Page 3 of Rivals Next Door

I loved being at Harvard. I loved moments like these when I hung out with the friends I’d made. Lincoln was one of those good friends who treated me like I belonged here.

I wasn’t like most of the students. I didn’t have wealthy or middle-class parents. I only had my mom, and we were on the poorer side, but she tried her best. I grew up in a trailer park and not one of those fancy ones where campers parked their RVs. However, I made it into Harvard because I had a genius IQ.

Sometimes, I wonder about my intelligence because I always found trouble… or maybe trouble always found me… However, I’d been on my best behavior since I started college last year—I did slightly less crazy and reckless things. I was going to make it big for Mom and me.

“Come on, Alex. Go long!”

“Jeezus, Linc. I can’t go any faster!” He must have forgotten that I wasn’t a football player like he was. Still, I sprinted as fast as I could, craning my neck to keep my eyes on him as I waited for him to throw the football.

Lincoln held back his hand, ready to launch. However, when I looked ahead to make sure the coast was clear, my attention strayed to a girl perched on one of the stone benches that were scattered all over campus. Others surrounded her but my gaze lasered in on her. She was goddamn gorgeous.

Her air of elegance seemed out of place among the laid-back casualness of the other students. Her wavy hair cascaded around her shoulders, framing her oval face. There was only one word I could think of as I gawked at her… Angelic. I mentally willed her to look my way, and she did. I stopped in my tracks to gawk at her.

Suddenly, the air was knocked from my lungs, and I staggered forward. At first, my muddled brain thought the sight of the pretty girl had literally knocked me off my feet, but when I hit the ground, I realized the football I was supposed to catch had hit me in the back.

Stunned, I glanced back at Lincoln. He had his hands thrown up, silently asking me what happened.

For fuck’s sake… sometimes, I swore the guy had superhuman strength. He was the size of a tank, after all.

I looked at the angel who had distracted me. When our eyes connected, she gave me a pitying look and shook her head. Heat filled my entire face. I’d just embarrassed myself in front of the most gorgeous girl on campus. I had to fix this.

Jumping to my feet, I grabbed the football and launched it back to Lincoln. “Is that the best you got, you big lug?” I taunted.

His grin told me he was about to stop holding back. I prepared myself to make a perfect catch. Now was my chance to impress the angel.

Lincoln launched the ball again, and I ran to catch it. However, he was too strong for his own damn good, and the ball spiraled past my head. It headed to where the pretty girl sat in the middle of her friends. I pumped my legs, going faster than I thought I could go. I’d definitely impress the beauty if I saved her and her friends from the flying ball.

There were squeals of fear as the girls scurried off when they realized the football was heading right for them. However, my angel stood her ground. She watched with expectation as if she knew I’d catch the ball before it reached her, and I wouldn’t disappoint her. I lunged and grabbed the ball just before hitting the ground and rolling. I stopped right in front of the angel. She hadn’t even stood up at the threat of the out-of-control ball.

She sat with one leg crossed over the other as she gazed down at me with a curious glint in her eyes. Still clutching the football and lying on my back, I stared into the most mesmerizing eyes I’d ever seen. They were swirls of liquid amber and emerald flecked with gold. My gaze panned out to take in her face, focusing on her full lips. She was ten times prettier up close.

Swallowing hard, I scrambled to my feet. Lincoln, quick on the uptake, saw my pointed glance and stayed put. I caught his little smirk before I turned back to the beauty sitting on the bench.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She lifted an eyebrow. Her expression and her very aura radiated a regal energy. I knew right off the bat that she was one of the rich kids that saturated the campus. Maybe Angel wasn’t a fitting name for her. Princess was more like it.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.

The smooth sound of her voice made me pull in a sharp breath. I’d never been shy with the ladies. In fact, my friends told me that I was a man-trollop… but that was because they were assholes. However, I was tongue-tied as I stared at this girl.

“Um… the football almost…” I glanced at the ball and then at the other girls who had scrambled away. They watched us keenly. However, their expressions weren’t smug like Lincoln’s. Instead, they stared at me with grimaces as if they could smell that lack of money on me. It made me feel as if I had no place talking to the brunette with the elegant aura.

When I looked back at the princess though, she watched me with a hint of amusement and interest, which boosted my confidence.

“What, do you see yourself as a hero for saving me from a big, bad football?” she asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck and gave her a sheepish grin. “Well…” That was exactly what I thought, and I assumed she’d be impressed.

“I’m no damsel in distress, but thanks, anyway.” She stood up, and I gawked at her like an idiot. What was wrong with me? Where had my typical smoothness fled to? “I should get going. My friends are waiting.”

She took off toward the group of girls who still eyed me as if I was filth at the bottom of their expensive shoes. I suppose if I were a part of a popular fraternity, had on a Rolex and three thousand dollar shoes, and wore khakis with one of those ridiculous sweaters wrapped around my shoulders, I’d be good enough to chat with the hazel-eyed princess.

“Wait,” I said.

She turned to me.

“I’m Alexander. All my friends call me Alex.” I held out a hand, and she glanced at it. For a moment, my heart dropped because I thought she was like her friends and wouldn’t even want to shake my hand. But then she placed her smaller one in mine. I might have been imagining it, but magic happened between us. I felt something like an electric current shoot up my arm and aimed right for my heart.

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