by Natalie Rios
Professor Stevens doesn’t so much as blink. “No.”
“No?” I repeat.
“No,” the professor reiterates. “You see, currently, I have two students in my office complaining about the workload. If I remove another student from their current group to place into yours, I will have four students in here complaining about the workload. And four is greater than two.”
“You’re seriously avoiding doing the fair thing because you don’t want to talk to a couple of more students?” Theo demands. “Isn’t talking to students part of your job?”
Professor Stevens leans forward in his chair, forming a steeple with his hands. “It’s human nature to choose the easier path for yourself. Isn’t that why the two of you enrolled in my class?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Theo asks. But I think I know exactly where our professor is going with this.
We are so screwed.
“Two seniors, one of them a star athlete, enrolled in an intro level class with a heavy freshmen enrollment. I think the two of you were looking for an easy A. Something with a lower workload to help pad your GPAs. And through a series of unfortunate events, the workload for that class has since increased. The two of you are just going to have to work a little bit harder for that grade.”
Yup, he’s definitely holding a grudge against us.
“Even though the set up isn’t fair?” Theo’s tone is incredulous, as if he can’t believe the professor’s reaction.
“Do you know what I think isn’t fair? The fact I spend hours preparing my lectures only to have students like you spend the class time either whispering to the girl next to you or texting on your phone. Yes, I can see you staring into your lap while I lecture,” Professor Stevens says with a wry smile. “Take it as a lesson. Life’s not always fair, Mr. Montgomery.”
“What a douchebag!” Theo shouts the second we leave the building. Visibly frustrated, he rakes a hand through his hair. “He’s retaliating against us.”
“No, shit.” If I had known Theo didn’t even bother pretending to pay attention in class, I would have never brought him with me. “Look, we’re stuck as a group of two. Let’s just accept it and move on. We need to schedule a time to meet and work on our next assignment. I’m free this Saturday.”
Theo looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Uh, no. I have a game on Saturday.”
“What about Sunday?”
“It’s an away game, at Virginia Tech. We’re going to be traveling back on Sunday.”
“And Friday?” But he’s already shaking his head.
“We’re traveling there on Friday. Thursday is my only free night.”
“I work Thursday nights.”
“Change your shift.”
“I can’t just-”
But Theo is already jogging away from me. “I’ve got to get to the gym for a conditioning session. Just text me your availability. Oh, wait. Email it to me. Since you seem to be stuck in 1995. I’ll bet when you log in to your email, a robotic male voice announces you’ve got mail!”
Ugh. This is exactly why I didn’t want to be in a two-person group with Theo. I’m already having to possibly rearrange my schedule to deal with his bullshit.
Somebody needs to clear the library of any sharp objects, ASAP.
5
Theo
“YOU’RE LATE.”
Sighing, I take a seat next to Allie and try to muster up some enthusiasm for being here.
Nope, can’t do it.
“You know, Perez, if we just exchanged numbers like normal people, I can text you when I’m running late.”
“Or you can be on time. You picked 6pm, not me.”
“Practice ran late. That’s not exactly something I can control.”
“Seems to happen kind of often...” Sliding her laptop to the side, Allie pulls out a notebook and a purple gel pen. Huh. Pink glitter pen and now a purple gel pen. My sexy librarian has a girly side. “Now, concerted cultivation versus natural growth. Do you have a preference on which one you want to write about?”
I blink at her. “Do you have a preference?”
Crossing her arms, she eyes me suspiciously. “Well, you could probably relate to the concerted cultivation approach more. Being the governor’s son and all.”
Ah, hell. “I don’t want to write a paper about what it’s like to be the governor’s kid.”
“That’s not what you would be writing about. Did you do the reading for this week?”
“Not all of it,” I admit.
“Theodore!”
“I’ve been busy! Strength and conditioning training, class, media bullshit...And then practice ran late.” A rough practice at that. I got sacked. Twice. Getting sacked sucks, but getting sacked by your own teammates before a game? A fucking nightmare. I have the bruises to prove it. “I was planning on doing it on the trip out to Virginia this weekend. Perfect reading time.”
Allie hands me her textbook. “Here. I’m going to do my inorganic chemistry homework while you read chapter three. Let me know when you’re done and we’ll go from there.”
The only thing that sounds less interesting than sociology? Inorganic chemistry. I’m telling you, the girl is a masochist.
Lucky for me, the chapter is short. Still, I need a breather. Every bone in my body aches and what I really want to do is go home and ice my left ribcage, where I know there’s a massive bruise growing bluer by the second. It hurts like a bitch, but that’s what happens when you collide with a 300-pound defensive linesmen.
Our offensive line is struggling this year. Between seniors graduating and juniors declaring early, we lost almost all of our best guys. Which means I’m stuck in a transition year, with a ragtag team that isn’t quite roster ready. I’m not happy taking a pounding while these rookies get caught up.
“Hey, T.”
Pushing my football frustrations aside, I smile up at the pretty strawberry blonde who saddles up next me. “Hey.”
She leans down, giving me a view straight down her V-neck top. “Heard you had a rough practice.”
