Romance: Rockstar Romance: Rock My World (A Bad Boy Rock Star and a College Girl Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Second Chance Romance) (10 page)

“We have a winner!”

The crowd cheered, and I shouted with drunken excitement.  Craig
was drenched
from head to
toe,
and I laughed between cheers.  I had decided to go out with my girls
tonight,
and they didn’t disappoint. 
This was
a great party, especially watching Craig win a wet T-shirt contest.  More than half the football team was here, almost all of them taken up by other girls.  That
was fine
for me, I wasn’t
really
interested in any of them, save for one.

Craig stumbled from the front of the crowd with
victory
.  He wasn’t much to look at, but he was one of my best friends.  A tall and lanky bean pole of a friend; but a friend nonetheless.  But, he was genuine and didn’t flirt with me like so many of my other guy friends did.

“Craig!  Over here,” I shouted.

He looked up and acknowledged with squinted eyes and shuffled my way with the goofiest smile on his
face, I
thought I might shoot my beer from my nose.

“How did I do?” he asked.

“I don’t know how you managed to win a wet t-shirt contest as a man,” I laughed.

“It’s all in the hips,” he said as he slinked around in an awkward dance.

I downed the last of my drink and grabbed Craig by the hand.  He stumbled along behind me as I pushed through the crowd around the keg.

“So, where are the rest of the girls,” Craig asked.

“Most of them met new boy toys,” I said, “why are you wondering?”

“I thought I might have the confidence to ask Jane out tonight,” he said.

He had been pining for her since I met her. 

“I’m pretty sure she’s around here, why don’t you ask her?” I said.

“Oh, come on Tess.  She’s not that interested.”

“Yeah, but she’ll never know you’re interested if you don’t say anything,” I replied.

“Pfft, look who’s talking!”

Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye; John walked by with a couple of his football buddies.  I froze for a second, hoping that I wouldn’t do anything stupid to get noticed in a bad way.  It was the most annoying reflex, and he was the only person I ever had this
reaction to
. 

He was tall, with
a powerful
build.  His tank top rippled with
raw,
sinewy muscle as the group of guys pushed each other around.  He had a kind face that always made me swoon.  Cute brown eyes, gorgeous, broad smile, and short brown hair that always seemed just a little messy; these were just some of the things I liked about him.  I couldn’t tell Craig any of it, but I think he knew everything by the way I acted.

“This is different Craig,” I said.

“How?”

“Well, girls don’t usually ask guys out,” I tried to explain.

“That’s just an excuse,” he replied.

We stood in silence getting our drinks.  I took a few peeks at John again, wrestling with his friends behind me.  I never saw a problem getting close to men before.  A lot of my friends called me a ‘natural
flirt’,
but I couldn’t
really
tell.  I just like meeting new people and being friendly. 

“Let’s see what Jane is up to,” I said as I started walking inside the frat house.

“We
really
don’t have to,” Craig said in response, following close behind.

I found her next to the bay window in the living room getting awfully close to one of the linebackers.  I tried to turn around and walk away before Craig saw, but easily stood a head taller than me and saw everything.

“Well, that solves that,” Craig said.

He made for the front
door,
but I caught him and pulled him back.

“Wait, please.  Can we just stay a little while longer?” I pleaded.

“You can stay as long as you want Tess, I’m going home. 
I’m soaked
anyway
, I could use a change of clothes,” he said as he pulled himself away and continued
for
the door.

I started to follow him but
was promptly struck
in the back.  I turned to see the offending instrument was
a football.

“Hey,
little
help,” I heard John say from the backyard.

I turned back toward the door, wondering if I should make a break for it and run away, but I wasn’t even capable of that.  I leaned down without turning around and picked the ball up. 

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.  Their conversations were ending for the sole purpose of watching the girl who
was hit
in the back with
a football;
I was now a spectacle. 

I
walked slowly
toward the backyard holding the ball.  I had no confidence in my ability to throw the ball.  I was athletic, yes, but that didn’t mean I was competent at throwing footballs.

“Almost there,” John said with a crooked smile. 

He jogged over and held out a hand, into which I deposited the ball.  I looked around briefly and realized that everything was normal.  Nobody was
actually
staring at all; maybe I had it all in my head.  I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks,” he said.

I had never been this close to him.  Those eyes that I found so dizzying before were swallowing me.  Everything seemed to be in slow motion as I took in every detail of his face.  I lost
myself in
the moment and only found myself when he turned around to leave.

“I like your eyes,” I blurted out. 

In my
embarrassment,
I immediately threw my hands up to cover my mouth.  He stopped in his
tracks,
and I could already see the other football players trying to stifle their laughter but failing miserably.  He turned back to me.

“Thanks?” he replied and jogged off.

I had never walked so fast in my life when I left.  I had brought a
jacket,
but I didn’t want to take the time to find it, I just needed to be anywhere but here.

