Page 19 of Courting Clemson

“Seriously, Luke. I think you need to get laid. Ask her out. Based on the way she looks at you, I’m positive she’d be a sure thing.”

“Do you hear yourself?” I said and shook my head. Liam was turning into one of those guys that gave the rest of us a bad reputation.

“You’re the one who acts like an old man. Why not scratch the itch, man?”

“Hi, guys. Ready to order?” the waitress he’d been talking about asked with pen poised to write our lunch orders. “Two all-you-can-eat?” It was our usual choice and why most of the patrons came here.

“Yes please.” I smiled. “And an iced tea for me,” I added to round out my request.

“I’ll have the same,” Liam said and kept his eyes pinned to the woman.

When she finally looked up from her little notepad, he gave her the fakest smile, and she scurried off.

“She’s pretty cute,” he said, watching her walk away.

“Then you ask her out. I told you. She doesn’t do it for me.” I was starting to get a bit annoyed. We went through this same bullshit every time we came into this place.

My friend sat back in his chair. “I’ve got all I can handle at the moment. That girl I was telling you about is a maniac. Seriously, I can barely keep up with her. I’ve never met a chic as horny as this girl. I think my dick is actually chafed.”

I burst out laughing. The visual was hilarious, for one thing. Secondly, I never thought I’d hear this man complain about having too much sex.

“I’m not kidding, dude,” he said after I stopped chuckling.

“Words I never thought I’d hear.”

“On that note, though, they have a friend who’s available.” His brows hiked up to his hairline like he was enticing me with something irresistible.

“Who are they? Or is that a pronoun thing?”

“See, this is why I know you aren’t getting laid. You’re so forgetful. All those little swimmers are backing up and causing brain fog.” He sighed. “I told you about the group of girls we’ve been partying with.”

I nodded because he definitely had. A few times. “Still not interested,” I said plainly, and the waitress was back with our drinks and our first round of sushi.

I finally got Liam to talk about other things besides my love life, and we headed back to the office with full stomachs. A nap sounded perfect, but when I sat down at my desk, grateful for the silence of my office, I checked my phone before digging in on the stack of paperwork waiting for me.

Definitely a coincidence. Honestly, no, today is as shitty as yesterday. Sorry?

Totally confused by the apology with a question mark, I was reminded why I didn’t care for texting. But I was glad she replied. Ecstatic, actually. I wanted to ask her out but didn’t want to scare her off. If I blew it, she’d probably never look my way again.

My desk phone rang, and my assistant reminded me about my next meeting. Well, I’d have to message my favorite blonde later. The next time I looked at the clock, person after person was telling me to have a good night as they were leaving for the day. That was another bummer about being in management at this firm. I was often the one locking the doors at the end of the day. Staying behind to ensure everything was done that needed to be done or taking the heat for the things left unfinished.

Good thing I negotiated an obscene salary when I was offered the position. And though money didn’t fix my loneliness, at least I didn’t have financial woes too.

After enduring shitty traffic, even though it was well past rush hour, I trudged through my front door tugging at my tie. I loosened the knot enough to unbutton my shirt and headed straight for bed. Normally I’d refresh with a shower, but I was too exhausted to care tonight.

The moment I laid down, though, my mind kicked into gear. Was I going through a premature midlife crisis? There had to be more to life than work. Sure, I had a few things I did outside of my career, but walking shelter dogs couldn’t be the height of my existence.

Finally, I drifted off and had a fitful night’s sleep full of weird dreams and extra tossing and turning. I felt like a zombie the next morning and decided before I left the house to stay as far away from Liam as possible. He’d end up getting a big earful if he started in on me again.

Chapter Six

Clemson

The past two days had been the absolute worst of my life. I met with my head coach on Wednesday morning and got the ass chewing of a lifetime. I’d never felt more embarrassed and ashamed in my nearly twenty-one years.

I went home in a fog of sadness and self-pity, only to crawl under the covers and try to hide from the reality of my situation. Spent the rest of the night alternately crying and fitfully sleeping, all while dreading today with an intensity I’d never known.

The academic discipline board called an emergency meeting to deal with me and the other students in my position. So, as we all sat, or paced nervously in the hall outside the designated classroom, we knew our futures were hanging precariously by thin threads of hope.

---