Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
ALEX
At exactly five thirty, I knock on Stella’s door.
No answer. I knock again. No answer. Shit, I hope she hasn’t changed her mind.
I told her I took care of the jackasses on the team.
Maybe she’s hurt. It’s possible. Tank told me that dick, Brad, had his hands on her today, which proves my earlier claim.
That guy is dangerous. Either way, I need to be sure she’s okay.
I try the knob. Unlocked. Damn it, that’s dangerous too.
The girl needs to lock her damn door. I’ll talk to her about that later.
I slowly open the door to see a dark lounge area.
Brooke’s room is also dark. Good. That girl is nothing but trouble.
When I look toward Stella’s room, I can see her door is a jar and hear music playing.
I walk closer and realize that she’s listening to that Meghan Trainor song “All About the Bass.” At least it’s upbeat.
If she were listening to some sad music, like Adele, I’d be worried she was upset about her ex.
I knock. Nothing. I know she’s in there because I can hear her singing.
Pushing the door open just enough to peek in, what I see makes me smile.
Stella is dancing and singing at the top of her lungs.
And let me tell you, the girl cannot sing.
I’d go so far as to say she’s tone deaf.
But, damn, she can dance. It’s hot as hell.
Stella is twerking and shaking her ass to the music.
Suddenly, she stops. It makes my attention change from her ass up to her face.
That’s when she shrieks, “What the hell, Alex! Ever heard of knocking?”
“I-I did,” I say, but she doesn’t look convinced. Her hands are on her hips and she looks pretty damn pissed. I’ve got to say, I like this feisty side of Stella. “Seriously, Stella, I knocked a bunch. You must not have heard me. Your music was pretty loud,” I say, attempting to yell over the music.
“Fine.” Her arms drop to her side in defeat. Then, she reaches over to her desk and turns down the music.
Now that it’s quiet, I add, “Oh, and great moves, by the way. It was hot.”
She practically slaps herself when both of her hands cover her face. “Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed! You saw me dance? You heard me sing?”
Her face turns every shade of red and pink.
Choosing not to mention her singing voice, or lack thereof, I say instead, “Stella, you can dance for me anytime.” I step out of her personal space. “Ready for dinner?”
“I’m not going. I’m too embarrassed now.”
“Please don’t be embarrassed. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get another one.
A very private one,” I say with a wink. “Come on, let’s go.
” I’ve muddled her to the point that she just sighs, grabs her stuff, and walks toward the front door with me.
I peer down at her. “One other thing, when you didn’t answer your door, I tried the knob.
It was unlocked. That’s unsafe. You never know who’ll walk in here.
Luckily, it was just me, Pixie. Promise me you’ll lock up from now on.
” I run my finger down the side of her face.
Her skin is as soft as silk. I’d love to let that finger continue its journey, but her eyes look wary. “Lock it up, Pix. Yeah?”
“Yes. Brooke must have left it unlocked. I’ll be sure to check next time.
” Good girl. As we make our way to the elevator and down to the lowest level of the building, I keep my hands on her in some way.
If my palm isn’t on her back, then I’m holding her hand in mine or touching her arm.
No matter what, I never stop touching her.
I stay with her while she chooses food, making certain she’s actually eating something other than dry rabbit shit.
She does a better job tonight, selecting a small cup of mac and cheese, a side salad, and mini pudding cup.
I decide to help her out a little bit, screw her stupid calorie counting. “Here.” I place a piece of double chocolate cake on her tray.
“I don’t need any cake, Alex.”
“Need? Who said anything about need? Besides, we’re going to share it. It’s for both of us.”
“Okay,” Stella groans.
“That’s my girl.” As we make our way to the team table, Stella remains pretty quiet, so I take over the conversation by telling her about my day and asking her about hers.
“You need to come to one of my games, Stella. It’s the best way to learn the sport.”
“Um, I didn’t get student tickets this year.”
“That’s okay, you can use mine. Each football player gets four tickets a game for family and friends.”
“Alex, I wouldn’t want to take any tickets away from your family and friends.”
“You wouldn’t be. My parents usually go, but my little sister only comes to games occasionally. She’s too busy for her big brother.”
Stella looks like she’s trying to come up with an excuse to turn me down.
“Look, the tickets just go to waste when no one uses them. I’d love for you to come to one of my games. We have a home game this weekend.” Please say yes, little one.
“I can’t. It’s Labor Day weekend, and my parents always have a big barbecue. My attendance is required, unfortunately. Plus, I’m sure they’re planning on an intervention.”
“An intervention?” I ask perplexed.
“Uh-huh, a Stella and Bradley intervention. They’re going to try to get me to take Bradley back.”
