Looking to Score(28)
I sat there in stunned silence. My heart panged for Oakley and his family. I tried to filter through my memory to see if I’d heard anything about this. Universities were quick to sweep deaths under the rug. No one wanted to send their kids away to schools with a bad reputation. It was Public Relations 101. No wonder Oakley could get away with anything. The school probably liked having him here and definitely wanted to show that they’d managed to support the Davis family.
“I was offered a full ride here, you know,” he continued bitterly while staring at his plate. “I didn’t take it though. My mom didn’t want any of the university’s blood money. They made my sister sound like some stupid party girl. And don’t get me wrong, she had her fair share of fun, but I didn’t like how the university was quick to drag her name through the mud to save their ass. She didn’t even have that much alcohol in her system, according to the toxicology report.”
My purpose for working with Oakley suddenly felt...wrong. “They want a redemption story,” I mumbled. “Oakley, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” he whispered. “But yeah. You working with me this season serves many purposes. You see, the building wasn’t up to code. The door to the roof wasn’t even locked. If we wanted to sue them, we could have.”
The question escaped me before I could filter it. “So why didn’t you?”
“No amount of money can make up for the fact that she’s gone.” He stood up and looked around the hotel room, avoiding my eyes. “I’m really worn out from the game today. I’m going to brush my teeth and go to bed.”
I felt terrible for Oakley and disgusted with the university. I couldn’t imagine attending the same school where my sibling died. I had a lot of feelings to work through. A surge of angry energy flooded my system, and I needed to take it out on the treadmill. I told Oakley goodnight and let him know I was going down to the gym next to the lobby.
I cranked the treadmill up and let the pounding of my feet drown Oakley’s voice telling me about his sister and the university’s cover up. I ran until all I could think about was the screaming in my thighs and I just couldn’t go anymore. I sat down on the floor next to the treadmill to cool off and stretch.
How could Oakley even stand to be around me, knowing that the university was just using me to try to paint a pretty picture with his family’s tragedy and his skill on the football field? It explained a lot about his attitude toward me at the beginning. As I was working out the tension in my knees, I decided I would tell Oakley that I was going to step out of this internship as his publicist. I wouldn’t be able to graduate early, but I would be able to live with myself.
I went back to the room to find it completely dark and Oakley in bed. I slipped into the bathroom to take another shower, trying to be quiet so that I wouldn’t wake him. I scrubbed my hair free of the sweat while thinking about his sister. That could have easily been me. I was headed down a one-way street to self-destruction, and the only thing that saved me from that was a heavy dose of embarrassment.
I used to be so desperate for attention and validation that I’d do anything. Was that what she was doing? Showing off for the approval of her peers?
I shut off the water, slipped into my matching pale blue pajama set, then slid under the covers with a sigh. This job no longer felt right. What was I going to do? How was I going to graduate early?
Two strong arms wrapped around my stomach, and I was pulled tightly against a warm, hard, bare chest. Was he shirtless? Oh my Post Malone, he was shirtless.
“Hey, Solver?” he whispered in my ear while nuzzling my neck. I allowed myself to indulge in this for a few seconds, then pushed him away.
“Yeah?” I croaked.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you started working with me. At first I just wanted to be the mess they made her out to be. I wanted to make it hard on them. Now, I think I can prove them wrong.”
Emotion crawled up my throat, and my eyes watered. My heart swelled three times its normal size with affection for this man. I wanted to tell him so many things in that moment. That he had potential. That the university was a steaming pile of shit. That he didn’t have to prove anything to anyone.
But instead, I swatted his large hand and said, “Yeah, yeah. Get back to your side of the bed, Mr. Davis.”
I reluctantly woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming in the window, hitting my face, instead of my usual alarm. Huh, that’s strange, I thought before I even opened my eyes. I must have forgotten to set it, which never happened. It wasn’t a big deal, though. My flight home wasn’t until noon, so I had plenty of time. I squinted my eyes open, and the first thing I did was look over at Oakley’s side of the bed, disappointment flooding my chest when I found it empty. I pushed the covers down and stretched my arms out, then slowly sat up.
There was a note on my nightstand, scrawled out in Oakley’s almost illegible handwriting. Seeing the note reminded me that the team had left stupid early that morning. I picked it up and read:
Amanda - you looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you. See you at home. I kind of promise to behave on the ride home, even without you babysitting.
P.S. Eat something before you get hangry
There was a protein bar sitting by the note. Ugh, did he really think I was going to eat that? If I were going to indulge in some calories, I sure as hell wasn’t going to eat one of his nasty protein bars. I picked it up and tossed it.