Coach Roberts was one of the assistant coaches, and when he got going on a story, you never knew how long you'd have to stand there and wait for him to finish.
Footsteps sounded as if they were getting farther away from us. "Let's get to bed. We have an early departure time tomorrow," said Coach, followed by the clanging of the gate closing.
We both let out a breath of relief.
Scarlet looked over at me with a small smile. "Probably wouldn't have been good to have him see you making out with his stepdaughter."
"You have no idea."
And she really didn't. Now that the lustful daze I had been in had been erased, a seed of regret started to sprout. I shouldn't have kissed Scarlet. It had been the best several minutes of my life, but now what? I couldn't be with her. Crouching in the bushes hiding was evidence of that.
"You should go first so we aren't seen together," I said, not able to look her in the eye. "I'll wait for a few minutes and then head to my room."
She nodded and looked at me like she understood what I was saying. That I was a jerk and was disregarding her again after making out with her, for the second time.
And I was a jerk. I kept toying with her emotions, and it wasn't fair to her. I needed to be better, to be stronger.
She left without saying a word, and I sat there longer than I needed to, but I couldn't make myself get up. The look on her face when she'd realized I was doing the same thing as I had last time would be permanently in my head. I could see her disappointment, her hurt, and her anger. I wanted to try and justify myself, that I'd had a weak moment and she was my kryptonite, but I knew that was crap. I'd been selfish, and I'd taken what she'd been willing to give, not thinking past the moment.
Finally, I forced myself to get up and headed back to my room.
When I got to the door, I saw that Brayden, my roommate, had put a sock on the handle, a clear sign that the room was occupied and things were going on in there that I did not want to walk in on.
I let my head fall and frustration seeped through me. I just wanted to go to bed, but now I had nowhere to go. Wilder and Slate always roomed together, but Slate never slept in the room, which meant Olivia was in there with him, so I couldn't go there. Practically the rest of the football players were sleeping with someone right now, and I couldn't think of anyone else to text to see if there was an open bed somewhere.
I sat in the hall with my head against the wall, wondering if the girl that was with Brayden would be staying the night or just until they finished. I really didn't want to sleep in the hallway tonight.
If I hadn't stayed so long at the pool wanting to be with Scarlet, I could have gotten to the room first, forcing Brayden to find a different location. Another reason why I shouldn't have done what I did tonight.
An image of Scarlet on my lap surfaced, and as much as I wished it hadn't happened, I'd enjoyed every single second. She'd been an absolute goddess with her curls swept up, that sexy black bikini on, and water droplets on her skin. Those memories would stay with me forever and keep me company on many cold nights. Lately I thought about Scarlet most nights, though.
I sat up straight as a realization came to me. Olivia was in Wilder's room, which meant that Scarlet was alone, with an extra bed.
I stood up and texted Wilder to see if he could give me the room number to where Olivia and Scarlet were staying. I explained to him that I had nowhere to sleep, and he eventually sent me the room number, reminding me to behave.
He didn't need to worry about that since I was positive Scarlet hated my guts now. She'd been mad at me before, but I was sure she was at a whole new level. There was a high chance she wouldn't let me in, but I was hoping she would take pity on me and let me crash in her room.
Knocking on her door I waited and soon heard footsteps.
A moment passed and then I heard her voice. "Go away, Rush."
She must have looked through the peephole and saw that it was me. "Scarlet, please. I just need a minute to explain."
I hadn't planned on saying that, but there was so much that I needed to tell her.
I'd originally come here to sleep, but now that I was here, there was a lot more I wanted to do, a lot I wanted to tell her.
I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for hurting her. Twice. I wanted to tell her why I kept pushing her away when I actually wanted to do the exact opposite. I wanted to tell her about the pressure I felt to live up to my family's expectations. And then, yes, mention that I had nowhere to sleep. But with her just on the other side of the door, I wanted nothing more than to tell her the truth.
I placed my hand on the door and hung my head low letting my desperation leak out in my voice. "Please, Scarlet."
I was about to give up and walk away when the click of her undoing the lock sounded through the hall. The door opened slowly, and she stood there in an oversized t-shirt, hanging off one of her shoulders, and some sleep shorts, her hair tumbling around her in a cloud. I took in her face and saw that her eyes were puffy and red.
Shit. I'd made her cry. I closed my eyes and took a breath, furious at myself for hurting her. Opening my eyes to look at her again, I wished I could pull her into my arms and kiss her cheeks to erase the trails her tears had left behind.
"What do you want, Rush?" she said, her voice sounding exhausted.
You, is what I wanted to say, but I kept it to myself. "I just want to talk."
