Campus Player by Jennifer Sucevic
Rowan
Ilift the bottle of beer to my lips and take a swig. It goes down smooth but does nothing to alleviate the discontent that brews beneath the surface. There’s only one person capable of that, and it’s not the sad imitation currently hanging on me.
“We should get out of here.” Her slim hands stroke over my chest as she stares up at me with dark eyes. “We can go back to my place and talk.”
Right. I think we both realize that conversing is not this girl’s end goal. The only thing she wants to better acquaint herself with is my cock.
Why pretend otherwise?
What I’ve come to learn over three years at WU is that most of these girls are a carbon copy of each other. The hair, eyes, and body size might be different, but beneath the exterior features, they’re all the same. They want the notoriety that comes from being with a high-profile athlete on campus. Throw in someone who has a chance of turning pro and making millions, and you got yourself a stage five clinger.
That’s the last thing I want.
Or need.
But this girl—if I squint hard enough and suck down a couple more drinks—bares a striking resemblance to a certain someone else. Thinking along those lines will be precisely what gets me into trouble.
“Rowan?” When I don’t answer, she presses closer, pushing her breasts against my chest. “Did you hear me?”
Yeah, I heard. If I end up leaving with her, it’ll be for all the wrong reasons. She might resemble Demi with her dark hair and eyes, but her body is a lot softer instead of being tight and athletic.
I’m five seconds away from giving in when my skin prickles, and I glance around, knowing that she’s somewhere in the nearby vicinity. Call it fucked up Spidey senses. I scan the thick crowd until my gaze homes in on her dark head. Her lips are a tight slash across her face, and there’s a hollowed-out look in her eyes. Even from this distance, I realize something is wrong.
Without thinking, I yell, “Demi!”
Even though the music is obnoxiously loud, and I’m unsure if my voice carries, her gaze slices to mine as if she knew I was standing there the entire time. It only reconfirms that I’m not the only one who feels the strange gravitational pull. Whether she wants to admit it or not, there is a bond that connects us to one another.
For a fleeting moment, our gazes lock and hold. Pain flares in her eyes before it’s blinked away. She drags her gaze from mine before pushing steadily through the mass of bodies toward the front door.
I don’t realize I’m on the move until the girl previously wrapped around me calls out, “Hey! Where are you going?”
Barely do I stop to throw the words over my shoulder. “Sorry, a friend needs me.”
Although that statement is highly debatable. It’s unlikely that my friend wants any assistance from the likes of me.
“I thought we were leaving,” she whines, unwilling to throw in the towel just yet.
“Maybe another time.”
Or...more like never.
My size and notoriety on campus make shoving my way through the crowd unnecessary. If you’re not looking to get mowed over, move your ass out of the way. Within thirty seconds, I’ve cut a direct path to Demi. I wrap my fingers around her bicep, effectively halting her escape.
“Hey.” I spin her around until she has no choice but to meet my searching gaze. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” She shakes her head, but the fib is there, lurking in her dark depths.
“Why are you lying?” I drag her closer. “Tell me what happened.”
“I’m just tired.” Demi jerks her arm, attempting to break free from the hold I have on her. “I want to go home.”
I study her tightened features for the truth. “Why don’t I believe you?”
A crack of anger flashes across her face. “I don’t care what you believe.” For a second time, she tries to wrench her arm free, but I refuse to let her get away that easily. I don’t like the pain reverberating in her eyes, and I want to know who put it there. “Let me go!”
“Demi!”
Our heads swivel as Justin crashes onto the scene, interrupting our conversation. Any struggle Demi had been putting up ceases as every muscle in her body goes rigid.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts, gaze focused solely on her.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that I’m not much of a Justin fan. Even before they got together, I never had much for the guy. He always struck me as a conceited tool. And I’ve become even less enamored since they’ve been seeing each other. He’s nowhere near good enough for her. I was hoping Coach would put the kibosh on their relationship the other night, but that didn’t happen.
My eyes narrow as I pull Demi closer. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”
Justin tears his gaze from her long enough to shoot me a glare. Heat flags his cheeks. “That’s none of your damn business.” He waggles a finger between himself and the girl pressed against me. “This is between the two of us.” He shifts from one foot to the other before dropping his voice. “Please, Demi, can we go somewhere and talk in private?”
A gurgle of disbelief bubbles up from her throat. “You didn’t seem too interested in privacy a couple of minutes ago.”
What the hell does that mean?
Justin grits his teeth as the flush staining his cheeks creeps further down his neck. “Would you hear me out?”
