Page 7 of Keep Me

There’s no such thing as fairytales in real life, but I’m going to stay away just to be safe. Because I’ve been burned once, and I’m still figuring out the remedy.

Chapter Three

Camille

March

This winter has been brutal.

Not only has the weather been awful, but my class load has been insane. Working to get two degrees at once is tough, and I need a background in both business and journalism for the job I want.

I’ve always dreamed of becoming a part of a major baseball organization, either working in social media relations or writing behind the scenes.

As long as I can overcome the misogynistic assholes who are standing in my way. I want to break that barrier and smash it into tiny pieces to never be put back together.

I grew up with four older brothers and we all love sports. I was never allowed to play myself because it wasn’t ‘princess-like,’ but that didn’t stop me from falling in love with baseball.

Add in the fact that one of my brothers, Quentin, is a player for the Detroit Panthers baseball team.

Quentin relinquished his role in our family to pursue his dreams, only visiting us on the holidays. It was always a tad awkward whenever he came around since my mother and father don’t exactly agree with his choice, but I’ve always admired him for it.

Because he was able to truly be himself and do what he loves, whereas I never could. Not until I escaped, and now here I am, working on a future that feels good for me.

I’ve reached out to a few major league organizations, but I’ve yet to hear anything back. I could ask my brother for an interview, but I want to be the reason behind my success. Not because it was handed to me, because my parents rule a country, or because my brother is a famous baseball player.

So for now, I work for the school’s newspaper, writing about the women’s teams. I would love to work on the men’s teams as well, but Jimmy, the other sports writer, refuses to give that up.

Men.

“Cami, you good?” Jasmine asks, her highlighter paused mid-air.

“What? Yeah, why?”

“You look like you want to put that pencil through Theo’s hand,” she retorts, and it’s then that I notice how tense my body is.

I take a deep breath, feeling a tad lighter. Jimmy gets me riled up like nobody else.

“Please don’t, Millie Moo. These hands will determine my future.” Theo stares at his hand with love in his eyes. He’ll be the starting quarterback this coming fall and he needs his hands more than ever.

“Sorry.” I chuckle. “I was just thinking about Jimmy. He never lets me write about the men’s teams and it pisses me off.”

“What a prick. Do you want me to go find him and confront him?” Jasmine’s mocha eyes pierce mine, her protective nature coming out. She always goes to bat for the ones she loves, and it makes me love her even more.

“No, it’s fine.” I wave her off, folding my legs beneath me on the chair. We’ve been studying in the library for what feels like hours, and I can barely concentrate anymore. If I fail this midterm, so be it. That’s the point I’m at right now.

“Pft,” Theo snorts, fingers working over the fidget cube in his hand. “I’m going with you, Jas. Elio would lose it if you did that alone.”

Elio is Jasmine’s boyfriend, and seeing the two of them so in love has been bittersweet because although I’m happy for her, I’ve been dreaming of a love like that my whole life.

“There’s no going anywhere. Relax, you two.”

“We love you, that’s all.” Jasmine smiles softly.

“You’re our girl. We got you,” Theo adds, nudging me with his elbow as he winks at me. He’s so naturally charming.

I smile at him as I pull out my phone, seeing a few emails I’ve missed in the last hour. Theo does the same, while Jasmine keeps her head in her book.

“Damn it,” Theo groans, throwing his head back.

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