Page 95 of Falling Offsides

I stare at the screen, heart pounding in my head, my throat, my chest. There’s a single part of me that doesn’t have a pulse right now.

And for one wild, breathless second, all I can think is:

God, I want to.

NINETEEN

AUGUSTE

I’m still standing here.Frozen. Staring down the hallway Courtney disappeared through. She fucking waltzed past me like I’m the invisible man.

The hallway is empty now, the music thumping through the walls, filling the space around me. The faint scent of her perfume clings to the air like smoke. The kind of lingering scent that stays in your lungs and won’t let go.

The same way I can’t let go. Even though I don’t know what else to do to convince her to give me a shot. To let me in.

I don’t know what the fuck happened to her. Who the hell has made her build these impenetrable walls around her. But I do know that if she just gave me a chance, I could fix all the shit that’s happened. I can make it better. I proved that to her last night.

Didn’t I?

Sucking in a breath, I steady myself so I can go back to the table, grab my shit and leave.

Because if another asshole goes near her… I will lose my shit again.

Fuck, I’m still vibrating with the intensity of what just happened. What karaoke cunt-face did. The way he touched her. The way she looked at him—intimidated.

No one fucking intimidates my girl.

Not on my fucking watch.

Ever.

After all that, I’m the bad guy. Courtney looked at me like I was something she didn’t recognize. Something she wasn’t sure she wanted.

Maybe I am.

Maybe she’s right to push me away because she’s turning me into something—someone I don’t recognize.

And I like it.

It’s so goddamn thrilling to want to fight for something besides a scoresheet. To fucking need something more than may next win.

At the same damn time… it is terrifying—the things I will do for her. The lengths I will go to for Courtney. Infinite.

This girl lights me up like nothing before her. The sound of her voice shaking? The fire in her eyes when she told me off? That flash of fury, of defiance?

It. Lit. Me. Up.

The whole time she was talking, I couldn’t stop thinking about how good her mouth would feel crushed under mine. How she’d fight me. How she’d give in.

I don’t regret what I said to that guy. Don’t regret the threat. If anything, I wish I’d hit him. His blood belongs on my hands.

For her.

That’s the part that scares me in ways even physical pain can’t reach.

Because I’ve had flings. I’ve had girls. But nothing and no one like Court.

Nothing that coils like this.

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