by Lexy Timms
FASTER
The University of Gatica Series
By
Lexy Timms
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
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UNIVERITY OF GATICA SERIES
The Recruiting Trip
Book One is now available!
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B00PWL3X92
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ B00PWL3X92
Faster
Book Two:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B00R9RQ4AM
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R9RQ4AM
Higher
Book Three:
Available April 19 2015
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q
Stronger
Book Four: Summer 2015
Dominate
Book Five: Summer/Fall 2015
This is Book 2 of a 5 book series
(with the possibility of more to come!)
DESCRIPTION:
Hurdler, Aileen Nessa surprised the university track and field world by signing with a small Division One NCAA school. Talented on the track and in the classroom, she is headed to the University of Gatica. No one knows the main reason, she signed with the school, is because of a top defensive back football player.
Away from her small Ohio hometown, she steps into a university town dedicated to sports and success. Trying to adjust to school life as a varsity athlete, she learns there are perks and challenges because of her status.
Tyler Jensen, the boy she desperately wants to catch the attention of, seems to have forgotten all about what happened on Aileen’s recruiting trip last February. Devastated, she throws her frustration into the only thing she knows – track.
Will pushing everything to the limit create the fulfillment she so desperately wants or will everything come crashing down before she reaches the first hurdle?
* This is NOT erotica* It is a new adult & college sport romance.
For mature readers only. There are sexual situations, but no graphic sex.
UNIVERSITY of GATICA SERIES
The Recruiting Trip
Faster
Higher
Stronger
Dominate
Citius, Altius, Fortius
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
-Steve Prefontaine
Chapter 1
“You sure your roommate isn’t going to mind if I crash at your place?”
Aileen tossed a cheesy at her brother. “Brad! I already talked to Jani. She said it was fine.”
“What’s this Jani look like? She’s two years older than you, right?” Brad changed the radio in his truck and began tapping his thumbs against the steering wheel. He gave her a knowing look. “Is she cute?”
Aileen shook her head and popped one last cheesy in her mouth before closing the bag. “Funny, she asked me the same question about you.”
Brad glanced at her with his brown eyes before turning his attention back to the road. He had their father’s chestnut hair and dark eyes while Aileen had her mother’s blonde hair and blue eyes. “Did she seriously ask you if I was cute?”
She laughed. “She kinda reminds me of a female version of you.”
“Gross. I’m not interested then.”
She punched him playfully in the shoulder. “I meant that she’s like you; she doesn’t look like you.” She tried to remember what Jani looked like back in February. All she could remember was the night before she left, at Tyler’s party. “She’s pretty. She’s a high jumper.”
Brad made a face. “Tall n’ skinny like a bean? I’ve seen those high jumpers at your track meets. I’ll pass.”
“Let me finish, do-do brain. Jani’s from Canada, I think she said the west coast. She has long legs, but she’s not tall and lanky like most high jumpers. You won’t be disappointed.” Aileen shook her head. “Not that it matters. You are not flirting or hitting on her. I don’t want to be making enemies before school even starts.”
Brad gave her a hurt look.
She mouthed “Liar!” at him.
“What makes you think my hanging with your roommate would make enemies? That hurts,” he punched his chest, right where his heart was, “right here.”
“When’s the last time you had a girlfriend?”
“Last week.”
Aileen burst out laughing. “For about two days. Then the twins realized you were dating both of them.”
Brad shrugged. “It was on my bucket list.”
“You have a bucket list? You’re twenty-two years old! Gimme a break.”
“Fine.” He swiped his hand in her direction. “I won’t sleep with your roommate. You need to make a good impression at this school. Heaven knows why you chose this place. I thought Stanford was in the bag. What made you choose this cold, crappy, not-much-bigger-than-home university town?”
That was the million dollar question everyone had been asking her all summer. Her recruiting trip had been back in February. Anyone with a brain would have probably chosen Stanford, but anyone with a heart would have told her to follow that. She hadn’t listened to her brain or her heart; she’d gone with her gut feeling and signed the Letter of Intent before it expired. She could have waited, thought the big decision through as long as she needed. Coach Anderson at Gatica had told her she had all the time she needed. Except all she could think about when she got back to Bucyrus, Ohio was Tyler Jensen’s touch – the feel of his lips on hers, the magic his hands could do and the terribly sweet ache he created deep inside of her.
