“SORRY I’M LATE.” I panted, hurrying to the empty spot beside Mia, and dropped my books on the long table with a loud thump. The cafeteria was packed this time of day, everyone buzzing in and out between classes. The room was painted a stale gray, with row upon row of tables. At least the left wall was lined with windows letting in the morning sun. There was an almost food-truck-like kitchen where they served a bare-minimum menu. At least what they did serve was delicious.
I tried to take my jacket off, but my arm got stuck, leaving me hopping around to release it from the sleeve.
“What’s gotten into you?” Mia snorted, making me pause in my struggle.
“My class is clear across campus. I practically had to run to get here. You know how I feel about running.” I escaped from the torture device that was my coat and huffed, trying to catch my breath.
Mia piled her blonde hair high on top of her head, and her green eyes were bright with laughter. “Good thing I grabbed you breakfast, huh?”
She pointed to a heaping plate of pancakes and an extra-large cup of coffee. I was starved after my morning class, and there was barely time before my next one.
A sigh escaped my lips as I squeezed into the seat to her left. “You know I love you, right?” My voice was muffled as I shoveled pancakes into my mouth. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Probably starve,” she responded and pulled a water bottle from her bag, sliding it my way.
I took a bite of a deliciously syrupy pancake and moaned in approval.
A massive guy sat down directly across from me. He was built like a brick wall, with thick, corded muscles, and his teal-colored T-shirt popped nicely against his deep brown skin.
I snapped my mouth closed, and he gave me a devilish smirk.
“Don’t stop on my account. Nothing wrong with a bit of vocal enjoyment.”
I rolled my eyes. Dear lord, who is this guy…
Another guy sat to the right of him, directly across from Mia. He was equally large and equally gorgeous. His hair was jet-black and styled in a deep undercut, like he was some extra from Peaky Blinders. He was all sharp lines and had an edge to him I couldn’t pinpoint.
There was a full plate in front of him, but he was too busy staring at Mia to notice. When he saw me watching, he looked away. Puh-lease, you’re totally busted.
“You’re Sidney King, right?” he asked, taking a monster bite of his breakfast sandwich and licking the sauce from the corner of his mouth. The sound of Mia’s quick intake of breath had me glancing in time to see her blush before she turned away.
“Um, yeah?”
Mia elbowed me in the ribs, and I sent a silent I have no idea who they are look her way. What the hell was happening?
“I’m sorry. Who are you?”
Both guys look at me, confused. Then two matching mischievous grins cross their faces. “We’re friends of Jax.”
“Uh-huh.”
The guy across from me started introducing himself. “I’m Lucas.”
“Um… hey, nice to meet you,” I said, still having no clue what was going on. It was clear these were Jax’s teammates, but I still wasn’t sure why they were here.
Lucas continued his spiel, pointing at the guy across from Mia. Now this guy looked like he was up to no good. “This here is River. He hates to talk. Good luck getting two words out of him.”
“Two words,” River said, voice deep, mouth tipping up at the corner, causing a grin of my own.
“Oh-kay…” Mia’s voice stretched out the word, and she looked at them with curious eyes. “So, what exactly is happening here?”
Lucas turned toward me. “We wanted to meet the infamous hallway girl.”
I blinked. “What?” What did he call me? I looked between them for some kind of clue, but it was Mia who answered.
“He’s talking about Twitter. I’ll show you later.” She smirked, then checked something on her phone.
River’s gaze caught on her smile. He looked like he wanted to devour her, and a shiver ran down my spine. God, to be looked at like that. Ten bucks, Mia got him in the sack. He falls madly in love with her, and she drops him within a month. If anyone understood my need to keep things light, it was her.
The guys were looking at me expectantly. “Um… this is Mia, my roommate. She’s pre-med.”
Lucas and River asked her questions about her major, genuinely interested in her becoming a doctor.
She lit up when she talked about her future. Damn straight, it should impress them.
River’s head ducked with a near-invisible smile. He caught me looking and shrugged.
Mia choked on her drink when a familiar face sat across from us. We hadn’t seen Alex since that night at the club, and from the way Mia explained it, they’d had a damn good time. She didn’t get embarrassed, just gave him a smile. “Hey, Alex. Didn’t know you went here.”
He lifted a brow at her. “That’s because you ghosted me.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Sorry about that. Busy and all.”
