflinchingly so.

  I nod, feeling like a jackass. I’m the one who wants to keep this relationship under wraps.

  “All you have to do is say the word, and this won’t be a secret any longer.” As if reading my thoughts, he jerks his head toward his admirers. “They’ll be the first ones I tell.”

  A slight smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “Soon, I promise.”

  “Fine.” He shrugs. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  As tempting as it is to take his face in my hands and smack a kiss against his lips in front of everyone, I hold back. What I’ve come to realize is that it’s getting more and more difficult to keep these feelings to myself.

  I want them out in the open.

  I want us out in the open.

  It’s only a matter of time before my need for Rowan overtakes the fear I have of going public.

  27

  Demi

  “Shhhh!” I peek my head inside the darkened apartment to see if Sydney is home. I tried to assess the situation through text, but she failed to respond. Half the time, she spends the night at Ethan’s place.

  When they’re not fighting.

  A couple of days ago, they got into another spat, but I think they patched things up already. Their relationship gives me whiplash. “You have to be quiet!”

  “I am being quiet,” Rowan whispers, wrapping his arm around my waist and hauling me close to nuzzle my ear.

  Before he can distract me from my mission, I fight my way free and continue creeping into the tiny entryway before hitting the kitchen and living area. The rooms are shrouded in darkness. There’s a stillness to the place that has me suspecting Sydney is with Ethan.

  Which means—drumroll, please—that Rowan and I finally have the place to ourselves.

  Yes!

  Yes!

  Yes!

  Other than the weekend we spent at my dad’s house; we’ve only been able to steal time here and there. Sneaking kisses in the library when no one is looking. We can’t hold hands on campus, but every once in a while, our fingers will brush. Sparks of sexual tension explode inside me like a firework. When we’re sitting in class, his knee will rest against mine. All of these little touches are driving me insane in the membrane, especially since we’ve yet to have sex.

  There hasn’t been an opportunity. With any luck, it’ll happen tonight. I can’t stand to go another day without having him inside me.

  Is there a term for lady blue balls?

  If so, that’s exactly what’s going on here. I’ve never been this revved up.

  My muscles loosen as I spin around to face him. “Sydney’s gone, which means,” I waggle my eyebrows suggestively, “that we’re officially alone.”

  “Excellent.” With a grin, his arms slip around me, and this time, I allow myself to sink into the embrace.

  As soon as his lips settle on mine, I open under the gentle pressure. My knees weaken as the velvety softness of his tongue brushes against mine. It doesn’t take long before my world shrinks, only encompassing the two of us. At that moment, nothing else matters. I wish it could always be like this.

  My hands delve under his shirt until they meet warm flesh. His muscles are so rigid, as if chiseled from marble. I could stare at him for days and not get bored by the sight. I gather the material in my fingers before dragging it over washboard abdominals until his upper body is revealed. From somewhere in the background, a choir of angels sing. Even they can appreciate a well-sculpted chest. I pull the fabric over his head before dropping it to the carpeted floor.

  “Are you really that impatient?” he asks, a smile simmering in his voice.

  “You have no idea.” All I want is to get this guy naked. Even the thought is enough to have my panties flooding with heat.

  “Can’t say that’s not sexy as hell.”

  “You just wait, buddy, and I’ll show you sexy as hell.” Surprise floods through me that I would even say such a thing.

  Seriously...who is this girl?

  I’ve never been this horny in my life. And I’ve certainly never been this vocal about it either. It’s kind of a revelation.

  “Mmmm, I like the sound of that.” His voice turns gruff as if he’s as turned on as I am. It strums something deep inside, only making me want him more. My palms rest against the delicious musculature of his chest as I gently push him backward into the hallway.

  “Oh?” He raises a brow as he teases, “are we going somewhere?”

  “Yup.” I give him my best leer. “To my room so I can have my wicked way with you.”

  It only takes a few steps to get him exactly where I want him. As we reach the threshold of the space, the handle of Sydney’s door jangles, breaking the silence of the apartment.

  My eyes widen as I realize that we’re not as alone as I’d assumed. I quickly shove Rowan into my bedroom and slam the door shut. My heart races as a groggy looking Sydney steps into the darkened hallway and blinks at me. She has the look of an animal on the verge of waking from a long hibernation.

  “Hey.” She drags a hand through her disheveled blond hair. “What time is it?”

  “Ummm,” I glance at my phone, “about eight.”

  “Really?” She rubs her eyes. “I was studying, and then decided to take a short nap. That was two hours ago. Guess I was more tired than I realized.”

  “Oh. Sorry about waking you. I figured you weren’t home.”

