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  “I'm nobody's bitch but my own,” I told him, removing my bare legs from underneath myself and crossing them in front of my body.

  Both Zeus and Levi's eyes trailed down to my legs and I saw Zeus' tongue dart out to lick his lips before his darkened gaze met my own.

  “But I wouldn't expect you to understand the concept of feminism, since you personify the cliché archetype of a dumb jock,” I finished, just as I threw the black sheets over my legs.

  I swear I could hear Levi's fuming from where I was sitting. His nostrils flared before turning towards Zeus.

  “Coach said get your ass to practice because he doesn't want to see another fumbled fake from a second string QB,” he muttered. “So don't miss practice for… this, because we have a game next week.”

  “Sure bro,” Zeus agreed, before going in to give him a dap. “I'll be there tomorrow.”

  “I've got Med-Prep mentoring right now so I'll see you later tonight,” Levi said, before turning to leave but the snort I accidentally let out made him stop.

  “Did I say something funny?” He asked, his mocha brown eyes narrowing at me again.

  “Oh nothing, it's just that I thought Med-Prep was for serious students and not slacker leatherheads like yourself,” I voiced my thoughts with faux innocence as a smirk made its way onto my lips. I moved further down the bed, making the shirt ride up even more. “But maybe I'm wrong.”

  His eyes blazed and I noticed him gripping the door handle so tight it was shaking slightly. I almost wanted to laugh at how red he got; it was fun to make him angry because he seemed to have such a short fuse.

  “Later Z,” he clenched out, before releasing the doorknob and exiting the room.

  “Bye Levi!” I called after him in a sing song voice. I heard a faint curse directed at me before I let out a laugh.

  I heard the door shut and almost instantly I was flat on my back with Zeus on top of me.

  “That was cute,” he whispered against my lips. “Flirting with my best friend in front of me, really brave also.”

  “Flirting? How was insulting that asshole flirting?” Then I raised an eyebrow, realization setting in. “Are you jealous?”

  He shook his head before I saw a smirk settle on his lips. “Baby, I'll prove to you how jealous I was.”

  But before he could, his bedroom door flew open and crashes against the wall. “Zeus!”

  five: confront

  A blonde girl stood in the doorway, her nostrils flaring and her cheeks aflame.

  She looked livid.

  When I took a better look at her, I recognized her as the girl from the party when I first met Zeus.

  Jasmine Gallagher. She's the infamous daughter of James Gallagher, the head coach of the New England Patriots, and her uncle is the football coach here at North Atlantic. Go figure.

  She was very pretty—no, stunning was a better word to use. Her ash blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail with no flyaway in sight. Even with her green eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, she still looked great. As much as I hated pitting woman against each other based on looks, I had to admit that she was much better looking than me. And she probably knew it from the way she glanced me up and down distastefully.

  “What do you want?” Zeus groaned out, getting up from my form on the bed. Surprisingly, he tucked the sheets around my body so I wouldn't be exposed to Jasmine, which I found sweet. Sort of, my brain was a little fried after having his lips on me mere seconds ago.

  “We need to talk,” she told him before shooting me a glare. “Without her here. It's important.”

  There was a pregnant pause and the air was heavy with anticipation and tension. He wasn’t just going to kick me out because she said so, right?

  Apparently, I was wrong because he sighed before bowing his head and turning towards me. “I'll see you around, Cash.”

  My eyes widened and I could feel my lips part in surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I'm sorry—” his words were cut off by the pillow I flung at him before quickly getting up from the bed.

  “Where are my clothes?” I questioned monotonously, my face void of emotion. I didn't have time for this, everything was fine before him and it'd be just as fine after I left his dorm.

  “Living room couch,” he murmured, his eyes trained on the dark rug surrounding his bed.

  I didn't bother saying anything else before I just walked into main room and went on my way.

