by Natalie Rios
“Sure, email works.” Theo reaches for my notebook and rips out another page to write his email down for me. Once the great email exchange is complete, I pack up and make my way out. I have an hour before I have to meet with my advisor to discuss my senior thesis. My next stop is the dining hall.
“Hey, can I talk to you?” Theo falls into step beside me and I sigh.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Look...I just wanted to say I wasn’t making fun of your name back there.”
“Uh huh.” I really do not want to relive the awkwardness of the last hour.
“I wasn’t,” he insists, resting a hand on my arm. My eyes lift up to his face and he looks...pained. Anxious. “I think it’s really cool you have a Spanish name. Alma. It’s a beautiful name. I was just surprised because I thought your name really was Allie. Even in prep school, I swear the teachers called you Allie.”
I nod. “They did. Everyone calls me Allie.”
“Okay. That explains it then.” He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “I was just surprised, is all.”
“You said that already.”
“Right,” he sighs. “I don’t want you to think I’m like Doug.”
“Okay?” I’m not really sure what to say to him. What is this even about right now?
“So we’re good?” He still looks nervous, his eyes shifting every which way across my face.
“As good as we’ll ever be, Montgomery.”
“Good.” A huge grin spreads across his face, his relief palpable. He even gives me a flash of the dimple and I have to look away from him.
Here’s the deal. Theo Montgomery maybe a playboy asshole, but he’s handsome as sin. Chiseled cheeks, strong jaw, and golden skin he likely acquired from all the outdoor practice sessions this summer. His dark blonde hair, looking a bit longer than I remember, is swooped over to one side, giving me a perfect view of the most penetrating grey eyes I’ve ever seen. A steely grey that should have been cold like the metal, but instead seem open. Inviting, even.
And then of course there’s the little dimple that flashes in his left cheek every once in a while. Not all the time, mind you. Just now and then. Which is a good thing because his dimple is a superpower, one with the ability to disintegrate panties right on the spot. Business at the local Victoria's Secret must be booming.
Basically, Theo Montgomery is Draco Malfoy if Draco started going out in the sun and pumping iron so he can play American football instead of Quidditch.
In other words: Hot. As. Fuck.
I have to bite my tongue and remind myself about his little Emily/Tiffany mix-up from this morning to keep from panting. Theo Montgomery is a player who hooks up with any pretty and willing female. Not my type and so not worth the headache.
I pivot away from him, finally remembering I had a destination in mind before he distracted me. “Question,” he says, easily falling into step with me again.
“Answer.”
“Smartass. Was that coconut in your coffee this morning?” He says the word coconut like one might say goat testicles.
“Yes.”
“Who sells coconut creamer? Never seen it on the menu at Starbucks.”
“It’s coconut milk, not creamer. I’m a vegan,” I explain. “I use non-dairy alternatives-”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Theo stops, yanking on my arm until I stop too.
“At this rate, I’ll never make it to the dining hall before class,” I mutter.
He immediately lets go and gestures for me to proceed. “Sorry. I just – a vegan! How do you survive?”
I shrug as we finally reach the dining hall. “It’s not that hard, actually. Carlton has a wide selection of vegan items in the dining halls. Plus, I live off-campus. Avoiding meat and dairy isn’t so tough when you cook your own meals.” Stopping at the lone vegan fridge, I retrieve a small container of yogurt and hold it out for Theo. “Soy yogurt for breakfast. This strawberry one is my favorite.”
Pursing his lips, he inspects the container, reading every word of the ingredients list and nutrition facts. “You know, I always thought you didn’t have a choice in your lack of a sex life. Because there aren’t a lot of men out there who are willing to take on all that hostility.”
I snort and walk away, but I can still hear him talking at my back.
“But now I realize self-deprivation’s just your kink. You get off on being withholding. Kind of like a masochist. I can get with it. But let me tell you, there are far more enjoyable ways for me to withhold you of an orgasm.”
I don’t even bother turning around, just flip him the bird over my shoulder as I head for the cash register.
Theo
“You’re late,” Allie squawks the second I reach the table.
“Can you at least wait for me to sit down before you start giving me a hard time? Hey, Nancy. You’re looking gorgeous today. Yellow’s definitely your color.” I give her a wink for good measure.
Nancy’s face immediately blushes fifty shades of red. “Thanks.”
My eyes shift over to Allie. No glasses today, but she’s got on her usual ponytail and plain t-shirt. Navy colored leggings clad her bottom half and my mind immediately starts conjuring ideas of how I can get her out of her seat. That ass has got to look spectacular in those curve hugging leggings.
I’ve been thinking about Allie a lot lately. I’ll admit, I've had the urge to check her out before. Shit, I check out every woman I cross paths with. But it's like the Kappa party was the first time I actually saw her and now I can't stop seeing her. There's just something about her that has heat flaring in my stomach and spreading throughout my body, like a shot of whiskey warming me up on a cold winter’s day.
Damn inconvenient feeling considering she still hates my guts.
