Page 4 of Calm Before the Score

“Ry, you’re so stubborn, but I love you anyway. Just remember you’re more than a running back, more than a stat. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself this year.”

“I won’t.”Lies.

“Listen, I’m coming by tomorrow around noon to help with your medicine. Don’t forget to take tonight’s dose and walk to the bed while I’m on the phone.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the drill.” I hear my mom shuffle to her bed. Once she confirms she’s tucked in, I tell her goodnight and pray for as much time as I can with her and that the next call I get isn’t the worst one of my life.

I walk back into the party and see Hartley from across the room, making his rounds with a beer in each hand. He’s wearing sunglasses inside, but a herd of girls are close behind him. He never gives one girl his full attention. Part of the appeal, I guess. When I get closer, I stop. The petite girl from class. She’s here, next to Hartley. She looks different from this morning. She’s wearing short jean shorts ripped along the edges with a lacy black tank showing off more than I saw today. A small hint of her bra peeks from under the thin lace of her shirt.Jesus.

Her hair is pulled up into a slicked-back ponytail with small pieces dangling on each side that frame her face perfectly. She’s wearing white converse and holding her phone in her hand, no purse. She scans the rooms repeatedly, darting her eyes from side to side. I can tell she isn’t listening to Hartley’s conversation because she’s twirling her hair over and over again, eyes darting to the floor and back up again. She’s hot. The kind of hot that stops you in your tracks and makes you wonder why she doesn’t have a man with her.

I scan the room to make sure no one catches me staring at Hartley’s roommate and notice half the defense with their eyes locked on her, too. Hartley doesn’t seem to care. He already gave the entire team the hands-off speech. He must be used to it if this is his best friend. She’s glued to his hip and keeps looking up at him.

I hear some girl yell for Hartley. He whispers something to Violet, making her eyes widen, and she bites her lip. She looks terrified. She quickly nods and watches him walk away. I don’t know what comes over me, but I make a beeline for the girl with the crystal blue eyes. I am NOT letting any of these guys get near her. I don’t know her well, but I can read people. She’s too pure, too naive, and without Hartley around, they will swarm her.

“Hey, stranger,” I say as I gently brush her arm and feel goosebumps raise. She jumps when I touch her, and God, ifthat doesn’t sting a little.Why is she so jumpy without Hartley around?

“Oh hey, yeah, Mr. Football.” She looks down and starts picking at her fingernails as soon as she finishes the last word.

“Uh, I wanted to make sure you were ok, with, uh, Hartley walking away and all.”Since when do I stumble on my words?

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks defensively.

“You looked nervous when he walked away. I’ll leave if you want.”Awesome job Ryan. Is that the best you could come up with?

“You were watching me, Mr. Football?” she answers playfully.

“I guess you can say that. I watch everyone.”

“No, you can stay, as long as you aren’t rude to me for no reason,” she sasses back with a little smirk, and I love it.Why do I love it?I feel my lips curve into a smile and chuckle.

“I’m sorry for lunch. I didn’t mean to be a complete jerk to you on your first day of college. Give me another chance?”

“I guess I can spare one more,” she replies with the smallest smile and leans her hips into me. I can feel every inch this girl moves in my direction. I’m in tune with her. My eyes scan her body. The tiniest contact of her thigh brushing mine nearly makes me lose my mind. I can’t think about anything else besides the feeling of her being so close to my body. I want to say something, anything, to get her to smile like that again or get her even closer, but as soon as I open my dry mouth to reply, Hartley returns.

“Vi, come see. I want you to meet some of my friends.” He grabs her arm and pulls her to a crowd of people. I’m left staring at her. My world knocked clean off its axis.

She stops, turns around, and says, “And by the way, you are most definitely not my type either.”

I'm left speechless. This one is feisty. She’s going to give me a headache or a run for my money. We’ll see which one comes first.

5

Violet

Who are you, and what have you done with Violet Evans?!My brain screams as I walk away from Ryan. The same Ryan who was so blunt and condescending to me this morning was stumbling over his words when he approached me tonight. I’m glad he came up to me. I noticed him before he walked up to me. He wore a black, short-sleeved Henley shirt with jeans that framed his muscles. Three undone buttons at the top of his shirt gave me a small look at his body, but when he lifted his arms up, I saw that sexy V dip that girls go crazy for, accentuated by toned muscles.Am I one of them?I must be if I stared at a boy I barely knew for longer than I would like to admit, like a total creep.

The minute Hartley left my side, I began spiraling. The warning signs of a panic attack. I have those a lot. I begin feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and my breathing becomes quick and shallow. I twirl my hair or pick my nails absentmindedly while I try to take deep breaths. How did Ryan spot that in me? It took Hartley years to start reading my panic attacks. Ryan doesn’t even know me.

When he walked up, I jumped at the electricity of his touch. Ryan jolted me from my thoughts. He was much nicer than he was this morning and even admitted how much of a jerk he was. I shouldn’t get used to him being nice to me, so as I walked away, I gave him a little bit of what he gave me, and it felt good. Thank god Hartley missed the entire conversation. He would have flipped if he knew we were… flirting? I don’t know what we were doing, but I do know Hartley wouldn’t have been ok with it.

Hartley walks me over to a group of girls and guys.Yay, I need more female friends.There’s only so much Hartley can do when it comes to certain things, and I crave to have a best girl friend. Hartley immediately introduces me to a girl named Liza, who’s naturally pretty with bleach blonde hair, tall, a little loud, outgoing and wears a lot of makeup. I don't miss the way Liza levels Hartley with a nervous expression and a slight blush as he approaches her. She asks if I can walk to the bathroom with her after we talk for a few minutes, and I do.Once we get to the bathroom, she asks me the basics: major, housing, and hobbies. When I tell her I live with Hartley, she screams and grabs my shoulders, “What?Okay, I need you to repeat that for me. Slower, please.”

Yep, she’s definitely had a few drinks. I can smell the alcohol on her breath, but she’s fun, so I go along with it. “Yes, I know it’s weird, but he’s basically my brother. We grew up together, and he’s the whole reason I’m at Springs U.”

“I love that. He always has tons of girls following him around, and I always wondered what the charm was,” Liza says with flushed cheeks as she ducks her head down.

“Woah, woah, woah, first of all, eww. Second of all, vomit. Third of all, can we please never speak of how much of a player Hartley is ever again? I know that he is, but I chose to believe he’s an angel who has never even kissed a girl,” I chuckle in response.

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