Player (What Happens on Campus Book 1) (7 page)

The first few days of class were pretty uneventful and laidback – being in the third year there were few people in his classes that he didn’t already know, except for a transfer here or there, but the professors still insisted that they spend the first class of the term getting to know their fellow classmates. Though he found those exercises ridiculous, he was dreading getting down to the hard-core stuff. He’d barely scraped through last year and he couldn’t afford to fall behind; his football scholarship was dependent upon him keeping his grades up.

On Friday, Parker shouldered his rucksack as he walked towards the dorms after his last class of the day, glad it was all over for a couple of days. Next week, the real lessons would begin. He should probably get in some studying so that he didn’t start the term
too
far behind everyone else, but he hadn’t seen Chloe since Monday night. None of their classes coincided and he was dying for a glimpse of her. It was pathetic, but he dreamt of her, like a horny bloody teenager, and they hadn’t even had sex.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, the first thing he did was text Jet to ask if he and Terri were hanging with Riley, since Chloe usually tagged along with her roommate.

Jet saw right through him, replying with,
WE’RE GOING TO THE BETA PARTY. DON’T KNOW IF CHLOE’S COMING.

Going back to his room, he chucked his rucksack on the floor by the door. After Chloe’s comment about him being a slob, he’d made an effort to tidy up a bit, but it was stacking up again. Changed into a pair of grey sweats, he decided to hit the gym to clear his head before they went out tonight.

Inside the gym, it smelt like sweat and hard work. Pop-music played over the sounds of people talking and machinery whirring. Walking past the bikes, he also bypassed the running machines – if he wanted to run he’d do it properly and go outside – ending up at the weights, where he found Dawson.

“Hey,” his friend panted, arms trembling slightly as he lowered the weights back into the cradle.

“Should you be lifting that much?”

“It’s fine,” he huffed.

“You’re gonna kill yourself one day,” Parker warned, even as he set the weights on the bench next to him and lay down.

By the time he’d been there an hour, he was dripping with sweat, his arms were burning and Dawson had managed to muscle his way to coming to the party with them tonight.

There was about an hour before he was due to meet the others, so he took his time heading back to his room, grabbing a burger on the way and eating it as he walked, watching the guys playing ball on the quad. Several of the girls, who were also watching, turned to wave at him as he went past, but he didn’t bother to wave back.

In his room, Parker had a quick shower and scrubbed his teeth, before digging out the least scruffy pair of jeans he owned, along with his only button down shirt. Jet had come back while he was in the shower and was now tapping furiously at his laptop, leaning forward until his nose almost touched the screen.

“Dude, we’ve only got ten minutes, don’t you need to get ready?”

Lifting a hand, Jet waved it vaguely at him, “Yeah, yeah, just a minute.”

Rolling his eyes, because there was no talking to Jet when he was feeling inspired, Parker found his shoes under the bed and when the minutes ticked by, he stood up and told his roommate to meet them at the party before leaving.

Walking over to Willow, he knocked on Terri’s door first, because she was on the first floor. Emerging from the room in a short black dress that clung to her like a second skin and sky-high heels, Terri’s sharp gaze instantly went over his shoulder.

“Where’s Jet?” she asked with a small frown.

“He was totally out of it, so I left him.”

Understanding immediately lit her eyes, along with disappointment. He wondered if Jet was the reason she was all dressed up when she usually just wore jeans and a tank-top. Maybe she was trying to win back his attention, since he’d been so fascinated by her sister lately.

“I’ll go see him.”

“Don’t bother, it’ll only take him longer. Let’s go get Chloe and Riley.”

“You think I’m walking up the stairs in these heels?” she snorted derisively. “Yeah, right. Just text them to come down.”

“Don’t be bitchy, Terri, it’s not pretty. Wait out front if you want.”

Leaving Terri in the hallway, he tramped up the stairs to the sixth floor. Riley answered almost as soon as he knocked, standing framed in the doorway looking like a runaway model, all bare legs and a mane of light brown hair. Sure, she was striking, but it wasn’t her he was itching to see.

“You almost ready?” Riley called over her shoulder.

“Just a sec,” Chloe’s muffled reply came from the bathroom.

A minute later she appeared and Parker craned his neck to get a glimpse of her around Riley’s body. Taller than Riley, she was almost his height in heels, so he wouldn’t have to stoop down to kiss her if the chance arose. And that dress…

Whistling low, he pushed his hands into his pockets. “Looking good, ladies.”

“Damn right we do,” Riley exclaimed, strutting out into the hall, patting his chest as she passed.

Shutting the door, Chloe glanced at him, before concentrating on putting her keys back in her bag. Parker took the opportunity to look her up and down. Unlike the first dress he’d seen her in, this one was silky, green and tied around the neck. Whereas the other had been skin tight, this one flared from the waist down to the tops of her knees and she seemed far more comfortable in it. It left more to the imagination, which he both loved and hated, but it also pushed up her tits. He was more of an ass guy himself, but he could appreciate a nice pair of breasts.

Looking up, she caught him staring. He couldn’t very well pretend he hadn’t been, so he grinned and said, “Lovin’ the dress.”

“Thanks,” she murmured uncertainly after a moment.

“It’s just a compliment, sugar, no need to look so worried.” Moving to her side, he put a hand on her back, making her jump, and gave her a gentle push to get her moving. As they navigated the stairs, Chloe hanging onto the handrail for dear life as she teetered along, Parker asked, “So how was your first week?”

Instantly, he saw her eyes light up as she answered, “It’s been good. All my teachers seem really nice and the syllabus looks interesting. I can’t wait to really get starting. I mean, I worked so hard to get here, so it feels great to finally be getting down to it.”

“You’re here on a scholarship, right?”

