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"Coach." I had to stop the madness. "We won the Birchwood Bowl. You said we could have this weekend off. No practice."
Coach slipped on his baseball cap again. "I did. And now you’ll be spending it on an RA retreat. Look at that. The chickens have come to roost." He faced Piper. "Practice is at six tomorrow. Last one of the week. If he’s late, tell me, and this is all over."
10
Piper
Watching Him Like A Sicko
Sitting in one of the plush couches in the lobby, tapping my turtle slippers against the floor, I counted down the minutes.
I couldn’t risk Adam hearing me shift around. I wouldn’t be the reason he made it to practice on time. Coach Lawson had promised me over and over again that if Adam messed up, our agreement was over. No linebacker. Done.
Football practice was at six in the morning. If Adam was late and I snapped a photo, my shackles were gone. I could get back to my classic college experience, the one I’d missed out on.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket.
Seriously. This early?
To Be Blocked: smug bitch
I couldn’t just sit alone with my thoughts and the awful messages in the empty lobby. I needed something to do. I’d already read through the required chapters for my computer science classes. So I needed something else. Something to keep my hands busy.
With a yawn, I pushed up from my chair and walked back to the desk assistant area. There was a copy of my presentation stashed away in my cubby. I pulled out the well-worn paper and smoothed it against my thigh.
It was time to stop thinking about Adam Russell. It was time to push past him.
Push past his stupid muscles and the way his grin made my stomach twist into knots or how he ended every sentence with a tantalizing question that made my pulse race. Yep. This was where the Adam train stopped. He made his bed, he had his consequences, and I wouldn’t feel bad about it. No matter how horrible it felt.
The elevator doors opened, and a soft voice carried through. "Ryan, it’s a class off-campus. They let you go at your own pace. I think you’ll really like it. And Cleo won’t have to confiscate your phone anymore."
"The website said I was the millionth visitor," a gruff voice answered her. "How I was supposed to know that’s a virus?"
Oh no.
Every time I needed to run or duck under something, I somehow became glued to the floor of Roman Villa. The desk assistant snapped up from her nap at the sounds too. Both of us were caught. Desperately, I held up my class plan a little higher, hoping it’d hide me from the faces of Ryan Cross and Kassie Ragar.
"Hey, Piper."
"Hi," I squeaked, yanking down my papers.
I can’t do anything right.
Both Ryan and Kassie were dressed and ready to go. Of course. They had to make it to practice too. Why didn’t I think of that? The other football players would start rolling down. I had to find a better hiding spot.
Kassie gave me a tired smile. "We’re heading to Gianna’s for some coffee."
"I don’t drink coffee," Ryan said automatically.
"He doesn’t drink coffee." Kassie grinned and reached up to pat his stomach. "You’re getting an orange juice or something though. They’ve got the freshly squeezed stuff."
He nodded, content. "Alright."
Watching their back-and-forth comfortableness with each other, the way he had his arm slung over her shoulder, the way she leaned against him when they stopped walking, made my heart squeeze.
Why can’t I have that?
Thomas had never been like that with me. He’d been silent and annoyed with anything I did, anything I tried. I could still hear the comments about how I didn’t need to say hi to everybody on campus and how much it embarrassed him.