  She shrugs before stifling a yawn. “It’s fine. I have a paper to finish up. It’s probably good that it happened.” She gives me a slight smile before shifting her weight and glancing around the apartment with curiosity. “Is someone else here? I could have sworn I heard voices.”

  “Ummm...nope!” Well, hell. I really hate lying. Although that doesn’t stop me from sliding my cell from my jeans’ back pocket and waving it around like evidence. “I was talking on the phone.”

  “Huh.” Her brows draw together in confusion. “That’s so weird. I th
ought I heard a male voice.”

  “It was my father.” There’s a pause as my mind whirls, and I add with a bit of a nervous chuckle, “You know how loud he is. Must be all that shouting from the sidelines.”

  “Yeah,” she shrugs, “I guess.”

  The air gets clogged in my throat. I can’t tell if she’s buying my story or not. It would probably be for the best if I change the subject rather than dig my hole any deeper. “I figured you would be with Ethan.”

  Her lips sink into a frown. “We’re on another break.”

  “Oh.” I’ve lost count of how many breaks they’ve taken in the four-plus months they’ve been together, but it’s a lot. Too many.

  She rolls her eyes before crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame. “Yeah, I know. Something has to change. I can’t keep doing this anymore.”

  I hate to say it, but I’ve heard this song and dance from Sydney before. Inevitably, she’ll get back together with Ethan, and the ugly cycle will begin all over again. She never does anything to break the pattern.

  When I remain silent, she straightens and switches gears. “I’m starving. I slept right through dinner. Did you eat already?”

  “Not yet.” I point to the kitchen and improvise. “I was about to make a PB&J.”

  She scrunches her nose. “What are you? Like five? Let’s go out and grab something.”

  “Oh.” Ignoring the jab at my favorite sandwich, I glance at my closed bedroom door. There’s no way I can tell Sydney that Rowan is standing on the other side. I mean, I could...but I’m not ready to do that yet. “Um—”

  “Please!” She steeples her hands in front of her. “I need you to talk me out of this relationship!”

  That’s not possible.

  “Please, please, please! I need your wisdom now more than ever.”

  My shoulders collapse. “Fine.” Sydney has always been there when I’ve needed her. How can I not do the same?

  A big smile lights up her face. “Yay! I miss spending time with you. It feels like you’ve been so busy this past week, and I don’t even know what you’ve been up to.”

  Remorse pricks at my conscience. I’ve been spending all my free time sneaking around with Rowan. Honestly, I didn’t think Sydney would notice my absence.

  “Let me change, and we can go.”

  Before I can respond, she swings away, closing the bedroom door behind her.

  There’s a beat of silence before mine is cracked open, and Rowan peers out. “Is the coast clear?”

  “Yeah.” Disappointment floods through me. I was really looking forward to spending a little one-on-one time with him.

  As if reading my thoughts, his lips twitch. “Guess we’ll have to take a raincheck.”

  “It looks that way,” I say with a pout. I’m going to self-combust if I don’t get laid soon.

  He points to the wadded-up shirt on the living room floor. “I’m gonna need that before I take off.”

  “I like you better without it on,” I tell him.

  “You mean like this?” With a grin, he flexes his biceps, and I go a little weak in the knees. I could stare at him for hours. Unfortunately, now’s not the time to get caught up in his body. I scramble to grab the shirt from the floor and toss it to him. He tugs it over his head and covers his chest. Then he smacks a kiss against my lips. “Call me later?”

  “As soon as I get back.”

  “It’s a date.” And then he’s gone, disappearing almost soundlessly through the apartment door.

  As if on cue, Sydney strolls out of her room with her purse in hand. “Ready to go?”

  “Yup.”

  “Want to grab Chinese? I could really go for chicken fried rice.”

  My belly rumbles in agreement. I guess if I can’t satiate one appetite, I can at least satisfy the other. “That sounds good.”

  As we leave the apartment, she throws an arm around my shoulders and tugs me close. “I guess if it doesn’t work out with Ethan, we can be single and ready to mingle together.”

  I hoist my smile. “Yeah.”

  Except...I’m not as single as she thinks I am.

  And sooner rather than later, I need to come clean about that.

  28

  Demi

  Annica knocks into me as I jog to the other side of the field. When I throw a glance over my shoulder, she narrows her eyes and glares. I roll mine and dismiss her like the pesky fruit fly she is. That girl needs to get over herself and move on. I refuse to engage in this petty behavior and divide our team any further than it is.

  Clearly, Annica has other ideas. She’s like a rat terrier constantly nipping at my heels. If she’s not careful, she’s going to get a swift kick in the ass. When she doesn’t get the expected rise out of me, she swings away. Her cronies flank her as they head off in the opposite direction.

  “Maybe you should tell Coach what’s going on,” Sydney grumbles before pursing her lips and shooting the auburn-haired girl a death glare.

