Consumed: A MMA Sports Romance (54 page)

I smiled weakly. All I wanted was to
finish my dessert and get home, get out of the uncomfortable shoes, and take a
long shower before throwing myself into bed. Fortunately, everything seemed to
settle down once more as the waiter brought our desserts; I didn’t even put up
a token resistance when Derick took the check the moment it landed on the
table—I knew that I couldn’t even afford to pay for my half of the meal, or
possibly even the tip.

I let Derick walk me to my room, and even
let him put his arm around my waist, feeling shaken and frustrated and
depressed by Zack’s appearance at the date, even if I hadn’t particularly
enjoyed Derick’s company. I still had no intention of going on another date
with Derick, but I did let him kiss me good night at my door; I kept it as
chaste as possible and made the excuse that I was exhausted when I could tell
that he wanted to be invited in.

Jess was waiting for me on the couch. The
moment I had the door closed behind me, I kicked off my shoes and handed them
to her. “Well, that was a disaster of epic proportions,” I said, sinking down
on the closer chair and pulling my hair down and out of the style she had woven
it into.

“Was Derick like a total jerk or
something?”

I shook my head. “No, he was polite as could
be. But Zack decided to barge in just before dessert and humiliate me in front
of an entire restaurant full of people.”

Jess cringed. “I’m sorry,” she said,
shaking her head. “He came in here and demanded to know where you were, and I
told him I’d set you up on a date with one of my classmates in exchange for
homework help. He got the restaurant out of me and I told him like five times
not to go—that it would be stupid and you’d hate it—but I guess he decided that
I had no idea what I was talking about.”

I leaned back, closing my eyes for a
moment.

“Yeah, he came right up to the table and
told me I was making a huge mistake, blah blah blah…it was awful. And Derick
had about as much spine as an overcooked spaghetti noodle.” Jess grimaced
again. “I will not be going out on a second date with him. If you need more
Econ help, go to the library and get a regular tutor.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Jess said.
“The food was good at least, right?”

“It was great. Now let’s see if I can make
it to bed without hurling it all up.”

CHAPTER
FOUR

It surprised me to realize that a month
had passed since I had broken things off with Zack and since the disastrous
date with Jess’ classmate. She did get the help that she had bartered a date
with me for, and she was confident in finishing up the semester with a good
grade that would let her go on to other more interesting classes. I had managed
to put Zack more or less out of my mind, and to prevent Jess from sending me on
any more dates, or even trying to make me go out with her to party; in fact,
getting closer and closer to finals, she was cutting back on partying on her
own.

It had been a good break, and I was
finally starting to really and truly relax into life once more. After a week or
two, I stopped trying to hide out in my room and started to actually get
involved in campus life a little more. It helped that in the time since the
final game of the football season, the campus newspaper had put me onto
covering the basketball team. The first game I went to, when I interviewed a
few of the players afterward, one of them ventured the opinion that he had been
proud of the way I’d stood up for myself with Zack, that I was an impressive
woman.

I kept up with all of my classes and even
started to take on a few other responsibilities on the newspaper, not just
doing my own assignments but also taking some of the proofreading load off of
the editors, reading through articles that came in and checking them for
spelling and grammar before handing them off to the editors.

“I keep finding new reasons to thank
Professor Grant for signing you on,” Lisa told me once, shaking her head at how
much my additions had helped the whole team. I hadn’t been there long enough to
start pitching my own article ideas; I was still on assignments handed out by
the editorial staff—things that they had no one in particular to cover—but I
was gaining trust and I had gotten hints that in the spring semester I would
start being able to put forth my own ideas in the weekly meeting.

I hadn’t even tried to date anyone at all
in the time since the disaster with Derick. I told myself that I was swearing
off of boys for good and that I’d just wait until I graduated and find some
actual men to involve myself with once I could get started on my career. I knew
it wouldn’t last, but for the time being, it was good enough for me. I had time
to hang out with Jess, and I started to become better friends with some of the
staff of the newspaper; I was satisfied with that and didn’t even want to try
for more.

I went into Lisa’s office after classes,
ready to be told that I was going to be covering something other than the
basketball team; her email to me had hinted that I was changing up duties.
“Hey, here I am,” I said, opening the door to the office after knocking. “What’s
the sitch, Chief?”

Lisa laughed. “Take a seat. Let me just
finish this email and I’ll give you the lowdown.” I sat down and took my
notebook out of my bag, watching as Lisa tapped out the last few sentences in
an email in a rapid staccato. “So, Evie. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re coming
up on the championship game for the football team.”

My heart started to beat faster in my
chest.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” I said, more
because I knew she was expecting me to say something.

In the back of my mind I had been counting
down the days—I knew that everyone on campus was buzzing with excitement over
it. Some of the students had booked their plane tickets and the boosters were
trying to get as many people to the game as possible. I knew that there were some
people planning a road trip out to California where the stadium was at. I had
told myself over and over again that I didn’t care, that whatever happened to
the football team was barely my business, but I had been hoping against hope
that I would be too busy on other assignments when the game came up.

“Well, Coach Bullden specifically
requested that we send you to cover the game,” Lisa said, smiling broadly at
me.

“That’s—Wow. I wouldn’t have expected
that.” I felt my cheeks burning. It shouldn’t have surprised me, with the
praise the coach had lavished on me for my previous coverage of the team.

“I was pretty surprised too. You must have
really impressed him.” I nodded. Lisa watched me intently for a moment, tapping
idly on the top of her desk. “Look, everyone on campus knows there’s been…
issues with you and Zack. If you can’t handle this, let me know and I’ll tell
Bullden that you’re covering something else and we can’t spare you.”