“Yeah. You’ve got a football one too, haven’t you? So, is that what you want to do, be a football player?”

“It seems as good a career as any. It’s the only thing I’m good at.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she said, touching his arm lightly.

“Well, I’m pretty good at sex too…”

Immediately her hand fell away and she shot him a chiding look, but didn’t try to carry on the conversation, instead turning her focus to getting down the last flight of stairs safely. He didn’t offer to help her, though he wanted to, since he already knew she’d say no; she was trying to keep him at arms length. Inwardly, he grinned to himself, it wasn’t going to work.

Outside the building, they found Terri leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “What took you guys so long?” she griped, pushing away from the wall and walking off in the direction of Beta house. The three of them shared a look before following her.

What had crawled up her ass?

It was easy to know when they’d reached the right house; even if Parker hadn’t been there a hundred times before, the swarms of students were a dead giveaway. Inside, it was just as crazy.

All parties were pretty much the same, Parker had found over the years: drunken people dancing, talking too loud and playing drinking games. This one was no different. Almost as soon as they went through the doors, Terri disappeared into the crowd and by the time they’d reached the kitchen, where all the drinks were laid out, Riley had seen someone she recognized and headed off to talk to them, leaving him and Chloe alone.

Remembering her preference, he got them both a drink, handing hers over as Trent Coleson ambled over, lifting a hand and bobbing his head in greeting. Trent was a big guy, tall and broad, but he had a way of walking with his shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets which always made him seem smaller. Younger too, somehow.

“Hey, Parker,” he greeted, doing that amiable, head bobbing thing again, “just wanted to ask how your ribs are now?” He could have asked him in practice throughout the week, but Parker got the sense that the rest of the team put him on edge and he wasn’t naturally a confidant person.

“All good,” he grinned, stretching his arms up over his head, feeling a slight twinge as his ribs pulled upwards, but it was more of a comfortable ache now, rather than real pain.

“Great,” the other guy beamed, flicking his head to get his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes, already backing off. “Well, gotta go, my girl’s waiting for a dance.” A huge, genuine smile suddenly lit his face as he nodded towards a tall blonde standing in the doorway. Smiling warmly, she gave a little wave, which Parker returned with a nod.

After watching his teammate go, he found them a quiet corner, so that they weren’t constantly being jogged by people trying to get to the bar. Taking a gulp of his beer, he licked the foam from his lips and leant his shoulder against the wall. For a few minutes they just stood in silence, sipping their drinks and watching the people around them.

It was strange, but Parker didn’t know how to talk to her, not as a friend anyway. He’d never had any female friends. Flirting was easy, but small talk was a whole other ball game.

“So, what’s your favorite book?” It sounded stupid coming from his lips – he’d never read an entire book in his life, not even for school – but he knew she liked reading and hoped it would be a subject she could get into.

“
Jane Eyre
,” she answered without hesitation, “have you ever read it?”

Now he wished he hadn’t brought it up. “Er, no,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, I guess it’s more of a girl’s book anyway. What’s your favorite?”

He was kicking himself, desperately trying to think of the title of a book so that he could bullshit his way through this conversation. “Er…” His brain had totally shut down and now he was stuttering like a fucking idiot. In the end, he said lamely, “I don’t really read.”

“Fair enough,” she shrugged, “I don’t suppose you get a lot of time, what with football.”

Jumping on that as a way out, he nodded, agreeing, “Yeah, football takes up a lot of my time. You ever seen a game?”

“No, we don’t really have American football in England. We have rugby, which is almost the same I think… I’m not really sure what the differences are. Either way, I’m not much of a sports fan.”

“Oh.”

As they talked it became more and more obvious that they had nothing in common, except for a mutual attraction. They didn’t even like the same types of music – she liked pop and he preferred country.

When it started to get awkward once more, Parker put down his empty cup and held out his hand. “Let’s dance.”

“Okay, just watch where you’re putting your hands.”

“I can’t promise that.”

Out on the makeshift dance floor, surrounded by flashing lights, he wrapped his arms around Chloe’s waist and drew her into his body, swaying to the music. Carefully, her hands slid up his back to grip his shoulders and he had to suppress a shudder. Just as he was starting to relax, someone appeared beside them.

“Hey,” the guy yelled loudly over the music, tapping Chloe’s shoulder. Stopping his movements, Parker turned to scowl down at the shorter guy, who seemed to only have eyes for Chloe. He could understand the feeling, but it still pissed him off.

“Hi, Derek,” Chloe greeted him with a small, seemingly forced smile. It made him feel better that she didn’t seem to be interested in the redhead.

“Do you wanna dance?” he asked her.

“She’s already dancing,” Parker forced the words out between his clenched teeth.

Derek seemed almost surprised to see Parker there, as if he hadn’t noticed him until that moment. “But she said you two aren’t dating, so…”

“She doesn’t want to dance with you.”

“Hey,” Chloe snapped angrily, hitting his side, “don’t speak for me. I’m not your girlfriend and, even if I were, I wouldn’t let you tell me what I can and can’t do.” Brown eyes hard and angry, she glowered at him for a second, before turning to Derek and forcing another smile. “I’d love to dance.”

The little twerps face lit up and Parker could do nothing but watch as they moved away from him, grinding his back teeth into dust.

“Dude,” a voice in his ear made him jump and he twisted around to see Dawson standing right behind him, a pretty blonde hanging off his arm, “I think you just got your girl poached.”

“She’s not my girl,” he snapped.

“In that case, you won’t mind if I have a shot. She’s damn hot.”

“Dawson,” the blonde whined, drawing out his name with a little pout of annoyance.

“You’re hot too, honey,” he appeased her distractedly, patting the hand on his bicep, “but look at those curves. And here I am with no brakes.”