Page 104 of Broken Bonds

“Uh, okay. See you in class tomorrow?”

“Yeah, you know the rules—no class, no play.” He kissed my cheek before walking away, leaving me alone in the hallway yet again.

Standing in the bleachers, I searched for Julian’s jersey on the field. The crowds were screaming, feet stomping against themetal floor as we scored a touchdown. Amber and her sister, Jaime, were jumping up and down as they held hands, two peas in a pod.

I couldn’t find him on the field, but I knew he was here. I could feel it. After scanning the field one more time, my eyes finally landed on him standing near the cheerleaders, talking to the captain.

What the fuck was he doing? Why did he need to talk to her?

Suddenly, the phone in my hand buzzed, and I momentarily looked down, shocked to see a text from Ace.

Ace: I miss you too.

My heart fluttered, even as I grew confused. What the flipping hell? When did I text him? Oh, God! The other night when Amber decided it was a great idea to drink almost an entire bottle of rum.

Shit!

Clicking the lock button, I pushed the phone into my jeans pocket to forget about Ace. I shouldn’t have texted him. I was with Julian now. I needed to focus on that… and somehow ignore how easily Ace still made my heart race and my belly flutter. My body reacted to that man so easily. In a way itneverreacted to my boyfriend.

But Aceleftme. Julian was here. Regardless of his behavior, he was here; he hadn’t left. Repeating those words, I looked back to Julian on the field talking to the cheerleaders and fought the pang in my chest when I saw him smile at the half-naked girls.

We won the game, and the whole crowd was still buzzed with excitement an hour later at the after-party. Julian’s arm hadn’t moved from my waist since we entered the frat house, his hand clutching my hip, the other holding a full cup of beer.

We did our rounds with the team, all of them laughing, rowdy, and almost drunk as they hugged one another and kissed whatever girl was attached to their hip. Most didn’t have steady girlfriends. Julian was one of the few, and he kept me close while he was sober. But once he started drinking, his hand slowly stopped holding me tightly and his attention wasn’t on me anymore.

Back at the field after they had won, I ran for the field. Julian was searching for me in the crowd as I jumped into his outstretched arms and congratulated his big win with a celebratory kiss that had the whole team cheering. We separated ways after, and he picked me up from my house an hour later. I decided on a black romper that dipped in the back, showing that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I paired it with a pair of black block heels and, of course, my famous red lipstick. He had complimented this outfit before, so I knew tonight, we wouldn’t fight. At least, I hoped not.

He greeted me with a sloppy, wet kiss that had me wiping my mouth after he turned his back. “You look so hot, babe,” he whispered in my ear as he opened the door to his SUV for me. He said this a few more times, making me blush.

At the party, I didn’t hear another compliment as I watched him drool over the scantily dressed cheerleaders all showing off their perfectly toned bodies in revealing dresses.

Amber and Jaime soon arrived at the party, and the three of us drank and danced on the makeshift dance floor while I tried hard not to keep an eye on Julian. I just had to trust him; he was my boyfriend. How could I question him?

After a few hours, the three of us were stumbling to the bar for another drink when I saw Julian kissing the captain of the cheer squad, his hands roaming her tanned body. Instantly sick to my stomach, I stormed over in his direction and yanked the girl away from my boyfriend.

His questioning gaze landed on me before anger flooded his face. “What the hell, Celine?”

“More like what the hell are you doing kissing another girl that isn’t me?!” I shouted. A few people were staring, and Amber silently made her way to me, standing nearby, ready when I needed her.

“She kissed me!” he screamed as the girl looked between me and him, shaking her head.

“You kissed me, jerk!” she shrieked before leaving, pushing onlookers out of the way, humiliation flooding her cheeks.

“I want to go home—now!” I yelled at him, turning around and looking for the front door. He grabbed my hand and whirled me around so that my lips were almost brushing his. The smell of beer wafting off his breath made me cringe away.

“Let’s go talk about this first.” I fought against his hold, but he was too strong. Pulling me down a hall, we stepped into one of the open rooms.

Throwing my things on the bed, I turned to face him, crossing my arms under my chest, trying to keep the anger at the surface and not let the crying little girl out. “Well, I’m waiting, Julian.” I tapped my foot against the brown carpet.

“I think we should take a break,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at his feet, his fingers pulling at his brown hair.

My arms fell. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Celine. You can’t handle my lifestyle. If I want to kiss another girl after a big win, I’m entitled to it, and my girlfriend needs to understand that she can’t satisfy all my needs, especially when she won’t have sex with me.”

I glared at him, fury and hurt burning in my chest. “Have you been having sex this whole time?” I shrieked, barely able to comprehend what I was hearing. He looked up from his feet and nodded.

“A man has needs, Celine, and you weren’t prepared to help me.” He had to be fucking kidding me. “Not like you actually thought I was going to wait for you to be ready?” He paused, eyes looking me over, and then, he scoffed. “You’re a stupid, pathetic girl. You honestly thought I would wait for you when I could have any of those girls downstairs?”

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