Page 43 of Rebel Romeo

“Did you bring a change of clothes?”

Confused, I glanced down at my workout pants and undershirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Her eyes skimmed over my chest and landed on my torso. “It’s… tight. Even your pants are tight. They look like leggings.”

“Easy, now,” I laughed. “They’re track pants.”

I might have been embarrassed if not for the flush of pink coloring her own cheeks. Somehow, her reaction seemed to lessen my own. Something told me her comments weren’t an insult.

“Coach makes us do yoga sometimes after practice.”

She choked out a cough. “Yoga? You?” Once again, her gaze landed on my pants. “That’s a sight Addison and every girl on campus would pay good money for: Holden Dorsey in down dog.”

“Am I seriously not invited in unless I change? Because the only other thing I’ve got in here are my football pants. And I promise they’re even tighter than these.” I gestured at my pants, suddenly keenly aware of the fact that I was totally commando. I stupidly forgot to bring a change of underwear to practice tonight. So, it was either sweaty boxer briefs or nothing. I chose nothing.

With a shake of her head, she stepped aside, and I slid into her dorm room.

“Damn,” I said, looking around. “The dorms have gotten nicer since I was last here.”

The living room was spacious with a comfortable looking futon facing a TV, and a small kitchenette at the back. The place was simple, but clean. Not decorated with too much girly shit, but just enough candles and whatnot around to make the place smell nice. Lightly floral, just like Kate.

Kate pointed to a closed door beside us. “That’s the bathroom if you need it.”

“You’ve got your own bathroom? Seriously, do you know how lucky you are? When I was a freshman, most people were in a one-room box with no kitchen and a shared bathroom.”

She gave me a doubtful look. “You used to live in the dorms?”

Busted. “Well, not me personally, but most of my friends…”

“I knew it,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Yeah, I’d been lucky enough to get an off-campus apartment with Duncan our first year, covered by my parents who didn’t want me living in the dorms where the security was lax. Nothing but the best. And the best included video alarm systems at every door of my home.

“Okay, smartass,” I said and dropped my duffle bag near the door. “So, how’d you get so lucky?”

These newly renovated dorms were coveted, and to my knowledge, rarely went to freshmen.

“Jill and I both scored the new dorms because we each got top scholarships in our majors.”

I jerked my gaze back to her. “You got the Lacommogne scholarship for theater?”

She shrugged and nodded like it was no big deal. “Yeah.”

They only gave out one of those for every department. Despite her shrug, it was a big fucking deal.

“Holy shit. Good for you.” And I meant that. I’d gotten a pretty good scholarship for football… not that I’d needed it. I tried to turn it down when it was first offered to me, but my dad didn’t let that happen. Scholarships weren’t meant for kids with seven-figure trust funds, I’d tried to reason with him, but he didn’t listen.

Maybe that was why a large part of me didn’t want to even apply to law school. Every white-collar kid from my prep school was either going to law school or med school.

I was sick of just being one of many. Of doing exactly what was expected of me. Nothing in my life seemed to quite fit. I didn’t belong in a suburb… or Boston. Or at law school. Hell, even on the football field, I didn’t fit in. I was good at football, sure. But every move, every catch, every throw, every tackle felt like I was a complete imposter.

“Anyway, I thought the dorm was covered with my scholarship, but turns out because it was the new dorm, I was wrong.”

“Wait… so they gave you first pick as freshman to get a spot in the new dorms, which you assumed would also be covered in your scholarship. But then after the fact, they told you the new dorms are not covered?”

She gave a little nod. “Well, they’re giving Jill and me a fifty-percent discount on the room, so that’s something at least. But that’s why I… um… had to earn money. A lot of money. Fast.”

I didn’t know why, but seeing her face turn pink and blush sent a wave of pleasure rippling through my core. That explained a lot, though, about her side business. Dorm rooms were ridiculously expensive and if she hadn’t budgeted for the cost of living, that would be a lot of money owed… and probably owed to the school quickly.

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