Page 6 of The Puck Player

How will I ever feel at home here?

The rest of my weekend is spent unpacking and getting completely settled into my new apartment. Evie is pretty much around the whole weekend, which is a pleasant surprise, especially when Jake attempted to come back on Sunday morning and she refused because we were still in ‘bonding mode’. I like her a lot already, and as much as I didn’t want to be here, she has already made the transition easier on me than I could have ever imagined. In the end she did let Jake come over for a little while, but only because I told her I had dinner plans with my dad. When I got back home, she promptly kicked him out and we watched a movie on the sofa with a tub of ice cream each, just like I used to do with my mom. For the first time in months my heart didn’t completely ache when I thought of her, and it was nice.

Dinner at my dad’s was exactly as I expected, quiet, awkward, and a little uncomfortable. His house still looks exactly the same, as does the guest room that was always mine when I came to stay, and in a way it’s nice to know that some things never change. There was still the same picture of my mom and me the day she gave birth sitting on his mantle, along with my pictures from both prom and graduation, both featuring all three of us, and even though it was nice to see them, I can’t help but wonder if my dad ever got over her.

The day she died he drove almost two hours in the middle of the night just to be with me, and I still remember how he broke down when we had to formally identify her body. When I moved in with my grandma, she said she knew my mom was always the one for my dad, which is why he never moved on. A thought that sounds romantic, but seeing him now just makes me afraid that I’ll not only lose him too, but that he will always be lonely and missing her. Just like me. When I left his house, I promised him I would meet him one night during the week for another dinner, and that made him smile. We might not be close now, but he’s all I’ve got left, and as I fall asleep I vow to have a better relationship with him.

The next couple of days are honestly a blur, of getting lost both in town and on campus, and being given more homework than I thought possible for two days’ worth of classes. I knew Fairfield U would be a step up from what I’m used to, but fuck, I’m honestly not sure how I’ll not only catch up, but keep up too. Evie laughed when I got home the last two days, with my bag overflowing and a frown on my face, but according to her it’s nothing that a girl’s night couldn’t fix, and it turns out she was right. We’ve really settled in well with one another since I arrived the other day, and given the reason I’m even here, it’s nice to know I already have a friend.

A friend I am already running late to meet for our business class, since I got lost once again, so I shoot off a text to tell her to head inside without me as I haul my ass across campus. By the time I make it to class, Evie is already inside waving me to a seat she has so kindly saved for me, and I feel like I might die if I don’t catch my breath.

“Why is this place so damn big?” I gasp, as I throw myself into the seat at her side, dumping my bag on my desk, and Evie laughs.

“You’ll get used to it, honestly, I was just as clueless when I was a freshman, it took me weeks to find my way around,” she replies in an attempt to make me feel better, but all it does is make me feel worse.

“Weeks?” I repeat in outrage, as I rummage through my large pink tote for my books and notepad. “I can’t do this for weeks, it’s inhumane,” I grumble, making her giggle, just as a dark shadow looms over us.

“Well, well, well, hello again, Trouble.” My spine snaps straight, as that familiar and regal tone washes over me, and when my eyes flick up, I am greeted by that same icy blue stare from the bar. The British kidnapper is staring at me with an infuriating smirk, his eyes trailing over every inch of my body, just like they did that night, and I can feel myself blushing. “Evie,” he adds, with a respectful nod of his head at my new roommate, his stare not wavering from me for even a second, and all I can do is stare at him slack-jawed.

“Prince Charming? What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, my voice coming out all high pitched and squeaky, and the fucker just smiles even wider.

“Prince Charming? Oh, I like that,” he purrs, and I mean fucking purrs, each of his words scorching my skin like fucking fire, and I can feel my entire body heating up. “The question I should be asking is what are you doing here, since this is mycampus and I definitely would have remembered if I had seen you around here before, trust me,” he adds, sliding into the spare desk on the other side of me, and I almost scoff at his words.

His fucking campus.