It was tempting. If I could just back out
of the situation completely—if I could avoid having to go to California and
face the possibility of having to confront Zack again, it would be a major
relief. But I thought about the fact that Bullden had requested me
specifically. And the fact that I knew I had done well in my previous articles
about the team and its games. Besides, it wasn’t likely that I’d have to
interview Zack—he might not even be at the game at all. I had determinedly not kept
up with the drama surrounding his suspension; I had banned all mention of him
from Jess.

“Is Zack going to be playing, then?” I
asked, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely in the game.
Didn’t you hear? The investigation found out that the picture they turned in
was from like, two years ago or something. They had nothing against Zack that
was more recent.” The words hit me like a ton of bricks; I felt awful. I hadn’t
even listened to him when he’d tried to explain.

“That’s…good to know,” I said, smiling
nervously. “I’ll let you know if I can do it with my classes.” I didn’t want to
even hint at the possibility that Zack’s being present at the game would deter
me. Even if Lisa knew—she had mentioned it directly, after all—that I had
personal issues with the star QB, I didn’t want to make that the reason that I
couldn’t go.

“Just as long as you give me a couple of
days to find a replacement,” Lisa said, nodding.

I stood up and left Lisa’s office, my mind
a blur with different thoughts. Could I really hold it against Zack that two
years ago he’d had girls all over him? How could I know whether he’d changed? I
sat down on one of the benches in the Student Union, watching people pass
through on their way to classes or going to club meetings. I chewed on my
bottom lip, putting my notebook back into my bag and trying not to look like I
was a nervous wreck. It wasn’t that the idea of seeing Zack in person was so
terrible, but knowing that I had misjudged him made me feel horrible.

But had I really? Just because they didn’t
have anything on Zack—no evidence that he was still partying or involved in
potentially illegal activities—didn’t mean he wasn’t still the party-rager he
had been. Could I really trust that he had changed?

I thought about the fact that he had
tracked me down on my horrible date with Derick specifically to try and explain
to me what the real situation was. I hadn’t even heard him out; I was already
angry—and the way he’d gone about trying to convince me to listen to him was
definitely a bad idea. But ever since then, he had left me alone—and I had
avoided him. I had judged him based on the thought that the picture had been
recent, and I had been wrong. He had probably already moved on. I didn’t know
how I felt about that possibility; in spite of the fact that I’d been avoiding
him, and the fact that I had thought I was over him, deep down I knew that
there was still something unresolved between us. It wasn’t fair of me that I’d
taken my initial anger at him and blown it all out of proportion, and didn’t
even give him a chance to explain his side. And I may have lost him for good
because of that.

I spent the rest of the day with my mind
on the game and on Zack. I couldn’t really blame him if he had given up on me.
It seemed like almost from the beginning of the time we’d reunited, things had
been stacked against us—though I was mature enough to admit that part of that
was my fault. I was afraid of getting involved with him, afraid of how easily I
could fall head over heels for him. If he had given up on me, that would never
be an issue; and while it was a relief to think that Zack had probably found
another girl who was a little more able to deal with having a relationship with
him, it also made me miserable to think that I’d ruined my chances with him for
good. I only had a couple of days to think about taking the assignment. Lisa
sent me an email in the afternoon detailing what the newspaper wanted for the
coverage; since it was a huge game and a major opportunity, it was going to be
featured on the front page of the edition, with supplemental material in the
sports section. She wanted interviews with the team and backgrounds and
profiles on the different players. She also wanted full coverage of the game
itself for the main story. It was a lot of work; it would be great for anyone’s
portfolio.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to let
Lisa know, and soon, but I had no idea how I was going to deal with the
situation. I tried to go through my normal routines, to pay attention in my
classes, but it was no use. Until I figured everything out, I was just going to
continue being hopelessly distracted.

CHAPTER
FIVE

The next day, I was sitting in the dorm,
waiting for it to be time to get to my next class of the day—I’d had a gap
between lunch and class, and of course the only way I could think to fill it
was with thinking about Zack and the assignment to cover the national
championship. I had told Jess that I would do it and she had given me the
instructions I needed to get to the game; I would be staying at the same hotel
as the team and I could bring someone with me. I also had prime seats in the
enormous stadium.

Jess came into the room, practically
bouncing. “So,” she said, throwing herself down onto the couch next to me, “I
hear you’ve got the prime seats to the championship game.”

I rolled my eyes. “They want me to go and
cover it. Apparently Bullden specifically requested me. I’m supposed to
interview everyone, too.”

“So who are you taking with you? Got a
date? That would be a primo way to convince a guy to help you dirty up a hotel
room.”

I groaned, throwing my head back and
shifting uncomfortably on the couch.

“I could just watch the game on TV and
interview everyone once they get back,” I said, staring up at the ceiling.

Jess laughed. “Yeah, sure you can—and you
could also hit up one of the sororities and join them. Come on, Evie. Just
because you’ve got issues with Zack or whatever doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have
a good time. Hell, take me.”

I sighed. “I really just…” I scrubbed at
my face. “So I found out—and please don’t laugh at the fact that it’s old
news—but I figured out that I’d sort of…misjudged Zack.”

Jess raised an eyebrow. “Oh, we can talk
about that situation now?”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I found out
about it and now I feel like shit because I didn’t even give him a chance to
explain what the picture was, and I’m pretty sure he’s probably already moved
on. I don’t want to have to see him.”