Teresa #2
The two of us were athletes after all, and it wasn’t like I didn’t know who he was.
I was pretty sure the whole campus knew the star baseball players, especially the two on my floor who had recently transferred from back east earlier in the year and helped the team win first place in our division.
I’d politely jerked my chin at him and, when I was ready, had started to jog.
Slowly, because my muscles had felt tight that morning and, without missing a beat, about ten paces behind me, the sound of his heavy footsteps sounded.
My lips quirked upwards at the reminder.
How many runs had it taken him to talk to me? How many had it taken me to realize it wasn’t just some weird over-achieving athletic dedication we had to our sport that had him out there?
“Our run?” I laughed. “You mean the one you stalk me and follow me on? Because we both know you can probably go faster.”
“You like me following you,” he said, as if it was fact, and I couldn’t get myself to argue with him. “Plus, I don’t mind the view.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled. My cheeks felt hot at the compliment. Not that I needed one. I knew I had a great ass.
Our runs were one of those things I probably shouldn’t like that he’d started to do.
But when he kept running after I turned down his date invitation, I’d been…
relieved. There was something nice about knowing he was behind me, especially in the early mornings when the sun was not out yet, had made me feel safe.
No. That wasn’t true. It wasn’t just the idea of anyone behind me but that it was him. He makes me feel safe.
“What do you want to eat?” He asked. I looked at him.
“You cook, too?”
“I do, but I was thinking I’ll order food, and you can soak in the tub while we wait for it to get here.”
“And let me guess, you’re going to be in there with me?” I smirked because there was no way he was this good. He leaned forward, and my breath hitched, lungs seized for a long minute.
“Dirty girl,” he rasped. “I’m going to get a workout in. There is a gym in the basement. Missed weight training this afternoon since I was busy watching a soccer game.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Okay, umm… anything works.”
“Anything?”
“I love Thai food after a game,” I shared.
“Good girl,” he praised. I tried ignoring the way my pussy fluttered at his words and failed. Good girl, his words ping-ponged in my head.
“Okay,” I coughed and quickly stood up and almost fell down.
“Shit, be careful, cielo.” He picked me up, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m not incapacitated, Fletch.”
“I know, Reynova.” He smiled, and there went that little flutter between my legs. It grew to a mild throbbing. “Breathe, babe, just… let me carry you around. It gives me purpose.”
“Fine. Suit yourself,” I huffed, trying to ignore, and again failing, just how much I liked being in his arms.
And like he promised, he set me up a bath and left, telling me to call him if I needed anything before he headed out to the home gym in the basement.
To Jeremy’s credit, he was a perfect gentleman.
He kissed my cheek after he walked me back to my dorm after feeding me all my favorites after my long soak that really did make my ankle feel a million times better, leaving me even more perplexed about why the hell he wanted me to pretend we were seeing one another.
And why hadn’t I just given him a chance to begin with?
--
I glanced at my phone and tried not to smile at the fact he’d changed his contact information on my phone. Or wonder when he had done it.
My Sexy Man: Omega House. Tonight. Wear a dress and your hair down.
My sexy man? Where did he come up with this stuff? I glanced at myself in the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair, freshly washed and airdrying. I honestly didn’t want to have to put it up; I just usually pulled it in a ponytail because well, soccer.
I plopped back down on my bed and picked up my phone.
Omega House.
A frat party.
Those weren’t my favorite, but what other choice did I have?
Let him upload that video on the internet?
He won’t do it, a little voice quipped, and I breathed out slowly.
I wasn’t going to take a chance. I pressed my roommate’s-slash-best-friend’s number.
It rang a total of two times before Sadie’s voice sounded on the other end of the line.
“Hey,” she answered.
“Hay is for horses,” I joked, or at least tried to. Sadie’s giggles made me smile, and I relaxed just a smidge.
“What’s up?”
“Where are you?” I asked, slowly trying to figure out a way to talk her into going with me tonight. He might have wanted me there, but he never said I had to go alone. “Sadie? You there?” I asked when she didn’t respond.
“Yeah, sorry, I’m here. Umm, I’m walking back from the library, why?”
“I was thinking….” I let the words cling in the air, and by Sadie’s sigh, she knew I was up to something.
“That’s never a good thing,” she muttered. I laughed, relaxing for the first time since I had woken up. My mind had been filled with nothing but thoughts of Jeremy, and my dreams last night hadn’t been any better.
“That’s mean,” I playfully, slightly dramatically, answered.
“It’s true, though. What’s up? What do you need?” she asked just like I knew she would.
“Need feels like a heavy word,” I added because I had a feeling she would turn me down flat.
Sadie hated going out. She was a true and through homebody, somewhat nerd.
I loved her, but the only time she liked to go out was to go hiking now.
It was as sporty as she got. The only reason we were roommates was because of a glitch in the housing department, and they’d deemed it too complicated to fix our freshman year, so she got to stay in the athletic buildings and our friendship grew from there.
“Spit it out, Tere.” She laughed.
“You know how we talked about this year being the year we go do more stuff? Get out of our usual routine? Grab the bull by the—“
“Horns,” she cut me off. “Yeah, I joined the hiking club.” I rolled my eyes. Hiking club?
“Well, how do you feel about hitting up an Omega party?” I finally spit out.
“Omega?” she repeated, and I winced. “Like the frat?”