Man, good news travels fast around here. Practice ended an hour ago, tops. “Yeah, you can say that.”
Strawberry Shortcake rests a hip against the table, brazenly tracing a fingertip up the side of my arm, from my elbow all the way up to the sleeve of my t-shirt. “Well, I’m Tara. And if you need any cheering up later...” She eyes my phone and I hand it to her so she can store her number. Tara lightly caresses my arm before straightening and walking away.
She’s still rounding the corner when the text comes through.
Tara: Or if you need any cheering up right now...
I weigh my options. Leaving Allie would be a dick move, but thanks to her and her incredible ass that I can’t seem to get out of my mind, I’ve been having a dry-spell lately. It’s like she put me under a trance at the Kappa party and I can’t shake myself out of it. I haven’t had sex in weeks and I’m frustrated. My body needs release. Release I’m most definitely not going to get from Allie, who has me very firmly in the Fuck Off Zone. Tara is a distraction, one sorely needed on a day like today.
I slide my gaze towards Allie, who is still neck deep in whatever the hell inorganic chemistry is. Would she even notice if I left? Probably not. I won’t be gone long anyway.
“I’m going to take a leak,” I say.
Allie lifts a hand up in a half wave. “Okay.”
Perfect. I stand up and make my way to the back row of books, a poorly lit row that is guaranteed to be empty at this time of day.
I’ll be back before Allie even realizes I’m gone.
Allie
Bathroom break. Yeah, right. I wasn’t born yesterday. I saw him give his number to that blonde. I saw him smirk when he got a text message right after she left. And I saw him make his way to that dimly lit row of books affectionately known around campus as Hook Up Alley.
I’m willing to bet a year’s worth of tuition they are back there getting it on.
I could just sit here, wait for them to finish so we can finally get started on our project. But no. No. NO. I am pissed off. He shows up late, unprepared and now he’s wasting our project time hooking up with some random football groupie?
Nope. Not on my watch.
So I flip my laptop close, leaving it on the table along with all of our other things. No one’s going to want to steal my ancient Dell. Marching across the library, I spot them about half way down the aisle. She’s standing up against a bookshelf with her hand cupping his crotch while he has a hand planted on either side of her shoulders, caging her in. Leaning in close, he whispers something in her ear.
Picking up the fattest book I can find, I throw it on the ground.
A satisfying THUD fills the air and she lets out an ear-piercing screech while Theo shouts, “What the hell!”
Ignoring him, I focus on the girl, who is straightening her clothes while also nervously eyeing me and Theo. She probably thinks I’m a jealous ex. All the better considering what I have planned. “He has the clap.”
It’s so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. But when the shock wears off, Theo’s howling. “What the fuck! That’s not true!”
“I would know,” I continue right over his protests, “because I gave it to him.”
“Um...” The blonde is still eyeing us, but she looks horrified now. As if the clap were airborne and just standing next to us is enough for her to catch it. “I, uh, have to go.” She backs away slowly before breaking into an all-out sprint.
“Good riddance,” I mutter, turning to face an increasingly irate Theo.
“What the fuck, Perez! You can’t say shit like that. Do you realize that rumor’s going to spread around campus?”
“Like that will stop your harem,” I mutter.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. We have work to do.”
But Theo ignores this. “What are you even doing back here? I told you I was using the bathroom.”
“Which was a blatant lie. You came back here to have sex with that girl.”
“We were just talking! Talking. But even if we were having sex, there’s no need for you to get so huffy about it.” He smirks then. “Unless you’re jealous.”
My jaw drops. Is this guy for real?
“Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t care who you stick your dick in. Your dick could fall right off and I wouldn’t shed a single tear. But you do that shit on your own time, not mine. Because my time is precious to me and I just wasted the last fucking hour waiting around for you. Do you know how much other shit I have to do? Homework, med school applications, scholarship applications...Hell, I changed my shift at work because you said this was the only day and time you’re available this week. Yet you stroll in half an hour late, unprepared, and then leave to go fuck the first floozy who throws herself at you.”
I decide to pause there, giving him a chance to explain himself.
“Did you just say floozy? The only person I’ve heard use that word is my eighty-year-old grandmother.”
Why do I even bother?
“Fuck. You.” Turning on my heel, I run back to our table and pack up my things.
This. This is why I don’t date. Very early on in my freshman year, I discovered college guys aren’t interested in dating. Hell, half of them aren’t even interested in studying. Your typical college male is interested in three things: booze, boobs, and football.
Chalk it up to young age, emotional immaturity or whatever, but these boys (because that’s exactly what they are, boys, not men) only care about having fun. Hooking up, partying, and going to football games, that’s their life. Should a girl be serious about her studies or, God forbid, want to be taken out on a date…well, then she must be a dull virgin who isn’t worth a second of their time.
I’ve known this from the moment my prep school boyfriend broke up with me because we were going to different colleges and he “didn’t want to be tied down”. I’ve known it from my first and only one-night stand, which I never intended to be a one-night stand but the asshole would only text me late on Friday nights when he was bored and horny so a one-night stand he became.