  Maybe I was being overdramatic, but I wasn’t going to be treated like dirt again. If Zeus thought that I was going to be played for a fool, he had another thing coming. Let him go ahead and do whatever he wanted, I didn't care, I couldn’t. I didn’t even know him enough to give me a real reason to care.

  Seeing a baseball cap on the couch, I swiped it, shoved it on my messy curls and tucked it underneath my hood. My hair was a mess, and if I wanted to get back to my dorm as fast as possible without getting completely soaked, I would have to run.

  Who was Jasmine to Zeus? Are they dating seriously, because why would he pursue me like this?

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts about him. He doesn't care so I shouldn't care, right?

  It was only when I left the building that I remembered that he drove me here, and I was at least ten minutes away from my building by car. Walking would be an absolute nightmare. Fucking amazing!

  I called an Uber and the app said it would be here in three minutes. This building had the smallest awning, so I went back inside to sit in the lobby area to wait.

  Just as I heard the honking of a horn from outside, my name was called. Turning around, I saw Zeus walking down the hallway to me.

  In no mood to confront him after what just occurred, I swiftly walked out the door. Rushing over to my Uber, I was almost to the door when Zeus slammed his palm against the door to shut it closed.

  “You're not going anywhere until I talk to you,” he said lowly, his eyes ablaze and he kept my upper arm in his grip. His inky black hair was beginning to stick to his face from the rain and drops of rain were starting to soak his white t-shirt.

  “I'll tell you what we're going to do,” I said angrily, trying to yank my arm out of his vice-like grip. “You're going to get your goddamn hands off me, I'm going to get into this cab, and you need to go back to your girlfriend in your room. Bye, Zeus.”

  I tried to open the car once more, but he slammed it shut again. He glowered at me, before yanking me away from the SUV.

  The driver rolled down the window and stuck his head out. “Miss, are you coming in or not? Your minute is up.”

  “No, she won't be coming with you,” Zeus answered before I could speak. “Drive away.”

  Shrugging his shoulders, the driver muttered something about “not needing this shit” and sped out of the parking lot.

  “Hey!” I yelled after him, but his tail-lights were the only thing I could still see as he sped off. “What if I was in distress for Christ's sake? He would just take your word for it?!”

  He moved his fingers to touch mine as we were in the same position he found me in a mere few hours ago. “When I’m around you, it’s different. You can’t tell me you don’t feel what I feel.”

  His words, although true, didn’t phase me. “I didn’t sign up to be your side piece. So go back inside and say this to her since she’s the one that matters.”

  The idiot in front of me had the audacity to chuckle and wipe the water from underneath my eyes. “You're cute when you're angry.”

  Fuming, I punched him in the abdomen and he doubled forward, clutching his stomach.

  “How’s that for feeling what I feel?” I spat one last time before walking away from him. “Leave me alone.”

  And this time, he didn't follow.

  “Where did you go?” Isra asked, when I walked inside my dorm half an hour later, soaked and cold to the bone.

  “I just… took a long walk,” I lied pitifully, peeling my wet jacket off and throwing it on the heater.

&nbs
p; “'Long walk'?” She parroted, her eyes wide. “Those last for 45 minutes, not 6 hours! And did you spend all of those hours outside? You're soaked and probably freezing!”

  I shook my head. “I walked from the Complex to get here.”

  Her eyes doubled in size, and she got up from her bed. “What were you doing in Mecca?”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I stripped down to my bra and panties before saying: “the coffee over there is better.”

  Isra looked at me, with her eyes narrowed before slowly sitting back down. “You’re a bad liar. Spill it.”

  I caved and told her about my eventful afternoon, and she gasped by the time I was finished. “Damn, I didn’t know the whole team were a bunch of assholes. They’re just like the basketball idiots.”

  A pain ranged through my chest at the mention of that godforsaken team, and I almost had to swallow the bile that rose in my throat as I pretended to laugh with her. I couldn’t blame her, she didn’t know the full story and joking about it was a way of coping, right?