  “He’s aware of the situation and wants us to act like the adults we’re supposed to be and handle it on our own.”

  She plants her fists on her hips. “Punch her in the face. Boom. Then it’s handled.”

  A chuckle gurgles up in my throat. As much as I like the idea, that would probably make matters worse.

  After another thirty minutes of scrimmaging, Coach blows his whistle. We huddle up before going over a few plays that need work, and then he releases us for the afternoon.

  As Sydney and I head to the locker room, my mind is full of Annica. She won’t be happy until she rips this team apart and me with it. I need to figure out a way to stop her. I’m not sure what else to do. I’ve tried talking to her, and she refuses to listen. If anything, it’s only pissed her off more.

  “Hey,” Sydney says, interrupting the whirl of my thoughts, “isn’t that Rowan hanging out by the fence?” Her voice turns speculative. “He must be sleeping with one of the dirty bitches on our team.” There’s a pause before she mutters, “Lucky girl.”

  All thoughts of Annica disappear as my gaze arrows to the chain-link fence surrounding the perimeter of the field. Sure enough, there he is, leaning casually against one of the metal poles. Our gazes catch and hold. The force of his stare is almost enough to have me stumbling to a halt.

  The sensations that careen around inside me are almost shocking in their intensity. It’s almost enough to knock the air from my lungs. Never could I have imagined that it would be like this between us. I spent so much time pretending I felt nothing for Rowan. Now that I’m no longer fighting myself, I’m practically drowning in emotion.

  The noise of the field fades as he pushes away from the fence and walks toward me. As corny as it sounds, it’s as if there’s an invisible string pulling us toward one another. I’ve never felt this with anyone else. Until now, I didn’t believe something like this even existed. A smile curves the edges of my lips. As much as I want to play it cool, that’s no longer a possibility. The sight of him makes me feel like a goofy teenager. Like there are red and pink hearts dancing over my head. Someone needs to smack me before this can spiral any further out of control.

  Sydney continues to chatter away, but I have no idea what she’s saying. Her voice is like the insistent drone of bees in my ears. Rowan is the only person I’m able to focus on.

  An answering smile lifts his lips, and my heart spasms.

  He looks so damn good in a maroon-colored T-shirt that hugs every delicious inch of his chest and biceps. His jeans sit low on his waist and mold to his muscular thighs. A punch of arousal hits me in the gut before settling in my core.

  Why am I holding all this in and pretending we’re not together?

  I’ve been so insistent that we keep this on the down-low and sneak around like we’re doing something wrong when nothing could be further from the truth. I’m not ashamed to be seen with him. Why do I care what a bunch of gossips have to say?

  It takes less than thirty seconds
to close the distance between us. When he’s about five feet away, Rowan’s footsteps slow. He glances at Sydney before raising a tentative hand in my direction. Only now do I realize that he stopped because he’s unsure how to greet me in front of my teammates. He’s trying to do as I’ve asked. All of a sudden, I feel like a jerk for forcing him to keep our relationship a secret.

  Three strides bring me to him, and I slide my arms around his neck. His brows shoot up when he realizes my intent. From my periphery, I catch Sydney’s reaction. Her mouth drops open, and her eyes pop wide. A choking sound escapes from her. Instead of admitting my attraction for Rowan, I’ve always gone out of my way to insist that I didn’t like him. It was as if by repeating it enough times, I could convince myself it was the truth. Clearly, that plan backfired. Sydney has never been able to understand my intense disdain for the quarterback. Little does she realize that I was lying to both of us.

  As soon as his lips collide with mine, I open under the firm pressure. His tongue sweeps inside my mouth and tangles with my own. His arms band around me, pulling me close. I’ve never been one for PDA, but at the moment, I don’t give a damn who sees us together.

  “Oh, my freaking god, you’re the dirty bitch!” Sydney screeches at a decibel that hurts my ears. “I think I’m losing my ever-loving mind!”

  My lips tremble at the corners as I pull away enough to meet his gaze.

  “Well, the cat is definitely out of the bag,” he murmurs with a grin. “There’s no going back now.”

  A mixture of relief and giddiness flood through me.

  “It’ll spread across campus like wildfire.” He pauses, carefully searching my eyes for remorse. “Are you ready for that?”

  “Yeah, let them talk. I don’t care.” I have no idea when that changed, and I started feeling differently. All I know is that the shift has everything to do with Rowan. Instead of pushing me into a relationship I wasn’t ready for, he waited patiently and gave me the time I needed to get there on my own. And now that I have, I couldn’t be happier.

  His mouth lingers over mine. “Good. Let them run their mouths. It’s all a bunch of white noise.”