When she presses herself against me, I realize that whatever she’s upset about has everything to do with him. That’s all the incentive I need to snake my arm around her shoulders and tuck her carefully against my body.
Justin plows a hand through his hair as frustration flashes across his face. His voice drops, taking on a pleading note. “I made a mistake, all right? Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”
Demi’s brows skyrocket across her forehead. “Are you being serious?” Before he can answer, she says, “Clearly you don’t understand that sticking your dick in another chick’s mouth is a huge deal. And for that girl to be one of my teammates makes the situation even more unforgivable.”
“You cheated on her?”Why the hell would Justin do that? Doesn’t he realize how fucking special this girl is? Any guy lucky enough to have Demi should be worshipping the very ground she walks on. I knew this guy was a douche but somehow, he’s managed to jackhammer to an all new low.
A potent mixture of fury and irritation swirl through Justin’s eyes as his gaze swings to me. “Fuck off, Michaels,” he growls. “This doesn’t involve you. Why don’t you take a hike?”
Ha! He’s legitimately insane if he thinks for one damn moment I’m going to walk away and leave Demi alone with him. All he’s done is hurt her, and it will be over my dead carcass that he inflicts anymore damage.
“I’m not going anywhere, so get used to it.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve done this, is it?” Demi cuts in, drawing Justin’s attention to her.
“What?” His voice falters as surprise flickers in his eyes.
She levels a hard look at him and repeats, “This isn’t the first time you’ve cheated on me.”
When a bead of perspiration breaks out across his brow, and his gaze falters, I realize Demi is right. He’s been hooking up with other girls the entire time they’ve been together.
Goddamn it!
It takes everything I have inside not to punch that stupid motherfucker in the piehole.
“Well?” There’s a pause before she snaps, “I’m waiting for an answer!”
When it becomes apparent that Demi won’t drop the subject, he clears his throat. “Maybe I’ve gotten a few BJ’s here and there, but that’s it! I wanted to take things slow with you.”
She scrunches her face and straightens to her full height like someone rammed a two-by-four up her ass. “Wait a minute, are you really trying to,” one hand slaps her chest, “blame me for this?”
He blinks a few times before muttering, “No, I’m saying that we weren’t totally serious, and I didn’t want to rush you. I thought you would appreciate me being respectful.”
“So...I was supposed to appreciate you getting blow jobs from other girls?” She doesn’t wait for him to respond. “You know what I would have appreciated even more? If you would have kept your dick in your pants.”
“That’s not what I meant! You’re taking everything out of context and twisting it to make me the bad guy in this scenario.”
“Newsflash, asshole—you are the bad guy! As for taking everything out of,” she uses her fingers to make air quotes, “context. I don’t think so. You never asked if I wanted to take things slow. You just assumed. Why would any girl want the guy she’s seeing to hookup with other people behind her back?” She shakes her head as another realization dawns. “Even after we got serious, you would have continued to screw around on me.” When he opens his mouth to argue, she raises a hand. “I’m done with this conversation and more importantly, I’m done with you!”
“What?”His voice rises and several people in the nearby vicinity turn in his direction. “Wait!”
When he steps closer, attempting to reach for Demi, I shove him back a couple of steps. It takes everything I have inside not to get more physical. “Demi already told you that she’s not interested. Take the hint, buddy, and leave her alone.”
“Give me a damn break, Michaels,” Justin snarls. “Like you’re not getting your dick wet every damn night of the week?” He jerks his arm to encompass the party. “You’ve probably nailed every ass in the place. Shut the fuck up and stay out of my business!”
Revulsion flashes across Demi’s face as she shoves out of my arms. “Maybe you two should become friends. It seems like you have a lot in common.”
With that last parting shot, she pushes her way through the crowd.
Once Demi is out of earshot, Justin growls, “The only thing we have in common is that we both want to get in her pants.” He smirks. “Although, I’m sure all you’d have to do is talk to Coach Richards, he’d probably hand his daughter right over. I’ve heard that’s one of the perks to being a baller around here.”
The fuck he said!
Rage clouds my better judgement. I yank my arm back and slam it into the asshole’s face before anything else can come out of his stupid piehole. With any luck, that’ll shut him up.
He squeals like a little pig as his hands fly to his nose.
“You had the one girl worth having on campus, and you fucked it up because you couldn’t keep your pecker in your pants.” I step closer, getting in his face. “You and I are nothing alike.”
When Justin fails to respond, I swing away, striding after the only girl I’ve ever cared about. The very same one who wants nothing to do with me.