Prologue #2
“Hey!” she snapped. “My eyes are up here, Fletcher.”
“What?” I shook my head, slightly embarrassed about being caught staring at her tits.
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” She glared, and because she poked something inside of me that couldn’t keep his goddamn trap shut when it came to her, I leaned a little closer and grinned.
“Thank you.” I winked, and I knew she started to grind her teeth before exhaling heavily.
“It’s not the compliment you think it is,” she said through gritted teeth, but I smiled charmingly at her.
“So, dinner?” I relentlessly asked, and she rolled her eyes.
“Look, I get it,” she started again.
“You do?” I asked, because fuck, I had no idea what it was about her that drove me this damn crazy. Teresa breathed in as if she was trying to slowly count down to three to not get annoyed.
“Let me guess?” she finally asked, leaning closer to me. Her fingers skimmed the top of my forearms, and my heartrate started to pick up speed. “When it comes to girls, a guy like you, all hot“—Score! She thinks I’m hot! —“ and muscled up with aspirations of something more—“
“Aspirations.”
“Dreams. Goals,” she explained as if I was some stupid dumb jock.
“Hmm,” I grunted. Let her believe that. I could use it to my advantage. She wouldn’t be the first or last person to think I made it to where I was because of how great I played ball.
“You’re not really used to hearing a girl say no.
Or that they’re not interested or falling over themselves for a shred of your attention.
And I’m sorry, but… I’m not.” It was that slight hesitation that fed my ego, that told me my girl was a little bit of a liar.
“And maybe now, because I turned you down, multiple times, it’s what?
The thrill of the game? You’re on your off-season training, maybe a little bored—“
“Teresa—”
“Tere,” she clipped and didn’t stop. “And I wasn’t done speaking. I, on the other hand, am in season. And I do have a full load of classes and three practices a day and PT on my ankle. Because unlike your sport, for me to play professionally, I have to want it more than anyone else.”
“And you don’t think I do, mi cielo?” I’d been dying to call her that.
My sky, hell, she was my entire world.
“Oh, uh-uh, nope. Don’t do that.” She pointed at me as pink bloomed on her cheeks.
“Do what?” I smirked. She doth protest too much for someone not interested.
“No cute little nicknames or thinking we’re on the same page, Fletcher. That shit isn’t going to work on me. So, if you don’t mind, I have to study,” she curtly laid out. I had to respect it.
“I could help, you know?” I offered. She looked at me all wide-eyed and gorgeous, and fucking hell, it made me fall deeper in love with her when she straight-up laughed.
Open and free.
The sound wrapped around me like fucking music. And the sight of it? Of her laughing and smiling in my direction, for me, even if it was at me somewhat? It felt better than being under the stadium lights mid-season.
Yeah, I was fucked.
I opened my mouth to tell her how I’d aced that biology course, when someone called me. Ferguson, our pitcher, and some of the other guys on the team who were part of the Omegas, a frat I’d joined to appease my dad, waved me over.
“Your buddies are calling you. Goodbye and best wishes,” she mumbled without looking at me again.
“Warmest regards,” I muttered back, biting away a smile.
Her head sprung up from the book she’d just reopened as if she was looking at me through new eyes.
Through my time watching her, I had learned a lot about my sexy little mid-fielder.
And her love for Schitt’s Creek had been easy to figure out.
I winked and turned to head to the guys waiting for me. Might make me a dick, but it was an ego boost to get the last word. Even if I had a feeling it would be the one and only time that would probably happen regarding Teresa.
I hung out with the guys for a while even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. But I waited, bided my time perfectly to step into the elevator with Teresa as she headed back.
“Great,” she mumbled under her breath as she joined me in the elevator. I didn’t let her attitude get to me. If anything, it fed the beast she’d brought to life. “You again.”
Yeah, I was about to do something really fucking stupid. I’d known it would be inevitable after she turned me down that second time I’d asked her out about two weeks ago. I had to be smart about it. I grabbed her bag, ignoring her complaints as I tossed it over my shoulder, but didn’t say a word.
“That’s mine! It’s heavy!” I shrugged it off. “Fine, if you wanna hurt your shoulder, go for it,” she huffed. She rubbed at hers as if the heavy bag had bit into her muscles. My hands itched to touch her. To soothe those muscles, let them glide with nothing but a massage oil between us.
Yeah, I am well and truly fucked.
It wasn’t just Teresa I had to worry about. I had my future to think about. Our future, that possessive being inside of me whispered. Our future.
We didn’t say a word as the elevator rose to our floor. She stepped out and held her hand out as if I was just going to hand her the bag when I knew she had to walk down the long hall. I ignored her and started to walk.
“What are… Hey! What are you doing? Where are you going?” she asked, half-powerwalking to catch up to me.
“It gave you a big red welt,” I pointed out without glancing at her irritated skin because if I did, I would do something crazy like toss the overpacked bag over my shoulder and pin her against the wall just so I could lean down and kiss the offended skin better.
“It’s fine.” She sighed, and I grunted because it wasn’t fine, but I was running out of patience. Me! The guy who thrived off it! I walked her right to her door, and she frowned as she looked at me before she asked what I knew was inevitable. I hadn’t been thinking and had shown one of my cards.
“How did you know I live here?” A brow rose on my face, and that was as much of an answer she was going to get. “Stalker,” she said under her breath. I had to stop the wolfish grin that threatened to spread all over my face.
If only you knew, baby girl, if only you knew. I couldn’t tell her she got it right on the nose. That I’d been watching her, following her, learning all I could about her—her likes, dislikes, schedules, and routines.
“You’re annoying,” she muttered as I handed her bag back.
“And you’re beautiful,” I countered. “Think about my offer for bio,” I said before turning to walk in the other direction towards my end of the floor. It was a happy coincidence we lived on the same floor.
I didn’t turn because I wanted her too much and the animal inside of me was getting close to feral when it came to Teresa. Back in my place and in the safety of my room, I paced. Regrouped and planned.
Asking her out, trying to charm her, sure as hell wasn’t working.
I knew I had to try something else. Something… more.
High risk, high reward, the beast inside me rumbled. And she’s the best prize possible.
I had an idea of what could work. A way to twist it into forcing her hand to hang out with me.
If she spent time with me, one of two things would happen: she’d give me the ick, her true colors shining through.
Shit I couldn’t see because of the lack of blood to my brain and the overabundance of it at my balls.
Or we’d get to know one another, have fun, and… walk away?
The thought made the beast inside of me growl maliciously.
The idea of her not being in my life, not being a part of hers, churned deep down in the pit of my gut.
Do it, the thing demanded. Do it. Fuck the consequences.
Because if I was caught doing what I was about to do, there would most definitely be consequences.
I shook my head and tugged at the overgrown strands of my hair.
Shit would most definitely hit the fan if the press caught wind of it.
I might not be a hot catch for the draft like my best friend and roommate, Jason, or our pitcher, Dave Ferguson, but I would be drafted in the top ten this year without a doubt.
If you don’t fuck it all up, a little voice whispered in the back of my head.
And fuck me, it was a big if.
But I knew, deep down inside, the decision was already made.
I’d have Teresa Reynova by any means possible.
Even if I had to blackmail and bully her into it.