Chapter 8 #2
Her mouth tipped in a small, satisfied smile. “Good. This meeting room is booked for me for your tutoring sessions. They like to randomly check we’re utilizing them so for the sake of appearances we will need to turn up, however briefly. Okay?”
I shrugged, no longer interested in the logistics. “Just one thing, Sav.”
She paused halfway to the door. “What?”
I let my smile turn slow, deliberate. “If you’re going to lie for me, you’d better get good at it.”
She didn’t flinch. “Right back at you, Ten.”
She walked out satisfied, like she’d won something, and I let her think it.
The dean's daughter, who'd heard enough to be dangerous — not because she understood it, but because she was exactly the kind of person who'd keep pulling at a thread until the whole thing unraveled.
Smart. Careful. Principled in the way people were when they'd never had to choose between their principles and someone they loved.
I'd need her quiet, and I'd need her close. Making her complicit in the arrangement was the cleanest play — give her something to lose and she'd protect her secret the same way I protected mine.
I gathered my things and left.
The fact that I'd watched her mouth while she was laying out terms and imagining what she’d look like on her knees with her lips wrapped around my cock, was a problem for another day.
* * *
Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the athletic building after football practice on Tuesday morning and saw Savannah Cole waiting there. Yeah, didn’t see that coming.
“Sav?” I gave her a smile, conscious that others were looking over at us. “What a nice surprise.”
Her backpack looked like it was going to burst, and she was holding her laptop and one of her notebooks on top of it. A sharp wind would knock her over, I was sure.
“Here,” she said, handing me a single sheet of paper. “Reading list. You can handle it without me hovering.”
“That’s the plan,” I said, glancing at the neatly typed bullet points. She didn’t wait for me to comment — already getting ready to walk away. “That’s it?”
She looked up at me, licking her bottom lip. “Huh?”
“You could have emailed me this, Sav.”
I swear she was trying not to roll her eyes. “Optics,” she replied smoothly. “And to remind you that you need to go to the library tonight and sit there, look studious, and if anyone asks, I’m guiding you through the finer points of governance structures in educational institutions.”
I smirked. “You rehearsed that, didn’t you?”
She ignored me and waited patiently. When I didn’t speak, she gave a sigh. “Appearances, remember? If anyone asks, we’re meeting twice a week. Remember, the rooms get monitored for people who book and don’t turn up. We need to ensure they think we’re using it.”
“Sure,” I said, leaning back. “See you when I see you.”
“Fine by me.”
She didn’t even look back as she walked away. Alone. She was always alone. She was pretty, funny when she wanted to be, and confident. Where were her friends? Did she have any? Savannah Cole was a mystery to me, and I wasn’t happy about the fact that I wanted to learn more about her.
She always had a quick or witty reply, and she had no issue challenging me.
“She’s hot.”
I turned to Noah. “Yeah, she is.”
“Tutoring?” he asked as we walked toward the business center.
“Yeah. I opted for Educational Policy and Governance, and it doesn’t hold my attention,” I confessed.
“Think I dozed off just listening to that sentence,” he quipped, and I grinned. “Nice to get the dean’s daughter to assist.”
I nodded. “Is it?” I joked. “She has so many notebooks.”
Noah laughed. “My little brother is in advanced classes for everything,” he offered, and I realized it was the first time we were talking, just the two of us.
“Sophomore year at my old school, I made him drive up and do a forty-eight-hour study crash session with me, it was the only way I scraped by finals.”
I looked at him from the corner of my eye as we walked.
Six-four of muscle, ink crawling up his arms like warnings no one needed because the guy’s reputation spoke louder than any tattoo.
Black hair, always messy like he didn’t give a damn, and eyes that didn’t blink much — sharp, dark, and way too good at reading plays before they even happened.
Noah looked like a bruiser. Every inch of him said fighter, and I could see him either behind the defensive line, ready to run a route, or in the corner of an octagon, ready to break bones.
It was honestly one of the things I liked about him.
Quarterbacks would be keen to run from him, or in a rush to throw the ball before he got to them, and that was only a good thing when it came to the defensive game.
“You know the Academic Administration will give you extra tutoring if you need it,” I told him carefully. I didn’t want to offend him by implying he needed it.
He nodded. “Yeah, I know, I’m doing okay so far,” he told me. “Mostly B’s but, as I said, I got the brawn, Tate got the brains.”
“Mostly B’s are better than okay, Noah.”
He grunted in acknowledgment, and we walked in silence.
“You need to be quicker in the pocket,” Noah said out of nowhere, like he’d just been waiting to pounce.
I shot him a look. “And you need to be either my coach or wearing a headset and getting paid to say that.”
Noah smirked, not missing a beat. “Just saying — if I can get to you in three seconds during practice, imagine what a guy who doesn’t give a damn about your pretty face can do in a game.”
I snorted, adjusting the strap on my bag. “Pretty sure no one’s breaking through my line like you do. You’re a freak of nature, Noah.”
He shrugged, like he wasn’t flattered. “Freak of nature or not, shave half a second off your read and you’ll make my job a hell of a lot harder in practice.”
I grinned at him. Was this Noah’s love language — criticism wrapped in steel? “Noted, big man. I’ll do my best.”
He nodded, looking down at his feet. “We could practice, or something.”
I realized Noah was lonely. Fuck. I assessed him as we got to the stairs, where we would split up to go to different classes, and remembered I had the evening free.
“Me, you, and Dustin, later tonight?” I asked him casually, adjusting my backpack’s strap. “After dinner? We could do one-on-ones?”
Noah nodded. “You using Dustin for center?” he asked curiously.
“Yeah, and then we can just let him run routes. He loves it.”
“Okay.” Noah hovered. “Um, yeah.”
I slapped him on the back. “Cool, make sure you eat with us too, hmm?” I started heading to class. “See you later.”
The day went as it always did. Practice after classes was film study and route plays. Dustin said nothing when Noah took the seat beside him in the theater, just moved his leg away to make room for him.
After ninety minutes of film dissection, we went to the dining hall, and conversation was light and easy as we ate dinner.
“We’re going back into the center to run one-on-ones, you’re coming,” I told Dustin as I ate my apple. “I’m going up to the dorm to change,” I added, looking over at Noah. “Do I need pads, or are jeans and a shirt okay?”
“Don’t plan to break you,” he said with a careless shrug. “Wear whatever.”
“Wow, I’m . . . thankful?”
Dustin barked a laugh. “How come I’m the third wheel on your one-on-ones?”
“Because if we’re training for the third time today, so are you,” I said, flicking my napkin at him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the library tonight?” Dust asked as he shoved his chair back.
“Met her earlier today. It’s cool.”
“Cool.” Dustin grinned. “So? Can I run routes while you two practice?”
Noah gave me a sly look.
“See?” I said, smirking. “Told you.” We left the dining hall, and I looked down at my shorts and hoodie — same as theirs. “Screw it. No need to change. Let’s just go.”
Dustin took off at speed. “Tag, not it for cleaning the equipment!”
“Not it!” Noah yelled, sprinting after him.
“Bullshit! Cheaters!” I called, breaking into a run, laughter mixing with the sound of our sneakers slapping the pavement as we ran to the athletic center.
Savannah Cole was the last thing on my mind.