Looking to Score(66)

“Oh! Oh my. So, uh, good to see you both have worked things out,” Mom said, giggling nervously. She lingered as Oakley practically flung his body off the bed. “I can see why she likes you.”

Oakley hit the floor and gathered the thick comforter up at his waist, likely to hide his monster erection from my mother. She stared at his hands before realizing how inappropriate she was being. “Breakfast is ready!”

She spun around and was about to leave when she paused to whisper. “I’m not like regular moms, I’m a cool mom. But my husband will skin you alive if you have sex with our daughter while he’s flipping pancakes in the next room for you.”

“Copy that,” Oakley replied nervously. I could see him blushing from here and had to stifle a giggle.

“Toodles!” Mom waved, leaving the guest room. The moment the door closed, Oakley let out a sigh.

“Fuck. You could have told me your parents were here!”

“You distracted me,” I argued with a smile. “With pissing me off, then kissing me, and that thing you do with your lips…”

“I need a cold shower.”

“Yeah you do,” I joked while wrinkling my nose. “You smell like cheap perfume and the beer sweats. Besides, we have a lot of work to do this morning if we want to fix this.”

“Oh?” Oakley asked.

“Get ready, Problem. You’ve got interviews today.”

He grinned. “She’s back.”

“Who’s back? Is my mom…” I stared at the door.

“No,” Oakley replied. “You. Damn, you’re feisty. Confident. Take charge. My girlfriend is back.”

He took a step over to me, and I playfully rolled my eyes. “I thought we didn’t do labels. You’ve called me that at least four times over the last two days.”

“Damn,” Oakley said. “My epic plan to play hard-to-get has backfired.” His sarcastic tone made me giggle.

“Hop in the shower, superstar. We can awkwardly define the relationship after I’ve saved your career.”





Oakley was in hair and makeup, getting ready for an interview on the local news channel. Dale’s video of Oakley punching out Chuck, defending my honor, had gone viral. The social media buzz had gotten the attention of several media outlets, and my phone was blowing up with interview requests. We had to stay in California an extra two days to accommodate all of the interviews.

I stood next to Oakley as the makeup artist was doing her thing. I didn’t see the point of the makeup; Oakley was basically a god. I practiced some questions with him, but he already knew what to say. This was his chance at redemption, and he knew it.

An assistant came back and got Oakley. It was time to start. I reached up and gave him a quick kiss for luck.

“You’ve got this, Problem,” I told him confidently.

I watched the interview from behind the camera. Oakley was navigating the questions with ease. I am one hella good publicist.

“Oakley, tell me what was going through your mind when you saw Chuck grab your girlfriend’s throat.” The interviewer, Mia Mitchell, looked at Oakley intently.

Oh. Em. Gee. Mia just called me Oakley’s girlfriend on TV.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking. I saw his hands wrapped around her throat, and my instinct to protect her just took over. Everything in my body reacted to stop Chuck from hurting her,” Oakley answered.

Oh my lanta. My feminine sensibilities were all atwitter.

“And it was your friend, Dale, that released the video. Given the sensitive nature of the video, are you upset with Dale for doing that?” Mia followed up.

“No,” Oakley said immediately. “I feel like he did the right thing. Amanda and I took a lot of heat, and we were affected both personally and professionally. By releasing the video, Dale was able to show the whole truth of what happened. Amanda had a few choice words for him, though,” Oakley added with a chuckle.

The news reporter laughed with him. “This entire ordeal has sparked conversations about body shaming and bullying. What is your take on the response, and how do you feel collegiate football could benefit from this?”

I chewed on my inner cheek as Oakley thought over his response. “I think it’s important to call out injustices as we see them. I also think it’s important to stand up for people and speak up when we see something wrong. I didn’t know Amanda back when this original video was shared, but I would have absolutely stepped in and rejected the bullying, and I’m just thankful I was able to do so now. I do not stand for body shaming. My beautiful, intelligent, confident, and—forgive me for saying this—freaking sexy girlfriend did not deserve the backlash from her peers. She had to transfer schools and decided to graduate early just so she could escape the cruel things they said. She’s so strong. It absolutely infuriates me that this happened to her.”

The journalist nodded. “You yourself have been on the receiving end of scrutiny. Your social media has been the talk of college football for quite a while.”

“I won’t deny that I’ve been liberal with my online presence. The University of Texas is not only one of the most academically prestigious colleges in the country, but we know how to have fun.”

I rolled my eyes. That was not on the agenda today, Oakley Davis.