Allie clicks the highlighter pen in her hand. “You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.”
“Sorry, practice ran a little longer than expected.” I look around the table, but there’s no sign of that prick Doug. I’m still pissed about what he did to Allie in class. It was uncomfortable for me to watch so I can only imagine how he made her feel. I know Allie and I don’t always get along, but we fight over small stuff. More like playful bickering than malicious insults. Hell no am I about to let some douchebag harass her about her name and ethnicity. “Where’s Doug?”
Allie clicks the pen again. “Also late.”
“Did you check your email?”
“Of course. But considering you didn’t bother emailing...”
Taking the seat directly across from her, I stretch out my legs, purposely brushing against her. I don't shift away and neither does she. She does glare at me though, tugging a smile out of me. “Well, considering I didn’t have a computer handy, I thought it would be best to just drive straight over. Of course, I could have stopped to search for your email address and then typed out the message on my phone, but then I would have been thirty minutes late instead of twenty minutes late.”
“Are we going to keep waiting for him?” the soft-spoken Nancy asks.
“We could try calling him. But, oh, that’s right. Someone insisted we exchange emails instead of phone numbers. Who do you suppose came up with that brilliant idea, Perez?”
Allie flips open her laptop. “I’m surprised you have anymore room to store our numbers considering how many you collect throughout the day. What do you do with all those numbers? Do you ever actually call the girls or is this just one of those ego boosting things you do so you have something to brag about in the locker room?”
Leaning back in my seat, I rest my arm on the back of the empty chair next to me. “Give me your number and you can find out.”
“Pass. We should get started. I only have a few more hours before I have to get to work-”
“Oh, you mean, you don’t work here? You spend so much time at the library, I assumed you were on payroll.” This earns me another mutinous glare. Man, I am on a roll today!
Allie bats her eye
s, all false innocence. “Have you been looking for me, Theodore? Aw, how sweet. But how many times do I have to tell you? Dumb meatheads whose highest aspiration is to get paid to play a sport that research shows may cause brain damage just aren’t my type. Don’t worry your pretty little head over me. Save that brainpower for your later years. You’re going to need it.”
Setting my feet back on the ground, I slam my palms on the table and lean forward. “I play quarterback. If you knew anything about football, you would know quarterbacks report fewer concussions than other positions because they get hit less. The offensive line works to protect the quarterback. Haven’t you ever seen The Blind Side? There’s an entire position dedicated to protecting me from getting hit from behind.”
Allie sits up straighter, folding her hands on the table beside her laptop. “My, my. Aren’t we defensive today? The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Allie’s definitely hit a nerve. I don’t like thinking about getting injured. Football is my dream, but I’m well aware of the risks. One bad tackle and my career is over. Or worse, I’m disabled. I planned on declaring early and entering the draft last year, when I was a Heisman finalist, but my parents and I agreed it would be better to finish my degree and have a backup career. In case things end up going sideways.
“If you’re going to quote Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew would be more fitting,” I change topics.
Allie covers her mouth in an exaggerated fake yawn. “You would prefer the one with misogynistic undertones. Yet another boring cliché courtesy of Carlton’s resident playboy prince.”
I arch a brow, reclining back in my seat. She’s insulting me and I should be offended, but this is the most fun I’ve had all semester. “You want to talk about clichés? How about-”
“You two are so weird.” Though spoken at barely above a whisper, the foreign voice is enough to snap us out of whatever trance we were in. Looking up, I grimace. Nancy. I forgot she was sitting with us. “Did you two used to date or something?”
“No,” I say just as Allie exclaims, “Absolutely not!” Well, damn. She doesn’t have to be so hostile about it.
“Because I swear you guys sound like one of those couples who went through a nasty break, but they didn’t really want to break up and just need to have make-up sex so badly. Anyway, in case anyone’s wondering, Doug isn’t coming.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured since he’s a good half-hour late,” Allie says, returning her attention to her laptop.
“No, I mean he’s not coming, like, ever.” Allie and I exchange a look and I gesture for Nancy to continue. “His dorm got raided earlier. Doug was busted for drugs.”
“Doug is a drug dealer?” I can’t help laughing. “No fucking way. What did he deal, his mother’s valium?”
I mean, come on. Doug, a drug dealer? He’s short, soft-looking, and a ginger for Christ’s sake. Imagine if your friend told you he knew an excellent place to score some party favors. He gives you the address and when you get there, Ed motherfucking Sheeran opens the door.
Ludicrous, I tell you.
“Uh, it was coke, apparently.” Allie flips her laptop around and on the screen is a picture of Doug the Soft Ginger being shoved into the back of a squad car. “President Warren issued a statement saying he’s been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation.”
“Seriously?” Skimming the article, I shake my head. “Fuck, this means we’re down a group member. We’re going to have to split up his page.”
“A guy just had his entire future destroyed and you’re worried about having to type an extra third of a page?”
“Am I supposed to feel sympathy for him? He was dealing drugs out of his dorm room, Perez. And he was rude as shit to you the other day.”