I caught the look in Mia’s eyes as she stared across the table at Alex. It was a mix of annoyance with a healthy dose of desire. He was staring back, and I sure hoped he knew what he was doing because she would eat him alive. Turning, I caught River watching them, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Shit. I made a mental reminder to talk to her about it. These guys no doubt meant the world to each other. It wasn’t worth getting between them, especially with such a short time before we graduated.
My phone vibrated, signaling a new notification. An account I didn’t recognize had tagged me in several Instagram posts.
Everything went quiet, and I froze in place. Students rushed by in a blur as my vision tunneled in on the screen. My hand tightened on my phone enough that my knuckles turned white as I flipped through the images. They were all pics of Jax. He was smiling at the stunning Selena Patronne. She was an up-and-coming tennis star making a name for herself at the college level. She looked back at him with what could only be described as sultry eyes and bit the corner of her lip. They stood close enough that both of her arms were resting on his chest, and they looked like the perfect couple. My stomach clenched, and a feeling of nausea rolled over me as I stared at them.
I rubbed my hands over my face and berated myself for being ridiculous. We were nothing to each other. Study partners. That was it. Then why was a rock forming in my stomach, and the more I clicked through the pictures, the bigger it grew? It felt dangerously close to jealousy.
“Jesus, Sidney, you look like a ghost,” Lucas said, surprised.
Alex hit him. “What the hell, man? Do you have no filter at all?”
I just flipped him off, too distracted by my screen to care.
Lucas shouted. “Hey, Ryder, we’re over here.”
I turned in time to see Jax walking toward us. His hair was in the same mussed state as the other day, and he was dressed casually in a plain black long-sleeve shirt that hugged his chest. His sleeves were bunched up, showing off his thick forearms.
He pulled up a seat next to me and flushed around his neck when our arms touched. I was quick to recoil. Not sure I could handle casual touches right then.
Alex piped in, eyes roaming over Jax. “You’re late.”
“Yeah, I got caught setting up an event.” I couldn’t help my snort, and Jax looked at me, brows raised. “What’s up with you?”
I struggled to make my face go blank. What’s up with me? Nothing I’m going to admit out loud.
My pancakes tasted like ash on my tongue, and I dropped my fork to my plate. Giving up on my meal altogether, I stood, grabbing my stuff.
Mia’s brows furrowed, but I waved her off before heading down the hall too fast to look natural. I was filled with an overwhelming need to get away from Jax. Like he was hurting me even while my rational brain knew that was impossible.
Quick footsteps came from behind, and a strong hand clamped over my arm. “Hold up.” Jax panted, trying to catch his breath. I stopped and crossed my hands in front of my chest, feeling the sudden need to hide myself.
He let go of my arm, sliding his hands into his front pockets, and rocked back on his heels. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine.
His brows pinched in concern, and he took a step closer. “No, you’re not. Tell me what’s wrong?”
I straightened my shoulders and took a step back, putting some much-needed space between us. “Like I said, I’m good.” But I couldn’t help the edge of my voice when I said, “How was your ‘event’ this morning?”
He lowered his head, and a smile formed on his lips. “Are you jealous?”
“You wish.”
“Uh-huh.” His smile broadened, and rage seeped under my skin, causing it to flush. What the hell was he smirking at? His grin only grew at my expression.
“Well, even though you aren’t jealous”—his tone said he didn’t believe me for a second—“you should know our agent’s been setting me up on PR dates with Selena Patronne. It’s an act to get more publicity, that’s all.”
My stomach flipped, some of the tension unraveling. “Why could you possibly need publicity? You’re already drafted to Boston.”
He shrugged. “Teams like to see that onboarding players are ‘steady.’ No one wants someone on their team who’s going to fuck around.”
I swallowed down a bad taste. “So, she makes you steady.”
He stepped in close to me, forcing my gaze up. “None of it’s real, Trouble. It could all be gone in a second if…”
“If what?” The question escaped before I could stop it.
Jax lowered his mouth until his breath fanned over mine. His fingers cupped my jaw, and he coaxed, “If someone real wanted to take her place.”
The world spun around me, all my concentration on the barely there space between us. I searched his clear gray eyes before my gaze dropped to his full lips, and shivered when heat rushed between my thighs. All it would take was lifting onto my toes, and I could taste him.
My breath hitched. “I… I can’t.”
He nodded. “Right, your rules.”
“Right.”
For the first time, I hated my rules.
