Page 15 of The Off-Limits Play

Prick.

My insides simmer and boil the way they always do when I let myself think about him. He was so perfect—good-looking, intelligent; everybody loved him. A true gentleman… until we all realized he was nothing but a selfish coward.

Slipping my phone back into my bag, I pull out my laptop and try to chase away memories of his strong arms and the way his hands roamed my body, his full lips kissing my neck, his Old Spice scent wrapping around me.

I shudder, opening my notebook and getting myself organized.

I don’t want to think about Nick the Dick right now.

And I definitely don’t want to think about driving to Albuquerque to visit my grandparents. I haven’t been behind the wheel since I crashed Nick’s car, and I’m not about to start my big debut back behind the wheel with a seven-hour drive. Besides, my parents would never let me.

You’re almost twenty! You don’t need their permission.

I cringe and rub my forehead, checking the clock and worrying my lip as I desperately wait for the professor to show up and start teaching. I need the distraction.

Tapping my thumb on the edge of my laptop, I let my mind wander back to Carson for a minute… and my lips instantly tug into a smile as I think about his grumpy ass. Oh man, that cute frown of his, the way his hair sticks up like he only ever brushes it with his fingers. I kinda like his scrappy look. There’s a hard edge to him that I should seriously not find appealing, but he’s just so different from…

Nick the Dick.

Carson doesn’t seem to give a shit what people think of him, and there’s something very refreshing about that.

Which you shouldn’t actually care about, because that boy obviously isn’t interested in you. He didn’t even say goodbye this morning.

Shaking my head, I let out a relieved sigh when our professor walks in and starts the lecture without even greeting us.

I shuffle in my seat, homing in on her enthusiastic voice and drowning out the rest of the world. I don’t need to waste my time on guys who like to play disappearing acts on me. I’m worth more than that.

All I care about right now is how humanity has evolved. And today, I can travel back in time and hang out with some cool-looking Australopithecus and find out how they were wired to survive in a world that seemed determined to take them out at every turn.

CHAPTER6

CARSON

Shit, I was an asshole this morning.

What kind of douchebag just walks away without even saying goodbye?

I’ve been regretting it all fucking day, but it’s not like I can do shit about it.

If anything, I should be celebrating the fact that I’ve probably put her off me for good. She’s not gonna waste her time on someone like me. And she shouldn’t.

This is a relief.

It fucking is!

But as I’m taping up for practice, I can’t shake this dark, foul feeling festering inside me. It’s making me a real shithead, but I can’t seem to control it. I’m communicating in grunts and growls, sounding more like a caveman than anything else, and the guys are giving me a very wide berth.

Fuck!

I should be happy about that, but it’s just making me feel even worse.

Throwing on my practice jersey, I head out to the field and start our usual warm-up drills. For late October, it’s a hot afternoon, and sweat is soon dribbling into my eyes and running down the back of my neck. I push my damp hair back and run to my right, following the line Coach laid out for us before pivoting left and catching the ball.

“Nice take, McAvoy.” He claps. “Now go again.”

I do as I’m told, running the drills until my body is aching.

We’re only halfway through practice, and I want to pack it in. But then again I don’t, because if I’m not out here hurting and sweating, I’ll just be sitting on my ass thinking about her, and I so don’t need that shit right now.

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