Page 6 of Hate the Game
Cole groaned and ran his free hand through his hair. “Yeah. I just forgot for a minute. We’ll have to reschedule that one on one, Sav.”
I felt Cass’ eyes burning a hole through me but felt like I could still save the chance of a female friend. “Don’t let me get in your way. Are y’all together? I have this dumb article to write and maybe I could talk about you in it, Cass.”
Cole put the nail in the coffin of my first potential friendship by laughing like I’d said the funniest thing. “Me and Cass? No. Cass was a childhood friend. She’s just one of the guys.”
I looked away, embarrassed as I saw a flicker of pain on her face. “Oh, sorry. I grew up with three brothers so I totally get-”
“We have to go, Cole.” She all but turned her back on me and gripped his arm. “Come on. Maybe we can stop at that place we like on the way back?”
Cole wagged his brows at me as he let her pull him away. “I’ll find you later, Savannah Lane. You owe me that one on one.”
I wanted to kick his ass for her. Instead of answering him I turned and hauled ass across campus. That interview opportunity had gone up in smoke but I could still get to class at least. Everything couldn’t be a failure in one day.
Even after getting to class and sneaking into a seat at the back of the lecture hall I couldn’t stop thinking about Cass. I cringed as I imagined myself in her shoes. I’d definitely been there before, crushing on a friend who didn’t see me as a woman. In my normal life I wasn’t sexualizing myself so much. I was normal and my love of football often got me placed in that crushing space of being just one of the guys. I felt for her. I understood why she didn’t give me warm vibes. I hoped that I could straighten things out with her and actually have a friend. The loneliness was starting to become gut-twisting. I was used to having my brothers all around me all the time. I was used to having friends and people to talk to.
All of that would’ve been different if I’d stayed in Texas, though. I probably would’ve been almost as lonely and alone. Things hadn’t ended very well for me before I left. Matter of fact, things had ended so poorly that I probably would’ve gone somewhere else even if I didn’t get the opportunity with Varsity Ledger.
“Hello? Earth to Miss Lane. Care to join us here on the P lanet E arth and answer my question?”
I went hot all over. It was one thing to look stupid when I was trying to but to do it accidentally? Humiliating. I cleared my throat and looked around desperately for a sign of the professor’s question.
“How about you excuse yourself from this lecture, Miss Lane? Clearly coming late and daydreaming about whatever silly thing you’ve got in your brain isn’t conducive for learning. Try again next week.” The professor, a serious looking older man, just stood there and watched me until I grabbed my bag and hurriedout of my seat. “Let that be an example to the rest of you. This isn’t some class you can just pass with a smile and a late paper about why you’d like world peace. Let Miss Lane be your motivation to be better.”
I was fuming and so embarrassed when I left the building that I didn’t even bother stopping to get food before storming into my room and slamming the door. I opened my laptop and went to the same place I often did when I was that angry. The article I’d written that got rave reviews. It was good. Better than good. It’d won awards. Too bad it wasn’t my name under the title. It was Professor Charles McGraw’s name where mine should’ve been. Of course, I’d called him Charlie when I’d written it from his bed.
***Savannah***
“No, Cash. It was so weird.” I paced my room after coming back from breakfast and running into a group of cheerleaders. “I asked one of them if they minded me reaching past them to grab a drink and she didn’t blink. It was like I wasn’t there and hadn’t asked her anything. The entire group of them ignored me so thoroughly that I started to worry that I’d died and woken up a ghost without realizing it.”
Cash was laughing loud enough that I had to pull the phone from my ear. He practically screamed his response. “Like when you were little!”
I stomped my foot, even though he couldn’t see it to know that he was pissing me off. “Y’all were so mean to me!”
He’d almost gotten control of his laughter but it started right back up. “Oh, man! You cried when you thought you were a ghost but then you got this look on your face and you were out the front door before we could stop you.”
“It’s not funny, jerk. I took off my clothes and ran across the road to get to the swimming pool in our neighbor’s yard. I can still see the shocked faces of all the people in that backyard,Cash. I’m still mortified. They were having a party!” Even though I claimed it wasn’t funny I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out. “I did a naked cannonball over the head of their grandma. She screamed!”
“I needed this laugh, Vannah. Oh, God. That day was well worth the spanking Sam gave us for tricking you and embarrassing him.”
I read between the lines and got serious. “Is everything okay?”
Cash was the wild brother out of the three of them. He was probably meant to join a motorcycle gang more than he was a football team but as a Ford, he didn’t really have that option. He was also the only one out of the three of them that hadn’t been injured. Weston still wasn’t playing and probably wouldn’t for the rest of the season. Hayes had played in his first game over the weekend and he’d been so off that he was taken off the field almost immediately. I knew my brothers well enough to know that it was causing issues.
“Everything’s fine, Vannah.” He sighed. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Those asssholes need a little bit of their own medicine.”
Speaking of those assholes, I heard a knock on my door and looked through the peephole to see Cole standing there. Just when I thought I’d just ignore him he grinned and leaned closer to the peephole. “I know you’re in there, Sav. Open the door or the big, bad wolf will do what he does.”
I swore and put my hand over my mouth as I whispered to Cash. “I have to go.”
“Is that one of them? What do they want? You’re being safe, aren’t you?” Cash was also the brother most likely to murder someone for me.
“You mean condoms?!” His silence told me that I’d just horrified my brother. “Shit. Don’t tell Hayes or Weston that I even said the word. I’m not using condoms, Cash.”
“What?!”
“Because I’m not having sex!” I looked through the peephole again and knocked my forehead against the door. “I have to go. This was awful.”
“You’d better not be having sex! That was not part of the plan. Don’t let those motherfuckers touch you, Savannah Lane Ford!” Cash was officially pissed. Which meant I’d be getting calls from all three of my brothers soon.