I
really
regretted leaving my jacket behind after I found myself three blocks down the road.  I slowed to a stop and let out a sigh.  The street
was illuminated
by the circles of light beaming from the overhead street lamps. 

The silence gave me a second to think, and that was the problem.

2.

“Craig, get you stuff, we’re having lunch,” I said to Craig over the phone. 

I wanted to invite more people than Craig, but he was one of the few people that understood what I was going through.  I tried calling my girlfriends first, but none of them seemed interested in meeting today.  While I wasn’t the boss of Craig; he was the most open to getting together.

The cries of regret echoed heavily in my head.  I kept reliving my stupid moment from the other night.  I wondered what I should have done instead; possibilities cycled
endlessly
as I focused on my blunder.

We met at a diner that I always enjoyed, partially because the food was decent, and partially because it was close enough to the practice field that I could watch the football players as I ate. 

“Took you long enough,” I chided at Craig.

“I heard about your lucky night, Tess.  I’m almost a little sad that I missed out,” he replied.

I went flush with
embarrassment,
and he just laughed.

“Who told you, already?” 

“What does that matter,” he asked.

“I want to know who I have to kill later,” I replied angrily.

“Then it’s probably best I not say anything at all,” he laughed.

I sat there, defeated, with my head resting in my hands at the table.  Rumors travel fast, especially around school campuses. 

I looked
to
the field nearby.  The players were running sprints and out in front of them, wearing a number I was far too familiar with, was John.

“Seriously, it’s not as bad as you think, Tess.”

“Your words of comfort are reassuring,” I said sarcastically.

“Hey, look at the bright side.  At least you talked
with
the guy,” he said.

“I don’t know if this counts.”

The team on the field broke up and started running plays.  I watched in earnest and more than a little heartache.  I continued to dwell on the chance I missed, replaying it mercilessly in my head.  Even spending time with my best friend wasn’t taking away my frustration with myself.

Craig took my hand from the table and held it tightly.  He was doing his best to reassure me, but I wasn’t in the mood to accept.

“Jane called me last night,” he said.

I perked up.

“When?  I thought she was busy with that player,” I questioned.

“It was almost three in the morning.  I guess the guy she spent the night with was only trying to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.  So I gave her a ride home. 
Really
Tess, who does something like that?  You hurt
a good
person’s feelings just to get back with someone that broke your heart.  That’s not how
good
relationships work.”

I sympathized.  Not that I had ever been in either position, but I could understand the frustration and pain;
the pain of being the right girl at the wrong time
.

“Wait, did Jane tell you about last night?” I asked.

Craig nodded with a smile. 

“She even kissed me goodnight,” he said.

“See?  Maybe she
really
does like you.  You should ask her out soon,” I said.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself.  I am pretty sure that asking someone out right after they
were used
, as she was, would make for a bad start to a relationship.  I’m going to wait a little while,”

“You don’t think you’ve been waiting long enough?”

“Look who’s talking,” he replied while gesturing toward the field where the players continued to run plays.  I wondered if John had ever made been used to make someone else jealous.  He’s the right build for
it, that
’s for sure.  I know I’d be jealous if I saw another girl with him.

“Good things come to those who wait?” I said with a shrug. 

Craig laughed, and I let go of the stress I’d been carrying.  It was nice having someone with whom I could joke around and be myself.

3.

It was almost a week before my blunder settled into the recesses of memory.  I managed to realize how silly it was to dwell over an odd compliment.

My brain was kept busy by the extra work I
was given
; being a teacher’s aide and mid-terms coming up fast, I found myself spending more time in his back office than around campus.  He was probably my favorite teacher, which is why I decided to become his aide in the first place.  He welcomed my help, as I had already passed his first two courses over my last year of college. 

“Hey Tess, can you finish grading this stack in the classroom?  I need to meet with a student in the office and need privacy,” he said.

I sighed, as I had just become comfortable where I found myself nestled.  But,
nonetheless,
I scooped up the stack of papers and trudged out to the adjoined classroom. 

A few minutes went
by,
and I overheard his door open and
slam
shut.  I might have been a bit too curious about what was going on, as he inviting students into his office was
quite
rare.  He barely let me in half the time, so I couldn’t abate my need to understand why he’d let in someone else.

“John, you know we talked about this in class,” he started. 

“Professor, I’m trying.  But, the lessons you’re giving just aren’t making any sense.  I’ve been studying
really
hard,” John said.

I stifled a surprised gasp; it was the same John from the weekend.  I tried to peek through the smoked glass window that
lead
into the classroom, but it left everything a blur.  So, I just pressed my ear against the door and listened.

“You know what I told your coach.  If you don’t get your grade up by this mid-term, you’re going to be benched until further notice.”

“You can’t do
that, this
team is my life.  If
I’m benched
, how will I be able to show off to the scouts?  Just give me a passing grade,” John pleaded.