Romeo

Coach got me out of my one afternoon class. I went to his office to “talk” about the upcoming game, when really all I wanted was for him to look at me and demand I go home to sleep.

It worked. He declared I looked like dog shit and then sent me home. He would make sure I wasn’t penalized for missing one class, and I knew he’d still let me play.

It didn’t get me out of practice, though. If anything, he ran me harder than usual. But at least I’d gotten a few hours of sleep beforehand.

Once practice was over and we were all showered, most of the guys went out for pizza, but I hung back. Braeden did the same, promising he’d catch up to them in a few.

I was throwing stuff in my duffle and Braeden leaned nearby, watching me. “You know her roommate is that girl you hooked up with a couple weeks ago at the bonfire,” he said.

“I kinda figured, but I wasn’t sure.” I grimaced. Of all the girls on campus, why did I have to hook up with Rimmel’s roommate? “We just messed around. I didn’t bang her.”

“Hey, man, I don’t care if you had a threesome on the dean’s desk,” Braeden said. “But you know she’s sniffing around Rimmel now. That could be a problem.”

I told Braeden about rush and how I was supposed to sleep with Rimmel. I wasn’t supposed to, but fuck Zach’s rules. That guy was an asswipe. I also told him about the fact Zach wanted her at the party tomorrow night and how I knew he chose her to make rush hard on me. I was worried what kind of shit he was going to pull at the party to drive a wedge between her and me.

I didn’t tell him about the talk I had with Trent. About me possibly being made Omega president after I was inducted and everyone went against Zach. It seemed like I should deal with one issue at a time.

I felt the weight of Braeden’s stare as I closed up my locker and shrugged into my jacket. “Obviously you got something to say,” I told him, looking up.

“She didn’t want to wear that hoodie today,” he stated, staring at me. Was there a bit of challenge in his eye?

What the fuck was this about?

“And I told you I wanted people to know she was with me. We both know Zach won’t be able to mess with her as much if people think she’s mine. They’ll watch out for her.”

“Or it will put a bigger target on her back,” Braeden deadpanned.

Was he talking about Ivy or something else? My eyes narrowed and something very close to anger simmered just beneath the surface. “I’m not sure I like your tone,” I bit out, stepping a little closer.

Braeden stepped off the locker he was lounging against and drew to his full height, facing me. He was a big guy, but I was taller.

“You’re my best friend, Rome. I’m loyal to you. But I like that girl. There’s something about her… She’s innocent and real. She’s the only girl I’ve met on campus who wouldn’t chew off her own arm just to claim some kind of connection to you. I don’t want to see her get hurt because you’re in a pissing war with the Omegas head asshole.”

“What the fuck do you mean you like her?” I growled.

His eyes widened just a fraction. “You’re into her.”

“What?” I said, most of my fight draining away.

“I thought you were just using her to get into Omega. I figured you were having a good time with the challenge of getting a nerd.”

“She is not a nerd.” I growled again, all my anger resurfacing in one second flat.

Braeden smiled. He slapped me on the shoulder, but I knocked away his hand. “Chill,” he said. “I see now I was wrong. You’re into her.”

“Fuck!” I spat and my shoulders slumped. I was into her and it was creating some kind of war inside me. A war between the guy I was and the guy everyone wanted me to be. It never used to be a competition. I was happy to be that guy. The player, the football star, the charmer.

I was those things.

But I was more. Maybe I didn’t realize that until Rimmel started tutoring me weeks ago.

“Don’t worry, man,” Braeden said. “You chose good.”

I glanced up at him. “How can you say that? Do you have any idea how stuck I am right now?”

“Look, maybe she isn’t the type everyone expected you to get with, but I for one am glad. You need someone to bring you down off your throne a little.”

I gave him a hard look. He grinned. “It’s the truth. Besides, we can bring her in. We’ll watch out for her.”

Braeden didn’t get it. This wasn’t just the guy meets girl from different social circles and falls in love. Hell, I was not in love with her. But I did like her. I liked her a lot. But she was supposed to be the girl I used to get me into Omega. Omega was my shortcut into connections, my way into the NFL.

Braeden didn’t understand that. He didn’t realize that right now it felt like I had to choose.

I had to choose between the only thing I ever wanted, the NFL, or a girl who somehow bypassed my “keep ‘em at arm’s length” code.

When I didn’t agree with him, when I said nothing at all, he frowned. “Hey, man. You know I don’t like her like her. Not like that. I just meant she was pretty cool for a girl. In a friend way.”

He thought I was jealous and still mad about what he said. I didn’t bother to correct him. I forced the heaviest of my concerns deep down and grinned. “That’s good to hear,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to have to pound your face.”

“Like you could,” Braeden shot out.

We both grinned and left the locker room.

“You coming for pizza?” he asked out in the parking lot.

I shook my head. “Nah, I have something to do.”

Braeden gave me a knowing smile. “Tell tutor girl I said hi.”

I gave him the finger and tossed all my shit in the back of the Hellcat. I didn’t want to hang with all the guys tonight. Suddenly, being so popular seemed like a pain in the ass.

I left campus and headed a few blocks over to the animal shelter. I knew that’s where she would be.

Maybe once I saw her, the war inside me would quiet.