  I changed my clothes before crashing onto my bed as tried to force Zeus out of my head. He proved to me that he was the player I thought he was.

  He wasn’t supposed to be all consuming in my mind. All we did was fuck. Twice in one night, and almost a third time today. It wasn't a big deal.

  But the next day, when I was walking across campus and I saw Zeus behind the library pull Jasmine's face towards him for a kiss, I realized it actually was a big deal as I went stomping towards them, my nostrils flaring in anger.

  North Atlantic was going to have to find a new running back after I was finished with him.

  six: wait

  It was easy to understand why I was so mad. I hated feeling played, and watching Zeus make out with Jasmine felt like I was a clown for even giving him the time of day. As I marched over to them, a large body blocked my path.

  “What the—?” I asked, trying to shove the person (or brick wall with the way the body felt) out of the way. “Move out of my way!”

  When they didn't budge, I looked up and realized it was Diego Morales, the quarterback of the football team that I met earlier.

  He slung an arm over my shoulder, and immediately I tried to squirm out of his hold. What was he doing?

  “Get off me—” I was silenced by him shushing me and pressing his finger to my lips. Blinking in shock, I struggled some more before he just grabbed my hands in his.

  “Let's take a walk, princesa,” he said, walking right past Zeus and Jasmine.

  “Hey bro,” Diego called out to grab Zeus' attention, who finally stopped sucking face long enough to look at his teammate.

  When he saw I was under his arm, his eyes widened and his head flinched back as if someone slapped him. It was only then that I realized that Diego wasn't trying to annoy me but help me. So, to get back at Zeusn I turned on the heat a little.

  “C'mon, we're late,” I whined, tugging on his t-shirt as if that would urge him to hurry up.

  Diego smirked down at me and raised his eyebrow as if he were saying really? before grabbing my hand in his own again. “Can't keep her waiting, so I'll see you at practice.”

  Before we could leave though, Zeus stepped forward. “When did this happened?” He spoke up, looking between the two of us. “I never heard you talk about seeing anyone.”

  “Of course he wouldn't,” Jasmine's irrelevant ass decided to jump in. “She's probably just one of the many, many girls he’s fucking.”

  I wanted to reply to her with a comeback of my own. Who did she think she was talking to like that? I am not the one!

  Before I could even open my mouth to respond, Diego spoke up. “You should be the last one talking right. Don't forget, we went to the same high school. I have firsthand knowledge on what you were like.”

  My jaw dropped, and I looked between Jasmine's broken look and Diego's calm facial expression.

  “Hey,” Zeus said, anger clear in his voice. “Chill out, don’t talk like that.”

  Diego glared back at him, with no sign of backing down. “Tell her to keep her mouth shut next time when shit doesn't involve her. Whatever, see you in practice.”

  As he steered me away from the happy couple, I felt eyes searing into my back. I peered over Diego's shoulder to glance at Zeus, and boy did he look mad.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked Diego as we turned the corner of the library, out of sight.

  “I know you were about to beat Jasmine's ass when you saw her with Z, princesa,” he explained, while dropping his arm from my shoulders. “And then it hit me.

  “Almost everyone on the team hates her, because she's a bratty, entitled bitch who for some reason holds Zeus by his balls. He's whipped, but he hates her too. Then I realized that you're his only weakness as of now. I've never seen him upset about a girl like this.”

  I shook my head, refusing to believe his foolishness. “He was only upset because you insulted Jasmine. Stop putting fake scenarios into my head.”

  “It's not fake, I promise you,” he assured me. “You should've heard him go off in the locker room when you guys first kissed that night. We've never seen him like that, and it was extremely weird.”

  I bit my bottom lip, contemplating what to do. “Okay, but now he thinks we hooked up or something. What do I do now?”

  He smirked and leaned in so close to my face that I could smell his minty breath and feel the warmth radiating from his body. “We wait. Let him think whatever he wants”

  “Oh, one more question,” I called as he started to leave. “Why are you doing all this for me? What’s in it for you?”

