Page 6 of Heart of Thorns

Leave it to my best friend and teammate, Rhys Anderson, to make me smile when I feel like screaming.

Me

It’s questionable if I’ll make it to the end

Rhys

This whole thing is dumb.

He doesn’t have to tell me twice.

Rhys

You need a gf on your terms.

I snort. A girlfriend on my terms… yeah,sure. I can barely spare the ninety minutes per week on these ridiculous dates.Outside of football, I focus on school. And outside of that, I sleep.

That’s it.

Okay, occasionally I blow off steam by doing fun or stupid shit, like get drunk at parties with my teammates, but those days seem few and far between.

If you asked me what I thought college would be like, it definitely wouldn’t bethis.

Perception is everything. A quarterback who’s failing English Lit would be the laughingstock of the school. Or, at the very least, his team. I make it a point to have straight A’s.

I am an exceptional leader on the field and off.

And no fucking girlfriends.

Yet, when I run out of excuses to remain in the bathroom, I find myself seriously doubting my own philosophy. There’s got to be something better than this, right?

The girl perks up when I return. Her tan looks even more fake now that I’ve been gone for a few minutes. She sweeps her bleached hair behind an ear and tilts her head.

“I ordered us dessert,” she tells me. “They had a coconut key lime pie that soundedah-mazing.”

I grimace.

“What?”

“Only heathens like coconut.” I ball my napkin in my fist. “Coconut? It’s such a divisive food. Why didn’t you pick something normal? Like…”

I snatch the dessert menu and scan the items.

“Flourless chocolate torte.” I scowl. “Even the ice cream would’ve been palatable.”

Her laugh grates on my last nerves. “Oh, Thorne. You’re so funny!”

I am not funny.

I do not want to be funny.

Unfortunately, the waitress returns with the pie. I lean back in my chair, trying to put distance between me and the table. And the godforsaken smell of coconut.

She eats two bites and then frowns, seeming to debate it further.

There’s a slight chance of me fucking her anyway, despite her coconut breath. The thought of kissing gives me hives, so that’s off the table. Years of watching my parents avoid physical affection will do that to you, I guess?

Kissing is for teenagers—which I am definitely not anymore.

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