Damn. Is she going back to that douchebag? Over my dead body! “You’re not going to take him back, are you? That guy is dangerous.”
“He’s harmless, but no. No way am I taking him back,” she says it with determination.
Good. I don’t want to come off as too controlling, so I switch back to the topic at hand. “So, what about the following weekend? We have a home game then as well. Actually, we have three in a row, which is nice.”
“Um, I guess. My dad would probably love to go with me. He’s a big sports nut.”
“Awesome. It’s settled. I’ll get you two tickets to the second game.” Fucking awesome is what I should have said, but instead, I say, “I’m going to love looking up into the stands and seeing you, Pixie.”
Her blonde brows are furrowed. She looks confused. I know she doesn’t understand what’s happening here. She’s been through a lot in just a few days, but she’ll see soon enough that I’m serious. That I’ve got feelings for her.
We take our seats at the table with the guys and a few of their women.
I promised her the guys would be on their best behavior, and they start off by smiling and greeting her.
This time, dinner in the cafeteria is much better.
After dinner, I take her hand as we walk back to her dorm room.
Once at her door, I take the key from her hand to unlock it for her.
I want to check her place out to be sure there aren’t any idiot frat boys lurking around.
Sneaky fuckers. Scanning the place, I see it’s still empty.
Her roommate must be out. Before we walk in, I pull her gently to me.
“Thanks for going to dinner with me, and thanks for saying you’ll come to one of my games.
That means a lot to me, Stella.” I lean down to press a soft kiss on her neck, just below her ear.
“Sure.” Her voice is so soft, I barely hear her words.
Shifting my focus, I give her a lingering kiss and feel her lips quivering beneath mine. “I’ve got to go, Pix. I’ve got a bunch of homework tonight. I wish I could stay. But I’ll text you later.”
When I get back to my room, I get right to my homework. I need to get shit done so I can spend time with Stella. Before I settle in for the night, I send her a text.
Me: Hey, Pixie. You there?
Stella: Yes. I’m here.
Me: Good, I wanted to make sure you were safe and sound. Did you lock your door?
Stella: Yep, all locked up. Safe and sound here.
Me: What are you up to now?
Stella: Just getting things ready for tomorrow. You?
Me: Same. Finished up my homework. Going to get to bed early. Practice was brutal today.
Stella: I bet. I can’t imagine what you have to do to get ready for a game.
Me: It’s a lot of working out, running plays, watching film, etc.
Stella: Watching film? What, do you guys watch sports movies?
That makes me laugh. God, this girl is adorable.
Me: Ha-ha. No, we watch film of the team we’re gonna play next week, so we know what to expect. If we can figure out what they’re going to do, we can anticipate it and try to stop them.
Stella: Oh, I see. It sounds complicated.
Me: Nah. I’m used to it. It’s actually fun to try to figure out another team’s defense. So, what classes are you taking this semester?
She lists all of her classes but quickly changes direction by asking me about my classes this semester.
Me: Changing the subject, I see. ;) Fine. Today I had Comm St 335: Philosophy of Language and Communication and RTVF 321: Radio/Television/ Film Authorship. Tomorrow I’ll have Calculus and Abnormal Psych.
Stella: Wow, what’s your major?
Me: Communications: Broadcasting – Radio and TV
Stella: Oh, like you’d want to talk on television? What would you talk about? You’d be good at that, by the way.
Me: Why do you think I’d be good at that, Pixie?
Stella: Well, your voice is amazing, but I’m sure you’ve heard that before. Right?
Me: I don’t care about anyone else. You like my voice?
Stella: Um, yeah, it’s really deep and rich.
Me: Hang on.
I stop texting and give her a call. She answers on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“So, my voice is sexy, Stella?”
She laughs. She has a beautiful laugh. I could listen to it forever.
“I didn’t say sexy; I said it was deep and rich sounding. I can get you the text transcript so you can see that I said nothing about sexy.”
“Sexy, rich, same thing. The important thing is that you like it.”
“I do. But I’m sure I’m not alone. Is that why you called? So I could hear your voice?”
“It is. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of hearing that richness and sexiness that you obviously crave.” I’ve got her really laughing now.
“Whatever, Alex. It’s true, though. It’s kind of sexy,” she admits.
“Now, that wasn’t so hard to admit, was it, Pix?”
“Whatever,” she says, exasperated. “Well, I need to get to bed, Alex––another big day tomorrow.”
“All right, Stella, sweet dreams."
“Night, Alex.”
She disconnects the call. I lie back on my bed and think about her. She’s so frigging beautiful––so soft, curvy, and sexy as hell. As I recall her dance moves, I feel myself get hard. Hell, I’ve been hard since the second I met her, but this time, I can’t ignore it. So, I don't.