  Diego rolled his eyes. “It's not all for you, don't be so narcissistic. It's more for the team than you, but helping your cute ass out helps.”

  Before I could register what he even said, he grinned and backed away from me. Wow!

  “And stop calling me princess!” I called after him. By the shaking of his shoulders, I see that he was laughing from afar.

  Dickhead.

  I was sitting in my dorm two days later, researching on my laptop for my Gender Studies elective when I heard a knock on my door. Rolling my eyes, I assumed it was most likely Isra since she always forgets her key.

  When I opened the door though, Zeus was standing in the hallway, with a baseball cap shoved so low on his head that I could barely see his eyes.

  Quickly, I tried to slam the door in his face, but his reaction was too fast and he stopped it with his palm. “Can you wait a second?”

  “Didn't I say to leave me alone?” I spat, shoving the door with my whole body weight. That would've been enough to hold an average person back, but he was a football player. He might’ve looked skinny, but he was packing serious muscle and he proved it when he abruptly shoved the door in. I went flying to the ground in a heap.

  “Whoa, are you okay?” He asked, walking into the room to try and help me up.

  I slapped his hands away from my body and glared at him. “Don't touch me.”

  He stepped back and groaned so I could get up on my own. “Why are you so stubborn, babe? Chill out.”

  I cocked my neck, wondering who he was addressing like that. “First, I'm not your 'babe'. Second, you have a girlfriend, so I don’t get why you’re here right now. Third—”

  “You weren't so worried about my girl when you were a moaning mess under me,” he quipped, a smirk donning his lips. The nerve of this asshole...

  Clenching my teeth, I shoved his shoulder which caused him to stumble back.

  “You can't just come in here and say shit like that, and think it's okay,” I said, my voice rising as I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have zero respect for me or your girlfriend.”

  He rolled his eyes, and I could feel my body heating up with resentment for this one boy. “She's not even my girlfriend. Everyone knows that.”

  “Everyone except me apparently,” I heckled. “You were kissing her in public, how can you not be together?”

  He sighed, wal
ked over to my bed to sit and patted the space next to him. “Please sit.”

  Uncrossing my arms, I strolled over to him and sat down. I made sure my body wasn't touching, and I knew he knew what I was doing when he sighed again.

  “I don't know what this is, but I really like doing it with you,” he told me, lifting his cap up to run his hand through his hair. My eyes followed his hands as his finger rearranged his inky black locks before placing his hat back in its position.

  “And I’m not a clown,” I replied, crossing my arms. “Stop playing me like a fool and tell me what’s up with Jasmine.”

  He scoffed and raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Oh really? What about you and Diego? He’s just playing you to get under my skin.”

  “So, the idea that someone else can like me is just so unfathomable to you?” I asked, my jaw clenching. He was right; Diego was playing but that didn’t mean I wasn’t aware. “Besides, I’m not the one in so-called ‘not relationship’ with Jasmine. I have no loyalty to anyone, unlike you.”

  He groaned and placed his fingers on his temples. “Why do you want to talk about her so bad? Everything was fine without talking about her. Can't we just let this be?”

  “No, we can't just let this be!” I yelled, now exceedingly aggravated. I didn’t like being this person; the person who yelled over a man, but my emotions were too much. “What the hell do you have with Jasmine? It's just beyond confusing when you're calling me beautiful and fucking me, and within the next hour you're kissing her all over campus!”

  He tried to open his mouth to explain but was too fed up to let him finish. “Is it because I'm black and she’s not? Is it because I'm not good enough? God, I had enough shit like this last year!”

  “Cash!” He barked, grabbing my attention. “Would you shut the hell up for ten seconds without interrupting so we can have an actual conversation about this?”

  My mouth snapped shut and I had to strain to keep a snappy remark from leaving my mouth. I knew he was right. I just started talking without giving him a chance to explain himself. But I was tired of feeling like second best.