He’s just as cocky as the night we met, yet still somehow looks just as perfectly put together, even without the suit. His white-blond hair is artfully styled, as if it takes no effort at all, and his piercing blue eyes seem to be staring right into my soul, just like they did in the bar.Alexander. That was his name right? The one he made me fucking say, like I was a damn puppet and he was my master. Well fuck him, and his fucking campus.

“She’s a mid-semester transfer,” Evie cuts in casually, not seeming to pick up on the tension, and when she feels his now lingering and interested stare, she adds, “And my new roommate.”

“I see,” he beams, his stare still completely focused on me, and I try not to fidget under his attention, holding his stare with what I hope is a look of pure hostility. “I’m sure you didn’t forget my name, did you, love?”

“Do you two know each other?” Evie asks, her stare now also focused on me, and I mentally scold myself for getting caught up in this.

“No,” I snap, at the same time he says, “Yes.”

“We met at a bar,” he adds in a challenge, still fucking smirking, and my fingers tighten around the pen in my hand, half contemplating slamming it into one of his eyes, just to stop his damn staring.

“While he was drooling all over my friend,” I clap back, turning away from him and pushing my bag onto the floor, as I try to focus back on my books to get ready for class.

“Now come on, Trouble, we both know that’s not correct, she wasn’t the one I was drooling over.” I can still feel his damn smile, and I roll my eyes at his shitty pickup line. “Besides, wemet when I saved you from that group of heathens,” he tosses back, and I see him leaning back in his chair in my peripheral, like a king on his throne, still fucking watching me.

I cock my head towards him with another glare. “Is that your way of saying you’re not a heathen?” I dare to ask, and I swear I hear Evie laugh beneath her breath, but I keep my focus on him.

Which means I watch him, as he slowly leans forward and once again twirls his finger around one of my pink-tipped curls, bringing his face close to mine. “Oh I’m much worse than that, love,” he once again purrs, and this time I scoff, batting his hand from my hair with my own, as Evie clears her throat.

“Bree, this is Alexander Reign, he plays on the Flyers with Jake,” Evie cuts in with a shit-eating smirk on her face, flicking her stare between the two of us. “Reign, this is Bree, she’s…”

“Her new roommate,” I cut her off with a smile, not wanting this Prince Charming fucker to know anything about me, but it seems he’s already satisfied with what he does know.

“Bree,” he repeats with a smirk, like knowing my name is an answer to a question he has been desperate for, and I have to fight the heat from spreading to my cheeks at the way he says my name.

I turn back towards the front as our professor arrives, and though I can feel Alexander still staring at me, I don’t give him the satisfaction of my attention. I know guys like him, hell, I went to school with plenty of guys like him, though thanks to Ben they usually avoided me. Prince Charming will get bored of me soon enough, when he realizes not everyone falls for his, no doubt practiced, bullshit and he will move on to the next. I just have to wait him out and act like he doesn’t exist.

For the rest of the class I feel his eyes burning into me, even as I listen intently to what our professor, Mr. Rogers, is saying, taking as many notes as possible, and to no one’s surprise, his fucking lordship doesn’t even take out his damn book, let alonetake any notes. He probably thinks he’s above even being here, or comfortable in his stereotype as a dumb jock, and again I find myself wanting to scoff at his presence. Still, I keep my eyes forward and my head down, knowing I can’t fall behind in any of my classes if I want to stay above water.

By the time the ninety minute class runs its course, I feel like I have run a marathon in my head, and am in desperate need of both food and coffee. Evie has already promised we would have lunch together since we both have another class this afternoon, so as we pack up our stuff, I feel excited to escape not just the classroom, but the self-proclaimed worse than a heathen beside me.

I still feel him watching me as we rise from our seats and begin to make our way to the front, and I catch him opening his mouth to speak again, when our professor beats him to it. “Miss Callows, may I have a word please?” Mr. Rogers asks, and I swear Alexander smirks even wider at the sound of my last name, tossing me a wink, as he brushes past me and leaves ahead of us.

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