Page 2 of Stalked By the Cornerback

“Yeah,” I grunted with a shrug. Confusion filled her gaze, and I knew exactly why. All semester long we had been close. Friends even. And now, after finishing our final, I was stupidly giving her the cold shoulder.

She had no idea that it had nothing to do with her. That I was trying to keep my hands to myself for a fucking reason. An important one. I didn’t know what kind of voodoo spell she had cast on me that first day of class, but the thing I had felt start to come alive inside of me, had been slowly taking over. As much as I hated the idea of putting some space between Mattie and me, I knew it was what had to be done. Whatever weird, overprotective, possessive, crazed crush I had would disappear once I stopped seeing her. I hoped.Kind of.

I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans to stop myself from doing something stupid, like grabbing her in my arms and kissing her like I had been dying to since we met.

“Can you believe it’s summer now?” she asked, trying to make small talk. Small talk I wanted to have with her, but fuck me, I couldn’t keep talking to her.

Liar, a voice perked up in my head. Since seeing her that first day in class, I couldn’t get myself to stop thinking about her. All I wanted to do was talk to her, be around her, touch her.Own her. Claim her.

Mattie Fuentes was everything I could ever want in a woman.

Curves and sweetness. Sassy spunk and kindness. Just looking at her that first day had messed me up in the head. Made something inside of me come to life. Something dark and obsessive. Something I had tried like hell to keep at bay. During the semester, just being around her had been enough. Barely, but enough. But that thing inside me kept egging me on, wanting and needing so much of her.Too much.

“Dyl?” she called out as her hand reached for mine, and for some damn reason, I flinched my hand away from her.

“What?” I asked a little too brusquely. Something in my gut tightened as she blinked away the hurt from her eyes. I hated that I’d made her think I didn’t want her to touch me. Fuck, I loved when she touched me. Mattie was affectionate. Always touching my arm or hugging me hi and bye when we got together to study.

“You okay?” The long dark strands of her hair swung to the side of her face. The tips of my fingers itched to pull them back and tuck them behind her ear.

“I’m fine,” I clipped. Pissed at myself for acting like a douchebag. I didn’t know why I was acting this way.You know why,the small voice of reason piped up.

If I put some space between us, it would help. I’d barely been able to control myself this semester. This infatuation with Mattie had been growing out of control. I wasn’t a relationship guy.

I had never been anyone’s boyfriend. Friend with benefits? Yes! One-night stand? Of course. Quickie hookup against a brick wall of a bar? Definitely.

What I didn’t do was relationships.

Relationships were messy complications that screwed you up in the head. I knew it. Hell, I’d lived it. Watching my parents fight and argue over every little thing until they split up had been fucking hell. It’s why early on, my brothers and I had decided to focus our attention on sports.

I lived and breathed football.

Always had.

Where my brothers played baseball and were fucking great at it, I excelled at football. As the school’s starting cornerback, I knew I had NFL scouts looking at me.

At first, I’d taken up the sport to somehow be different and stand out against my three other brothers. The three were all baseball players who were incredibly great at what they did. As the second oldest and a Macabee, I moved my athletic endeavors to football so I wouldn’t keep feeling like I was competing against my brothers.

I wasn’t used to craving the things I wanted when I looked at Mattie. Wanting, shit, aching for things I had never thought I would be interested in. Mattie, who was the perfect blend of sassy and sweet. I wanted her all to myself.

And it wasn’t just about getting in her pants.

“Fine, huh?” she repeated, snapping me out of my thoughts. Graciously giving me time to take back how stupid I was acting. But I didn’t accept the fucking olive branch.

All I could think about was that the semester was over. That I wouldn’t have the chance to sit next to her every other day for fifty-eight-minute sessions. Not only that, but everyone, for the most part, left campus during the summer.Ask her if she’s going home!that possessive part of me shouted inside my head. I didn’t want her to leave for break.

“Well, umm… did you decide what you’re gonna do this summer?” she asked, and I shrugged.

“Staying on campus,” I quickly shared. I sounded like a callous dick, but what she didn’t know was that I was trying to save her from me.

To save her from the thing inside me that was starving for more time with her.

This weird, obsessive crush that wouldn’t be sated. Mattie Fuentes was more than a hook-up kind of girl. She was the kind you claimed and cherished every day of your life until you took your last breath.

That’s what I want,that obsessed part of me growled. The sane part of me that was slowly diminishing didn’t know if I could be what she needed, though. She needed someone who could give her time and attention. Worship her with every waking breath.We can,that almost animalistic thing in my growled.

“Well… that’s good, I guess. I am, too. I’m actually moving into a new dorm building.” I nodded, trying to focus on what she was saying while the sane part of me tried not to. I knew what would happen if I heard what dorm building she would be in this summer. I’d follow her around, trying to catch a glimpse of her, and inevitably find a way to make her spend time with me.

“Yeah, well, right.” Her shoulders dropped, and I lost sight of her eyes. Not because I looked away but because she did. And even though I missed her eyes on me, I kept being a jerk. It was for her own good. I was trying to save her from me. From the way I wanted her.

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