Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(19)

Liam’s smile is a little quicker tonight. He still struggled out on the ice, but we found ways to score without him. I hope it’s taken a little pressure off him, and he can get back to playing awesome hockey. I know what it means to him. He wants to play professionally but hasn’t been drafted yet.

“Yeah, I think I’ll head to the bar for a beer or two. You?”

“I told McCallum I’d stop by.”

“All right, man.” He offers his hand, and I take it and pull him in for a one-arm hug. “See you later. Nice job this weekend, Cap.”

McCallum’s apartment is already packed when I arrive. Dallas, a sophomore goalie, tosses me a beer, and I take a seat next to him at the dining room table currently covered in cards and cans.

A hand snakes down my shoulder and onto my chest. Cybil leans forward, and her shiny, brown hair falls into my face. “Hey, handsome.”

“Hey.” I lean back and wrap an arm around her waist, and she moves to sit on my lap.

“You missed the most epic of parties last night. I hate hockey season.” She sticks out her bottom lip.

Cybil and I have an easy friendship that often leads to sex. She’s a civil engineering major, too, and parties more than anyone else I know. She’s a cool chick—wild and always up for a good time.

“Then I guess we better make up for it tonight.” I knock Dallas on the shoulder and motion for him to move down, so Cybil has a chair.

For the next two hours, I play catch up, drinking my weight in beer. I’m always a lightweight after a game.

“Be right back,” I say after we finish a hand of poker. I get up from the table, saying hey to a few people on the way to the bathroom. I’ve barely got my pants unzipped when Cybil slips inside and shuts the door.

She giggles. “Oh, you really had to pee.”

“Yeah, at least turn around. Spare a guy a little dignity.”

She does but keeps giggling. “I heard a lot of people turned up at Sigma tonight.”

“The only place I’m going after this is my bed. Maybe McCallum’s bed.” I am beat.

“Come with me,” she whines. “A quick stop at Sigma, and then you can crash at my place.”

I move to the sink to wash my hands.

“Do you like my dress? It’s new.” She pushes in front of me, so she’s wedged between me and the vanity. It’s red and has a zipper down the front. She pulls said zipper down slowly until it's past her bra.

It’s a sexy dress, and Cybil has a banging body. Hooking up with her is always great, but a flash of a different red dress on a different girl stops me.

“Uhhh… another night. I think I’m done for.”

“Stupid hockey season,” she says, and shakes her head. “Text me if you change your mind.”

She leaves me alone in the bathroom. I lock the door and then pull up the last email from Daisy. She’s fucking hot, and I can’t stop being aware of it.

She didn’t email again to congratulate me on the victory tonight, and I don’t know why I keep expecting one to show up. I start to email her but stop myself. We’re not friends. She’s my lab partner, and she’s into Liam.

I wrap my fingers around my phone and bring it up to my forehead with a groan.

What the fuck am I doing?





9





DAISY





My laptop is open in front of me, and I navigate from the English assignment I should be working on to my email. Jordan Thatcher’s name taunts me, but I don’t dare click on it again.

We haven’t talked since Friday night, but the humiliation is just as fresh two days later.

A dull ache presses behind my eyes, and I lean forward, head in hands.

“You looked at your email again, didn’t you?” Violet asks from across the table.

“Ugh.” I sit tall and take a long gulp of my energy drink. It isn’t helping. Neither is the soft laughter from Violet that follows.

“There should be a law against using your phone when drinking.”

“It was not that bad.” She smirks. “You sent a couple of sexy photos.”

A new flush creeps up my neck and my stomach rolls. Stupid technology. I groan and squeeze my eyes closed.

“Tame, sexy photos. It isn’t like you were naked,” she says.

I know she’s trying to help, but every word jabs into my confidence, deflating it a little more.

“Can we just study in silence?”

“Sure. Yeah.” She presses her lips together and sits back in the chair across from me. The grin on her face has been the same every time we’ve talked about… shudder. I can’t even say it.

“I have to say one more thing.” Violet clasps her hands together on the table. We’re at the library studying, or I’m attempting to with little help from Violet. “You were having fun Friday night. More fun than I’ve seen you have in, maybe ever. Chalk it up to that. He’s probably already forgotten about the photos. I mean, we’re talking about Jordan Thatcher. He has no shortage of girls at his beck and call. Honestly, that’s probably the least sexy photo he got from a girl all weekend.”

That should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.

“I just can’t believe I have to face him in class.”