Chapter 26
Randy
Tonight, we kick off the first party before the spring semester like the college has done for decades, at the Kappa Sigma house.
Their biggest of the year where they raise money for multiple charities.
The money-raising activities started before lunch, with kissing booths, auctions, races, sideshow games including pie throwing, a dunking machine, merchandise, and food vans.
All the Raptors are participating in something; I was in the dunking machine for a good twenty minutes and got dunked seven times.
Once from Coach who nailed the target first throw.
He thought it was hilarious and donated another fifty bucks for the pleasure of it.
Now long after the sun has set, and everyone has crammed back into the frat house, I let the music vibrate through my body as the sixth shot slides down my throat.
My problems are slowly evaporating with each drink, and I’m back living a carefree life.
No football, no exams, no girlfriend, maybe that means no worries.
Just me and my friends relaxing, drinking, and making bad decisions.
“Here you go,” Alexia says, handing me some water and a fresh beer.
“I don’t need the water,” I say, accepting the beer.
She smiles up at me. She is cute and reminds me of the actress Zendaya. Gorgeous clear skin and deep brown eyes. Her hair is braided, and she carries herself with confidence as we chat, which is sexy as hell.
“You should drink it,” she says, trying in vain to offer me the water once again. “You don’t want to write yourself off; never know what it might affect,” she says with an obvious rake of her eyes down to my dick.
Yep, my cock stirs at that as I accept the glass and throw back the water. The cool liquid rolls down my throat. “It’s never affected me before,” I say, placing the empty cup back onto the table beside us.
“Well, should we risk it, or you want to do something about it now?” she challenges.
I raise my eyebrows at her, turned on by her words and forwardness even if it does remind me of Rachel and New Year’s. I lean forward. “I think I want to do something about it now,” I murmur, my throat raw and deep even after the water.
“I think there is a spare room upstairs,” she says, holding out her hand, not shying away.
I grab her hand and pull her past the table to my side and signal for her to lead the way.
We slide through the crowd, brushing shoulders with the rest of the partygoers as we go.
I follow her upstairs, still sipping my beer, my eyes surveying the dance floor below when I notice Shelby watching me.
I tip my beer at her, and she gives me a concerned look back as she stops dancing beside Letti.
I know why she seems upset with me, but hell, I’m single and Rachel wants nothing to do with me.
I shut the door behind us and watch Alexia saunter toward me, barely over five foot after kicking off her heels.
She rises onto her tiptoes and claims my lips, warm and tasting of Malibu and pineapple.
I lean down farther, beer still in hand, wrapping my arms around her as I kiss her back.
We make out in the middle of the room; it’s slow and sensual as our hands explore each other.
I set my beer down on the bedside table just as she places both palms against my chest, guiding me backward.
My legs bump the edge of the mattress, and I allow myself to fall.
She crawls over me, pushing me completely back onto the bed just like Rachel did the last time we had sex.
Rachel. The image of her flashes through my mind, the look she gave, her lips, her eyes, her…
just her. “One second,” I groan out, my head falling back into the bedspread, my voice rough like I’m in pain.
Actually, this is going to kill my balls, something her heat is currently sitting on.
“You okay?” She pauses, staring down at me.
I press my thumb and forefinger into the bridge of my nose, drawing in a breath I don’t quite release. “Not really,” I say my voice ragged as I claw at the last bit of integrity I have. The unease of what I’m doing filling my chest and working its way up my throat.
She stares down as she straddles my waist, not annoyed, just concerned.
“I’m sorry.” I shake my head and look up at her. “I can’t do this.”
She slowly nods. “Okay.”
“I know it’s cliché, but… it’s not you, it’s me,” I say, voice strained. “I just can’t do this right now. Believe me when I say—this is killing me, and I might regret this for a very long time.”
“Sure. I understand. No means no.”
She slides off me without hesitation, rising to her feet as I do the same with a quiet sigh. She bends to grab her shoes, slipping them on without a word. I step toward her and press a soft kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for being so understanding,” I murmur
“It’s really no problem,” she shrugs. “Disappointing—sure—but I’ll live.” She smiles, not big but enough to show she means it, though.