She shrugs. “I’m over it.”
“Well, maybe I’m not.” Her head jerks back a bit, like I’ve stunned her.
“So you’re the only one allowed to be rude to me?”
“He was rude to you. Me and you? We’re just playing. Kind of like foreplay,” I wink, causing her eyelid to twitch. God, I love pissing her off. And yes, I know I’m being immature.
“Bickering exes,” Nancy hums.
“Whatever,” Allie huffs, actively avoiding my gaze. “We need to get to work. We still need to come up with a thesis and outline who is writing about what.”
Things really get rolling after that. Normally, I like to be in charge. Call it quarterback syndrome. We’re used calling the plays on the field. But I don’t mind letting Allie take the reins tonight. My body still aches from practice earlier and I trust her with school stuff. The girl is wicked smart, getting nothing but A’s back in prep school. Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s holding a 4.0 now.
We are interrupted a few times by fans, which Allie doesn’t like. She shoots me a nasty look every time it happens, but I never ignore fans. I’m no dummy. What would the team be without its fans? Broke.
And if these fans just so happen to be beautiful women? All the better. The many perks of being the starting quarterback.
4
Allie
“I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS,” I say to Theo the second the TA announces we’re starting off with a small group discussion.
“About our paper? I thought it looked good.”
“Not the paper. This,” I hiss, impatiently pointing at the two empty seats by us. “First Doug and now Nancy?”
Theo jerks a shoulder. “She’s ditching a discussion session. This might be a difficult concept for a gigantic nerd such as yourself to grasp, but people skip class sometimes.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I stifle a frustrated sigh. “I’m not just talking about the discussion session. She missed lecture today-”
“So she’s ditched two classes on the same day. Still not a big deal.”
“She missed lecture on Monday too. And she hasn’t responded to any of my emails since that day we met up at the library.”
“Wait, what?” Theo sits up, finally seeming to grasp the severity of the situation. “Didn’t she email you her third of the essay? I thought we agreed to send it to you to put together and edit.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I haven’t seen or heard from her since the library.”
“Does that mean we’re short a page?”
“No.”
“I don’t get it. Who wrote her part?”
Isn’t it obvious? “I did.”
His eyes narrow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I took care of it.”
“You should have told me.”
“Why? Were you going to write it?”
“I would have written half of it.”
I roll my eyes. “You were griping about having to write an extra third of a page when Doug got suspended.”
“I would have written half. And you should have told me,” he insists.
“Whatever.” I don’t believe him one bit.
He pounds his fist down on the desk. “Damn it, Perez! That paper has my name on it too. If another page needed to be written, I have a right to know.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry.” I look around the room and though some people are staring at us, most are still chatting in their groups. “I admit it was douchey of me not to tell you. But we can’t stay as a two-person group, right? It wouldn’t be fair. Everyone else has less work to do than us.”
“You’re assuming Nancy’s definitely out. She could just be ditching.”
I wait until the end of the class period to solve this mystery once and for all. “I’m asking the TA, if you want to come with,” I say to Theo. He nods and gestures for me to take the lead. I approach the TA and explain the situation.
“Ah, Nancy Clark,” the TA nods after checking the roster. “She dropped the class sometime over the weekend.”
“Dropped? What do you mean, she dropped?”
The TA arches a brow at me. “Well, during the add/drop period at the beginning of the semester, studen
ts may add and drop as many classes as they want. It’s very common for freshmen to shop around. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nancy thought she would like sociology, tried it, and then dropped when she realized it wasn’t for her.”
What I can’t believe is the fact Nancy sat with us at the library for two hours last week and never once mentioned she was considering dropping the class.
“Are we getting a new group member?” Theo asks.
“No.”
“But that’s the second group member to drop. Our group has half as many members as any other in the class,” I point out.
“I asked Professor Stevens what he wanted to do about it this morning and he instructed me to just let it be.” Shrugging, the TA picks up his bag and walks toward the exit. “If you want to take it up with him, his office hours start in five minutes.”
I grab my things and bolt. I only have an hour before my next class and I want to make sure I get to Professor Stevens’ office before anyone else.
“Hey, Perez! Where are you going?” Theo easily catches up to me. Damn him and his long, athletic legs.
We round the corner and I point to Thornton Hall. “To talk to Professor Stevens.”
The good news is, there isn’t a single student waiting outside of his office when we arrive. The bad news is, he is less than sympathetic to our plight.
“Ah, well if it isn’t the girl with the stained shirt and Mr. Football himself.” Yup, he remembers us and nope, it’s not in a good way. “On time for my office hours, yet the class time seems to elude you.” And the digs just kept right on coming.
“I’m so sorry about that first day. It’s really not like me to be late-”
Professor Stevens cuts me off with a wave of his hand. “Save the excuses. Do you two have a question for me?”
“Yeah.” Theo steps forward. “Our discussion group is down to two people thanks to someone getting arrested and another dropping the class. We were wondering if the groups are going to be reorganized since we now have to do twice as much work as everyone else.”