So she signed the Letter of Intent. Literally, because of her gut feeling. She also believed (or tried to tell herself) the school had a lot to offer both athletically and academically. Not everyone agreed. Her mother was disappointed she hadn’t chosen to stay closer to home and then spent most of the summer making underlying comments. Her coach was upset she hadn’t signed with a top NCAA Women’s athletic program and after World Junior’s, he had told her she was on her own now. He said it was time for her to start focussing on her new school and coach. Her brother wanted sun. He had promised to drive her to her new schoo
l before she had signed, confident she would choose a sunny state. Only her father and Becky were excited for her. Dad had hugged her and said he was proud of her decision, which only made her feel guilty about the real reason for going to the University of Gatica.
Aileen spent the summer trying to convince herself she had made the right decision. She did not have “signers-regret” she kept telling herself. Thank goodness Becky was around to tell her how great her school was going to be. “You’ll do awesome wherever you go,” Becky told her a million times before yesterday. “You’re smart, athletic and damn beautiful. Everyone will love you. It’s impossible not to.”
When Becky cried the night before Aileen left, it opened the floodgate of uncertainty again for her. She didn’t admit it to Becky, but she was nervous. More nervous than when she stepped into the starting blocks during the World Junior finals. Becky made her pinkie swear to come home during Thanksgiving break.
November couldn’t get here soon enough now. She inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. A lot could happen in the next three months. She had to think positive.
“Earth to Aileen.” Brad waved his hand in front of her face. “You still here?”
She gave her head a slight shake and looked at him. “Of course I’m here.”
“Really?” Brad chuckled. “Because I’m pretty sure you were off in la-la land.”
“Sorry.”
“You nervous?” His voice softened as he checked the GPS. “We’re about half an hour away. Do you want to stop and grab a drink or have a break for a bit?”
She was glad he didn’t ask her again why she had chosen Gatica. If he did, she might have told him the truth; that it was about a boy. He’d have gone mad. “I’m okay. Let’s just get there. Jani took a class this summer, and she’s already at the house. I told her I’d send her a message to let her know when we were close.” She pulled her phone out to text Jani.
“What’s the campus like?” Brad asked when Aileen put her phone back in her bag.
“Nice.” She tried to think back to the tour Sean, a distance runner, had taken her on back in February. It had seemed so cold that weekend. “Some of the buildings are ancient. The school was built in eighteen sixty-five I think, and some of the buildings are original. There're even fireplaces inside the library.”
Brad gave her a skeptical look. “What about the training facilities?”
“I think the track was an old airplane hangar turned into the indoor track. The outdoor stadium is right in front of Wavertree Fieldhouse – that’s the indoor track.”
“Sounds like a lot of old stuff to me.”
“The structures are old, but the facilities inside are not. Wait till you see the weight room. It’s unbelievable. So is the football stadium. Apparently they—we—have a good team.”
“You do.” He chuckled as he pulled off the highway and headed down the road that would take them into town. “You should probably get caught up on that. Most of university life revolves around football. From the team, the marching band, the cheerleaders, and the students. I might have only gone to juco but it was the same there, and we had a shitty team.”
“Varsity athletes get student passes to all the home games.”
“Seriously?” Brad nodded in agreement. “Awesome. I might just have to come up a weekend and catch a game with you.”
“I get a pass, I probably can’t get one for you.”
“We’ll figure something out. Maybe you can ask the Jim Thorpe recipient guy. I saw on the website he runs track as well.”
“Tyler?”
“First name basis with the star defensive back?” Brad snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “I knew there was something you weren’t saying.” He grinned mischievously at her. “So I take it you met Tyler on your recruiting trip?”
Aileen played with the hemline of her skirt. “He came out for dinner with Coach Anderson the one night.” She looked up and stared hard at the road in front of them. “He won NCAAs for Pete’s sake, Brad. He’s a hurdler! It’s not like I staked out the football team!”
Her brother kept the smirk on his face but managed to hold his laugh in. “You don’t have to get so defensive! Shoot, you’d give the guy a run for his money on the football field. Ouch!” he cried out when she punched his arm. “I was only asking if you knew him to try and score a ticket to a football game if I come up.” He rubbed his arm. “It might be safer just to stay home.”
“Maybe you should.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Not really mad at him, she was annoyed with herself for reacting the way she did.”
“Nah,” he teased. “You’ll miss me too much. Me and Eddie will come up a weekend to visit. It’ll be a laugh.”
Eddie was Brad’s best bud and also Becky’s brother. “Are you guys going to see Becky a weekend as well?”