My phone rings in my pocket and I pull it out to see Jason’s name light up the screen.
“What’s up?” I ask, already knowing he’s somewhere nearby.
“Outside. Now,” he snaps, then hangs up without another word.
I glance at Alexia, who clearly heard the conversation, or rather the demand.
Without a word, I reach for her hand, and together we move quickly to the door.
I grip her hand tightly as we descend the stairs, not wanting her to fall in those ridiculously high heels.
Then I bend, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
She squeezes my hand, assuring me it’s fine and to go as a thick crowd gathers at the front of the house.
As I push through the crowd, I see Jason and my fellow teammates standing on the front lawn with what looks to be about forty Cyclone players.
Fuck, this isn’t good. I stride down the front stairs toward them, scowl in place.
I lost the championship, my girl, I have a serious case of blue balls, and now is not the time to antagonize me.
My long strides eat up the sidewalk, and I push past the last fellow student and come to Jason’s side.
“Are you lost, Cole? What the fuck are you doing here?”
When his eyes find me, his smirk grows. I’m the one he is looking for, so let’s get this over with.
“Just in the neighborhood, thought we would come say hi.”
I look him up and down. He is a good-looking, preppy, arrogant son of a bitch. Liquor bottle in hand, and they are all still clearly celebrating.
“Hi. Now fuck off. This isn’t Cyclone territory, and you’re not welcome here!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, is that anyway to speak to your new champions. Everyone is flocking to congratulate us, Harrison. I thought I would be nice and save you the trip. The trophy is in the car if you want to touch it…might be the only way it’s ever in your presence.
” He points toward the convoy of cars they arrived in, that completely block off the street.
“We had to put her seatbelt on as we hit a massive hole coming into this town.”
His friends laugh behind him.
“Good, keep it safe. It will be all mine next season,” I spit.
Luke and I are standing eye to eye, our respective teams behind us, everyone full of alcohol and ready for anything.
He stretches his neck watching the crowd build behind me, a pleased smile across his face as he takes his time studying the scene and relishing in the gloating he came to do.
His expression stills as he leans in closer, though his gaze drifts past me, eyes shining with appreciation.
“Holy shit, is that Stone’s girl? The blonde?
” He points, sidestepping to get a better view, his bourbon bottle dangling in the air as he leers.
I turn to see Shelby and Letti standing at the top stairs.
She must have followed me outside along with everyone else.
“The one from the news? Holy shit, Harrison! I knew she was hot, but she is even more fuckable in person. I always thought your campus was full of trolls, but hell, she will do just fine.”
My stance changes as anger builds in me, Shelby’s face drops at his words. Letti’s brow knits together. She is pissed and starts to amble down the stairs to speak her mind, but Shelby pulls her back.
I turn my head to look at him as he smugly points and laughs.
“Oh, we will take the brunette too; what a little spitfire. You ready, darling? Cause I’ll give you something to spit on!
I love a lady who has some spunk in her—mainly mine.
” He continues to yell so the girls can hear him.
“Hey, blondie, I just wanted to thank you. The Raptors choked without their famous running back; well done, thanks for getting him shot,” he adds, yelling so everyone can hear his arrogance.
I step into his space, blocking his view of Shelby and shoving hard into his chest with both my palms. “Don’t fucking talk to her!” He stumbles back but doesn’t flinch as he steps back into my face. “You got something to say, you can fucking say it to me,” I snarl out.
“How protective of you, Harrison, are you fucking her too?” He laughs, turning to look at his team standing behind him.
His head cranes back to look at me. “You fuck everything else, wouldn’t surprise me if you fuck your best friend’s girl.
Not that I would blame you,” he says, looking back at Shelby and shooting her a wink, his fingers wiggling from around the head of his bottle in a wave.
I grab him by the collar, and he arches his chin, smirking back at my anger. “Touch it, Harrison. Feel the jersey, that’s championship material, enjoy it!”
I hear the muffled sound of footsteps rush beside me, but I’m so livid I can’t take my eyes off Cole.
