Page 37 of The Game Plan

I blow out a breath. “Well, yeah, since he’s not interested in me, there’s no reason we wouldn’t be able to.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You’re a catch, honey. I’m sure plenty of people are—”

“I don’t want plenty of people. I want him.”

Now that I’m admitting it out loud… yeah, I want Miles. I have no idea how to make something happen when, A, he’s not interested, and B, I don’t have the headspace for an actual relationship, but I do want something to develop here. I don’t want a fling or a fun night or two. I want something real.

I want Miles.

And he doesn’t want me. Sure, he might want a friend. Yeah, he’s cool to study with me or watch a movie on a Saturday night. He doesn’t want more. I was practically laying on top of him on the couch and he didn’t even react. He didn’t try to make a move despite ALL THE SIGNALS telling him I was inviting him.

“So, back to my grades,” I say, and River sighs.

“If you don’t pass this class, or if your grades dip in your other classes, I’m sorry, honey, but you’ll be on the bench all next season,” they say.

I swallow the bitter truth. Shit’s about to get real.

“Okay.”

“This isn’t my choice. It’s the university’s rules.”

“I know.”

“If you have to miss the season…” River sighs. “Okay, so you can stay enrolled, and you can stay in your housing. Your tuition waiver for next season wouldn’t be issued, nor would your housing allowance. You’d have to come up with about forty thousand dollars for tuition, housing, and a meal plan.”

“For a year?”

They shake their head. “For one semester.”

“Shit.”

“You’re being charged out of state rates, plus you’re taking more than fifteen units per semester. Student housing on campus is expensive. Add in the meal plan… everything has a cost. The gear bag alone is fifteen hundred dollars, and without the waiver… It all adds up.”

My stomach rolls. “Forty thousand dollars?”

There’s no way I’ll be able to afford this. I won’t be able to take out a loan without a cosigner. I have no income, no job, no assets. Nothing. My parents are so obsessed with Dave Ramsey, they refuse to let me take on student loan debt, even though they can’t afford to take on the cost of tuition.

“I can give you financial aid pamphlets, but from what we talked about last spring, your parents earn just enough that you don’t qualify for any grants, and if they refuse to cosign on a loan…”

“Rock, meet hard place.”

“Yep,” River says sadly. “So your best bet is getting this statistics grade up. You can do it, I know you’re capable of it. And it sounds like you’re on the right track with this hot new tutor of yours.”

“I didn’t say he was hot.”

“You’re right,” they agree. “You said cute. I’m the one that said hot.”

Biting my lip, I look away. Miles is pretty hot…

“Just promise me one thing, Sam,” River says. “Don’t fall for this guy.”

I blink. “What?”

“Don’t jeopardize your grades for a guy. Don’t sacrifice your season or your financial future over a guy. You’re better than that, girl. No guy is worth that. Study hard, make the grades, and you can go after him next semester, once you don’t need him to tutor you.”

I leave River’s office feeling like I’ve just been through a therapy session instead of an academic counseling appointment. I’m conflicted over their advice. How am I supposed to avoid falling for Miles when he’s so cute and nice and interesting? He’s right there. As we spend more and more time together, it’s getting easier to imagine something happening.

Except for that whole bit where he isn’t interested in me. Right. That part isn’t so fun to admit.

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