Page 81 of The Game Plan

One person, rather.

I can’t believe he thinks I would actually be interested in O’Rourke. He’s slimy and sleazy and just all around awful. And even if he didn’t go out of his way to harass me… he’s not my kind of guy.

I like Miles.

His quiet strength. His steely spine. His unyielding kindness. His soft heart.

His kisses. His hugs. His touch. His cock.

Yeah, somehow it always comes back to sex. It’s more than just sex between us, though. He makes me happy. We haven’t been together long, but I have absolutely no complaints about dating Miles.

Okay, maybe I have one. I want him to stand up for himself like he stood up for me. Only without the suspension and disciplinary review this time.

River gives me some last words of advice and sends me on my way. I grab a bagel from the snack cart outside the math building, healthy brain food to keep my stomach from growling. When I get stressed, I forget to eat, which isn’t good. I need to fuel myself like I’m getting ready for a softball game. This isn’t a physical exercise: it’s a mental one, and my brain needs all the help it can get right about now.

Miles is already sitting at his desk at the front of the room. I hand over the purple Gatorade I acquired for him before my appointment and he smiles wanly.

“You okay?”

“I will be,” he says. Exhaustion lines his face.

“How did you sleep?”

We spent a needed night apart. If we’d been together, we would have spent more time having sex than studying and preparing for the exam. Not that there isn’t a time and a place for sexy times. But the night before a midterm that I absolutely cannot fail? I went to bed early, got a good night’s sleep, and ate a healthy breakfast before my first class of the day.

Professor Cassidy breezes into the room like nothing important is happening today. Without a word, he starts distributing the exam packet.

I can do this. I’ve got this.

Cracking my knuckles, I flip over the test and take a deep breath. This is totally doable. I’m a strong, capable, mostly confident woman. I’ve been studying for weeks. Miles and I have drilled these concepts until I know them backwards and forwards. I know this. I can do this.

The first question is something that we talked about just last night. I solve the problem quickly. The second question? Easy peasy.

I take my time going through the test. The nervous jitters fade away as I answer three questions in a row. I’ve got this.

My athletic eligibility depends on me passing this test. I’m reasonably confident I know the material. Miles and I have been drilling for weeks. I know this. I can do this.

Chapter thirty-one

Miles

I’mnotsurewhatI expected the honor code review board meeting to be. Something huge and imposing, with a judge in a robe on a podium gaveling judgement. Maybe I’ve been watching too many courtroom dramas.

We’re in one of the conference rooms at the ASC. There’s a staffer from the athletic department there to take notes. My judges are three people from the Council of Athletic Representatives, students elected by their teams to be judge and jury on disciplinary matters. Today they’re a woman from the tennis team, a woman from the basketball team, and a guy I vaguely recognize as being part of the track and field squad.

Good. I was worried. I thought for sure there would be a guy from the volleyball team on my panel, a biased insider who would automatically vote in O’Rourke’s favor. He has plenty of minions to do his bidding; he doesn’t need any more.

Now, I might actually have a chance.

I don’t know what kind of outcome I’m hoping for here. I want football back. I don’t want to be kicked off the team. I don’t want to lose my scholarship. But I’m not sorry for what I did, and I can’t force remorse that isn’t there. O’Rourke is a dick, and he needed to be put in his place.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened,” the athletic department staffer says kindly. “Walk us through the night of October 9th.”

My mouth is inexplicably dry. I wish longingly for one of my grape Gatorades. Anything to quench this impossible thirst.

“I was in the dining hall,” I say, and then stop.

There’s nothing I can say to defend myself. I beat on a seemingly defenseless dude until his nose broke, and then I kept punching him.

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