“Oh, here comes the cavalry,” Luke jests. He flicks his eyes to my left. “Can you control your quarterback? He has some rage issues he needs to sort out.” He looks down at his jersey, trying to smooth it out around the fist of material I have balled up in my hands.
“How about you and your team get the fuck out of here!” I hear Seth’s deep voice say from beside me, and my tension eases knowing he has my back. If you want anyone beside you in a fight, it’s a six-foot-five defensive linebacker who knows how to fight.
I let go of his jersey, pushing him backward, harder this time, and sending him into one of his friends.
He steps immediately back into my face. “Watch it, Harrison,” he grounds out, straightening his jersey. “We were just about to go. Hey, blondie,” he yells over my shoulder, grabbing at his dick. “Wanna come fuck some real football talent?”
Nope, just nope!
My clenched fist flies into his jaw, hitting him perfectly, the bottle slipping from his hand and smashing to the sidewalk. He reacts quickly, swiping for me, but I’m quicker, landing another punch before his next swing connects with my eye.
It’s on.
His team rushes forward, as does mine. We have them out numbered, but it doesn’t stop them.
It’s massive and everyone is all-in. Alcohol-fueled, ego-filled bodies connect and fall to the ground as we continue to punch the shit out of each other.
Arms flailing in the air, we end up in the grass, wrestling, and delivering blow after blow.
Small groups break apart and people scramble to defend their friends and teammates.
Fists fly through the air mixed with blood, sweat, and groans.
I can hear ladies screaming and men yelling as more and more people get caught up in the violence.
I grunt and groan, wrestling with Cole on the grass, I feel a kick to my ribs, but then that person gets quickly pulled back by one of my teammates.
I smell sweat and taste blood, minutes passing before the sound of sirens penetrates the air.
Flashing streaks of red and blue light up the black sky.
It has Cole’s teammates pulling at him, while others clutch at my shoulders, prying us apart.
Luke is dragged toward the convoy of cars, words and bottles are thrown as I sit on the grass dragging in deep breaths.
Leaning to one side, my body burns in pain as I watch the blood fall from my face. It hurts to breathe, and I think my left eye is swollen shut. People are talking to me, but I have no fucking idea what they are saying. I can barely comprehend the scene around me as I scan the area.
Shelby’s face is tear streaked as her head rests against Christian’s chest. He comforts her, his lip busted and blood trailing down his chin, and I hope his shoulder is okay.
Walsh looks like he copped a few good punches to his face, and what is left of Seth’s shirt barely hangs off one shoulder.
Jason, Reilly, Lewis, Mitch, and the rest of the guys look no better as partygoers rush around and check everyone over.
“Harrison!” the officer says, walking over to me. “What the fuck happened?”
“Officer Case,” I half smile, wiping the blood from my mouth with my thumb as I gingerly stand, one of my friends grabbing me by my arm for support.
“No idea what you’re talking about, just a quiet get together with a couple of friends,” I say, shooting him a smile which probably resembles The Joker from The Dark Knight.
He raises his eyebrows at me. Everyone in town knows Officer Case, and he knows all of us.
A big football fan, past Raptors player, the town cop, now in his mid-fifties, and has seen one too many donuts.
Coach always makes a big effort to get him tickets to our games, mainly because he knows of the shit we get up to and the trouble he gets us out of.
I feel my face start to throb; my body hunches and I’m unable to stand properly. “The Cyclones thought they would come say hi.” I rest my hands on my knees, taking a few deep breaths.
“Great, just what we need,” he sighs. “You guys all good?” he asks.
“Just peachy,” I say, bringing my ripped shirt to my face to wipe at some blood.
“I’m not writing this up; just go home.”
Thanks, Coach. Although we all know how much any past Raptor player hates the Cyclones; our rivalry isn’t anything new in these parts. He turns and addresses the crowd. “Okay, this party is over! Does anyone need to go to the hospital?”
The crowd grumbles and groans, but nobody says anything.
“I’ll be escorting this lot,” he thumbs the Cyclones, “out of my fucking town.”
“Thanks, Case.”
I watch him talk to the other cops as they jump back in their cars.
My night started off promising…and then went to absolute shit.