“Hell, yeah!” Brad winked at her.
They passed the city sign to welcome them to Gatica. The four-lane road turned into a two lane as houses appeared and grew closer and closer together.
Aileen pointed out Brad’s window. “Behind that grocery store is Campus Corner. It’s a strip of bars, restaurants and shops. It’s kind of cool.” They came up to a red light. On Aileen’s side stood the Horse and Red Coat rider monument. Someone had taped a football to the rider’s hand and somehow managed to secure a school flag to the horse’s tail.
Brad let out a low whistle. “You can’t beat school spirit!”
“School doesn’t start for another two weeks.” Aileen couldn’t imagine students showing up this early.
“You aren’t the only one on a sports scholarship, kid,” Brad said. “You can bet more athletes are here, especially football. They’ve got a home game on the Friday of the first week of school.”
“How do you know all this stuff?” she asked. “Go right, by the way, Jani said to turn right here and our house is on the third street.”
“Nice and close to campus, and the bars. Handy.”
She hadn’t even thought of that; she had brought her bike along because Wavertree Fieldhouse was on the other side of campus, and the weight room was even a further hike away. She planned on biking as much as she could. Luckily the school wasn’t huge.
Brad turned his truck onto Shuttleman Road. “What’s the number again?”
She checked her phone. “Twenty-ten.”
He slowed to check the numbers. “They jump by a thousand each block it looks like. You’re basically two blocks from school, three blocks from Campus Corner. I’m liking this Jani girl more and more.”
“Still not allowed to sleep with her.” Aileen shifted and began bouncing her foot against the floor of the truck. “There she is!” She pointed two houses ahead of them and began waving. “Jani!” She rolled down the window and waved.
Jani, wearing cut off jogging pants and a red tank top, leapt over the small porch and ran over as Brad parked the truck in front of the yellow house. She nearly jumped into the cab through the window as she leaned in to hug Aileen.
“You made it!” She leaned back and opened the truck door. “I can’t believe you’re here! I’m so excited!” She hugged Aileen tight again when she stepped out of the truck. She flashed a smile at Brad when he came around on the grass as well. “Hi! Are you Aileen’s boyfriend?”
Brad looked mortified. “Hell no! I’m her brother.” He gave Jani a quick once over and grinned. “Her older brother.”
Aileen tried not to roll her eyes. She loved her brother, even when he was a flirt. “Jani, this is my only brother, Brad. Brad this is my roommate.”
Jani held out her hand. “’Eh, Brad! I’m Aileen’s only roommate. We have something in common.”
Only roommate? What about… “Where’s Linda?”
Jani, still giving Brad an approving smile, said, “She’s moving in with her boyfriend. They met back in May, and she just told me last week she’s decided to move in with him. You can have her room if you want.” She linked her arms through Aileen’s and Brad’s
. “Come see what I did with the place this summer!”
“What about the volleyball players? I thought you had two roommates in the basement?”
“They both graduated. I spoke with the owner, and he’s totally cool. We’ll ask around, but he said he didn’t care if it’s just the two of us this semester. He’s not going to raise the rent on us. We’ll scope out the team and see if we approve of anyone.”
Aileen forced her shoulders to drop and relaxed. She hadn’t realized she had been getting tight and nervous. Seeing Jani made her excited. She was glad she picked Gatica. The good feeling inside her just from being here was coming back. “Sounds good to me.”
Brad, who kept his arm linked with Jani, added, “I can stay here as long as you two need me to.”
“Don’t you have to be back at work on Monday?”
He waved his hand. “I’d quit my job for you.” He stared at Jani. “You, two. I mean, I’d quit my job to help you two ladies.”
Jani laughed. “I like your brother. He’s funny.” She opened the freshly painted red door. “I painted this summer between classes. Only went home for two weeks because nationals were in B.C., like an hour from my house. Then I came back here. This place is nearly dead in the summer. I had nothing to do so I painted. Like everything!”
Aileen stepped inside and barely recognized the once dimly lit living room. Jani had painted it a bright yellow and the sunlight from the windows shone on the hardwood floor. She had rearranged the furniture so the TV was now against the wall by Linda’s old room, and the couch was between the two large side windows. “It looks great.”
“Wait till you see what I did in here.” She opened the door to what had been Linda’s room. Aileen hadn’t seen it before so she had nothing to compare it to, but Jani had painted two of the walls white, and one black. “It’s chalkboard paint!” The last wall where a bed sat against had palm trees and a beach mural.
