Curveball(20)

“You’re just jealous because you have to bag the same chick for the rest of your life,” Hunter says, completely joking, smirking at Luca.

“Fuck you, bro.” Luca adjusts the strap of his bag, moving it higher up his shoulder, and holds on to it. “Ain’t nothing wrong with that, not when I have a girl like Izzie.”

“You’re one to talk,” I say to Hunter. “Our house used to be like the Playboy Mansion until you both turned into pussy-whipped assholes. At least I still know how to get it in—unlike you punks.”

“Maybe you’re the one who’s jealous,” Luca says to me, his expression serious.

I snicker. “Not a chance. I like my balls attached, thank you very much.”

Hunter’s cell phone rings, and he holds it up to his face, biting down on his bottom lip, concerned.

“What’s wrong? Did you forget to bring your girl her tampons?” I quip.

“Jerk,” he says. Then, he shows me his phone.

But it’s actually my phone and not Hunter’s. We have the same iPhone and mix them up on occasion. That means the one in my pocket is his, so I remove it from my pocket, and we switch phones.

“It’s Shawn’s crew. Looks like you have a problem.”

Glancing down at the screen, I clench my fist at my side and mutter, “His crew has two days to come up with the money before I make all of them my bitch,” I say this aloud, the comment directed to Tony, who texted me, even though he can’t hear me.

I am so angry that he didn’t get the money upfront, per the usual.

“I told you to shut that shit down,” Luca growls. “You keep that up, and we’re all going to get pinched.”

“You’re not involved anymore,” I snap back, “and I’m done with bookmaking, so get off my ass.”

“What you’re doing is no different than taking bets on games or hustling college kids out of their trust funds. With racing out in the open, you have an ever better chance of getting caught.” Luca climbs up the stairs to Franklin Hall and swings the door open, irritated.

I follow behind him and hold the door for Hunter, who never opens his mouth when Luca and I get into this discussion. We’ve been friends for so long that we might as well be brothers, and we argue like we are blood. While I know Luca is saying this to protect me, I am a grown-ass man, and I can make my own decisions.

Luca cut off my lifeline the day he ended our monthly high-roller poker games and bookmaking operation. My savings account has been dwindling since then, considering I was only on a partial baseball scholarship my first two years at Strick U and I am stuck supporting my family.

“Well, unlike you, Luc, I have bills to pay and mouths to feed. I have to do whatever I can to survive.”

Most of my life, my dad has been in and out of jail, barely home long enough to put a meal on the table or keep my mother clean. For as far back as I can remember, I have taken care of my mother and sister by selling cigarettes, mixed tapes, and just about anything else I could get my hands on to turn a profit.

I never had a real childhood. Growing up with a best friend whose family ran the Philly Mafia, a criminal for a father, and a drunk for a mother, I had zero chance at normalcy. Baseball was my only saving grace, the one thing I could do outside my miserable house that I was not only good at, but also loved.

On our way through the building, we round the corner near our classroom and walk past a group of Kappa girls. The sorority girls’ faces light up, and a few wave in our direction.

I nod in acknowledgment.

Hunter and Luca ignore them—as usual, now that they have girlfriends—and continue talking about fraternity business.

One of the girls locks eyes with me before cutting across the corridor, heading toward me, and latches on to my biceps. I attempt to shake her loose, but she just holds on tighter, forcing me to drag her along with me to class. We have about one minute before the door closes.

“Hey, Mark.” She looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes, short, dark hair that frames her cupid-shaped face, and pouty lips that are hard to forget.

“Harper,” I say, still focused on her mouth.

But all I can think about is the way Teach’s lips felt wrapped around me instead of how I could make use of Harper’s again. Except it has been days since I last fucked my smoking-hot professor. She refuses to return my texts or phone calls. I thought about stopping by her apartment to force her to see me, but that would be too stalkerish. Not that I haven’t already stooped that low by ambushing her at the club. But I am not about that life.

“When’s your next party? We’re having a small get-together at Kappa, but you know how lame those can be. Savannah and Penny have been such pains in the ass lately with all their stupid rules. I was thinking we could have a repeat of last month.” She winks.

Luca steps through the open door of the auditorium with Hunter at his side, and neither of them looks back, leaving me in the hallway with Harper.

While her offer sounds tempting, I stop to peel her fingers from my arm. “There’s a party this weekend at the house, but I won’t be there. Sorry.”

Her eyes travel to the floor for a few seconds before she meets my gaze. “That’s too bad. Maybe we can hang out sometime during the week.”

I shrug. “Yeah, maybe. I have a lot of shit to do though.”