College boys just aren’t worth my time. And Theo? He’s the worst offender of them all, the epitome of Carlton’s football-obsessed hookup culture. How many girls have I spotted him with and we’re only on, what, week three of the semester?
“Perez. Allie. Wait.” A hand clamps on my shoulder and I know it’s him. When I try to stand up, he tightens his grip, shoving me back in my seat. He crouches so we’re eye level with each other and whoa. I’ve never been this close to him before. He licks his lips and my eyes immediately hone in on the movement. On those lips.
Holy hell. Who knew Theo Montgomery had such full and inviting lips? Delicious lips, meant for kissing all night long.
“I’m sorry,” he startles me out of my lip trance. “I shouldn’t have left with that girl.”
Oh, that’s right. He just ran off to hook up with some girl in the back of the library. A girl whose name he probably doesn’t even remember. Sexy lips be damned. So he's nice looking. Big deal. The body is just a shell. It's what's on the inside that counts and on the inside he's as empty as my bank account.
“And I’m really sorry I was late. I know it’s not fair of me to waste your time and I didn’t realize you’d gone through so much trouble to meet me here. I promise it will never happen again. Well, the me disappearing with a girl part. I don’t have any control over when practice ends. Coach can be a bit of a tyrant sometimes. Please stay. I promise I’ll be good.”
I study him, weighing his words. His eyes look sincere. As if he can sense my hesitation, he adds, “If it makes you feel any better, I got pummeled in practice today.”
“Pummeled?”
“Sacked. Twice. That’s why I was late. The team doc wanted to check me for bruises.”
That doesn’t make me feel better. I may not like the guy, but I don’t want him to get hurt. Either way, I decide to let it go. “Fine. One last question though. Do you even know her name?”
Theo stands up and takes a step back. “Yeah, it’s Tara. Christ, Perez. What kind of a guy do you take me for?”
“The kind that gets around. I mean, you were about to fuck a stranger in the back of a library five minutes ago,” I point out.
“I wasn’t going to fuck her. I’m not an exhibitionist. We were just talking. Sex isn’t all I think about, you know.”
I snort. “She had her hand on your crotch.”
“But I had my pants on.”
“An over-the-jeans-handy then. Can you go a single day without sex?”
“Of course,” he huffs, sliding into the chair next to me. “I can go a whole month without sex.”
“Except you couldn’t even go fifteen minutes just now,” I smirk.
He throws his hands up. “We weren’t going to have sex! I haven’t had sex in like a month now.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about Tiffany already? From the Kappa party.”
He opens his mouth to say something, then shakes his head. “I can go a month without sex more easily than you can go a month without your masochist routine.”
“Being a vegan doesn’t make me a masochist.”
“No, but spending every day holed up in the library does. You have to live a little, Perez. Enjoy your twenties while you still can.”
“I just entered my twenties and I’m enjoying them just fine. And I don’t spend every night at the library.”
It’s Theo’s turn to smirk. “Oh, really?”
“Really. Just because I’m studious doesn’t mean I don’t know how to have fun.”
“Care to place a wager? I go a month without sex, you go a month acting your age. Whoever cracks first loses.”
“Pass.” I don’t have time for Theo and his games. I flip open my laptop and pull up my chem homework again.
“Come on, Perez. All you have to do is party. Live a little. Mine is the truly d
ifficult task,” Theo coaxes.
I decide to entertain him for a bit. “And what’s in it for me? What do I get if I win?”
“If you win, I’ll give you a $1000.”
Hold. The. Phone.
Here’s the thing. Med school applications? They ain’t cheap. Harvard Med is $100. Can you imagine, $100, just to apply? There is a fee waiver program, but my family falls into that weird income bracket that isn’t quite poor enough to qualify for such things while nowhere near well-off enough to just hand over a few hundred dollars all willy-nilly.
I spent my summer break volunteering at a local hospital (to strengthen my application) and working (to pay the bills and save up for the school year), managing to save $500 for my med school applications. That’s enough to apply to five, maybe six schools. An extra $1000 means I can apply to ten more, significantly upping my chances of getting in somewhere.
If Theo’s offer is legit.
“Is this for real? A $1000?”
“Yup. You know I’m good for it.”
Theo’s family can easily afford Carlton’s $50,000 a year sticker price. His father, Arthur Montgomery, is the Governor of Massachusetts. His grandfather was also a governor at one point. And Montgomery Hall on campus? Paid for with a generous donation made by one of Theo’s ancestors.
So, yeah. He’s definitely good for it.
“Matter of fact, let’s make it $2000,” he says when I still hesitate.
That’s enough to cover med school applications and some rent. I can apply wherever I want and reduce my hours at work so I can get some more sleep.
“Think about it, Perez,” he continues. “All you have to do is go to a few parties with me. Drink. Dance. Be merry. If you can keep up with the average twenty-two-year old’s social calendar for thirty days, I’ll write you a check for $2000.”
Ugh, am I seriously considering spending time with Theo Montgomery?
Of course I am. I’m a broke college student with her eyes set on med school. If I have to deal with a cocky jock for a month to get there, so be it.
First things first though...
“On the off chance you win, what do you get?” I ask. Because I sure as hell can’t afford to pay him $2000.
