Page 25 of The Lies We Tell Ourselves

I licked my suddenly dry lips. “W-why?”

“Just wondered if you’d like to grab a drink with me?”

Oh holy god. Was he? Is he? No, surely not. I felt like my face was on fire. “Oh umm, errr, thanks, but I’ve gotta get to my next class.”

“Oh, sure.” Disappointment clouded Cory’s features. “How about next time?” He sounded hopeful, and his confidence terrified me.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” I went to step away, but he grabbed my arm, halting my progress.

“Can I get your number?”

I looked up at him blankly, my mouth opening and closing rapidly. “Why?” I squeaked.

“So I can take you for that coffee.” His green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. “Here, give me your phone.” Why was on the tip of my tongue when Cory shook his head. “I want to give you my number. That way, when you’re ready and want that coffee, you can let me know.” Oh. Well, that made sense.

“Okay,” I whispered and handed over my phone. Cory typed in his digits, his smirk growing into a blinding smile.

“Here you go.” He started to turn away but stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Jamie.” I smiled and waved. God, why did I wave? What am I, twelve? “Make sure to message me, cutie.”

“What the fuck?” I breathed as Cory melted into the crowd. “That was so weird.” I shook my head and hurried to calculus.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

DILLON

“Good practice, guys,” Coach said as he walked into the locker room. Half the guys were chugging water like they’d been lost in a desert for years, while the other half stripped off to head for the showers. “Our defensive line is definitely tighter, but it’s still too loose. Hargraves’s guys are carving it up like butter. Prescott, you need to focus.”

Chad turned to face me as he pulled his top off. If this were a cartoon, he would have been bright red with steam pouring out of his ears. “Yes, Coach,” he snarled, eyes focused on me. The visceral hate in them was nothing new. He disliked me when I moved up to the varsity team, but now that I’d taken the captaincy from him, all bets were off. He was a ticking time bomb waiting to blow. I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw a game just to make me look bad.

“Ignore him,” Buchanan muttered as he sat next to me, unlacing his boots.

I looked down at him and raised a brow. “I’m trying, but the guy’s a prick.”

He snorted. “You’re not wrong there. Anyway, let’s hit the showers and get out of here. I need a damn coffee to help me stay awake for the rest of the day.”

After showering and changing, we headed out across the quad toward Bean There, the best place on campus to get coffee that didn’t taste like dish water. The first lesson had let out by the time we were done with practice, and there were people everywhere. Some ignored us, while others stopped and stared. The girls were the worst. They followed us around like street dogs begging for scraps. Most of the guys loved it—especially Stevens—but it irritated the fuck out of me.

“Don’t look now,” Vieck said as he shouldered his bag.

“Blonde devil incoming.” McCormack chuckled. What the hell were they…

“Hello, baby.” Elise sidled up beside me, wrapping herself around my left arm. I shoved my hand in my pocket and kept walking.

“Elise,” I clipped.

“Missed me?” She pushed up on her tiptoes, trying to kiss my cheek. “No. Can’t say I have. What do you want?” I growled.

“Just to spend some time with you.” She bit her lip, trying to be coy, but she looked more like a rabbit chomping on a carrot.

I rolled my eyes as the guys snickered and sped up their pace so it was just me and Elise. Once there was a fair bit of distance between us, I stopped. She twisted herself until she was pressed up against my chest, and when she tried to loop her arms around my neck, my patience snapped. “Stop!” I barked and placed my hands on her shoulders, shoving her back a step and putting some much-needed space between us.

“Why, baby?” she mewled. “What’s wrong?” She tried to step into me again, so I applied some pressure with my fingertips until she winced.

“What do you want?” I grunted. “Because as far as I’m concerned, there is nothing going on here. You had your shot on Saturday and you ran away like a little bitch.” Why did girls do this? Get obsessed and clingy? It made my damn skin crawl.

“Ooh, burn,” someone shouted as others broke into laughter. Great, we’d attracted a crowd like this was some kind of sick spectator sport.

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