Page 4 of Necessary Roughness
“Slobbish?” Logan spread his arms and looked down at himself. “Baby, I look flawless without any work. Roman knows what I’m talking about.”
On the way back to his room, Roman flashed us hisothermiddle finger.
I put on a fresh shirt and combed my hair, then Logan and I left our house. That was one of the luxuries I loved the most about being an upper classman: sharing a house withmy teammates rather than being stuck in a dorm. It was a nice little neighborhood only a quarter-mile walk from campus, and less than half a mile from the football field. We had the independence of living off-campus, but all the perks of being close.
We were also surrounded by sorority houses.
Tonight was the Thursday before classes began, and everyone was out partying it seemed. Music drifted from half a dozen sources as women in Greek-branded clothes hung off porches and danced on balconies. A few women shouted down at us as we passed.
“Sorry, ladies!” Logan said, turning around and walking backwards to respond to a cluster of Deltas. “Maybe on the way home. Save me a beer!”
I shook my head as he fell back in step with me. “You’ve never met a girl you didn’t want to smile at.”
“Whywouldn’tyou want to smile at every woman you see? Smiling’s free, bro. And I’ve got a good one.” He pointed at his mouth with both hands and gave me a white, toothy grin.
“I guess you’ve already forgotten what you said last year.”
“What did I say last year?”
“That you weren’t going to get distracted by girls during the football season.”
“I do remember saying that,” he replied. “And that’s still my intention. No girls during the season.”
“So you’re making an exception already?”
“Not an exception,” he said, pointing at me emphatically. “Season begins on Saturday. Today is Thursday. After tonight, all bets are off.”
“If there’s anyone at Jamie’s party worth hooking up with,” I replied. “The last party we went to, pickings were slim.”
“You’re being glass-half-empty!” Logan put his arm around my shoulder. “You should be more positive. Glass-half-full. Wait.Ass-half-full. Heh.”
“You’re very clever.”
“The point is that it’s a new year, which means new women,” Logan insisted. “And just in case you’ve forgotten, we’re football stars! There are ten thousand new students on campus who are ready to throw themselves at us.”
“Not interested in the kind of women who only like us because we’re on the team,” I said.
“Ah hah!” Logan rounded on me. “So youarethinking about getting laid tonight.”
“I just want a relaxing beer with my fellow students.”
He clapped me on the back. “You’re such a bad liar. Mark my words: you’re going to pounce on the first girl who smiles at you.”
I ignored Logan as we passed another thumping sorority party. After four years at Westview College, I’d gotten sick of the kind of women who threw themselves at football players. Yes, it was fun for a while. Sure, I’d enjoyed the fringe benefits of being one of the most famous people on campus.
But now, entering my final year before I graduated, I wanted something more. Somethingreal.
Once the season was over, though. In the spring.
Tonight, I just wanted to relax.
Jamie’s party was at the far end of our neighborhood, right on the edge of campus. The bass thumped through the floorboards as we walked up the steps onto the front porch. Even outside, theair was thick with sweat, cheap beer, and the kind of energy that could only come from college students who didn’t have any real responsibilities until classes began on Monday.
Unless you were a football player who had practice in the morning, and a game on Saturday.
I nodded at a few familiar faces as we weaved through the crowd by the door. Most of them looked like freshmen, based on their wide-eyed gazes and the way they tried too hard to fit in.
I breathed in the air and let out a sigh of happiness. I liked coming to parties because they made me feel a little morenormal. Sometimes, for a few minutes, I could pretend that I was a regular student who could blend in with the crowd.
