1
Slate
Iran my hand through my dark hair, hoping it didn’t look too disheveled from Kendra running her fingers through it. At least I think her name was Kendra. Or was it Sandra? I couldn’t remember, I just knew it ended in -dra. She was a cute freshman whom I had enjoyed welcoming on her first day here at Waterford University. She’d already heard about me and claimed she wanted to see for herself if I’d earned my well-known reputation of satisfying a woman. And who was I to disappoint her? I’d left her breathless, her body turned weak, all before my first class of the day.
Breathing in the fresh morning air, I picked up my pace to get to class on time, my six-foot-five frame eating up the sidewalk in long strides. Passing other students, I said hellos and gave fist bumps along the way, everyone wanting to be acknowledged by one of Waterford’s famous football players.
With this being the start of my third year here, I was used to all the attention, used to everyone wanting something from me, whether it was a simple greeting, a smile, or something of a morepersonalnature. College students were needy as hell.
That’s where I was different. I didn’t need anything from anyone. My life was perfect just as it was. I was the star linebacker on the football team, had great friends, school came easy to me, and I had access to an all-you-can eat buffet of beautiful women who were constantly throwing themselves at me—and completely okay with one-night stands. Which was a prerequisite before I would sleep with anyone. I wasn’t a commitment guy. Never had been and never would be. I didn’t want any of that shit.
Pulling open the door to the science building, I walked in and welcomed the cool climate-controlled air of the building. The summer heat was still going strong at the end of August, even early in the morning. Practice would be brutal in the afternoon heat, but it was always my favorite part of the day. When I was busy practicing on the field and pushing my body to the limit, there wasn’t any time to think about anything else. Running as fast as I could, slamming bodies to the ground, and hearing Coach Matthews yell at me—those were things I could focus on and keep unwanted thoughts from coming through. And I had a lot of unwanted thoughts. Thoughts that wanted to claw to the surface no matter how deep I kept burying them.
Shaking off the feelings that haunted me, I glanced down at my watch, letting out a sigh of relief that I still had five more minutes before my class started. I hadn’t planned on making a pit stop this morning, but it had definitely been a great way to start the first day of the semester.
Looking up, I barely registered the top of someone’s head before they slammed into me.
A small yelp sounded through the hallway, and I looked down to see a petite blonde girl sprawled out on the floor, her bag and its contents surrounding her.
“Uh,” I said, a little shocked at what had just happened. “Are you okay?”
She moved to push the hair out of her face, stunned as she looked at the ground around her, laptop, notebooks, pens, and water bottle scattered through the hall.
“Um…I think so,” she said slowly, rubbing her forehead. “I think my head and butt got the worst of it.”
She'd landed pretty hard on the tile floor, and I assumed her butt would be pretty sore for a while. As for her head, it had rammed right into my chest. I could still feel the spot where we’d collided.
She hadn’t looked up at me and still wore a look of confusion on her face. I hoped she was okay. You couldn’t get a concussion from someone’s chest right? I mean, I know I have rock-hard pecs, but I’m still made out of flesh and blood.
As I squatted in front of her, her blue eyes finally landed on me. Her mouth slowly parted, and her eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw me for the first time.
As conceited as it was, I was used to this reaction from women. My dark, almost black hair was cut close on the sides but longer on top, my skin was tanned from the summer, and my large frame, a body of pure muscle, were just a few of the things that drew women to me like a magnet. But my eyes were what really got the women going. The icy blue, such a stark contrast to my dark hair, seemed to be the final thing that hooked them in.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I searched her eyes to make sure there were no signs of a concussion. Thankfully there weren’t.
I took the opportunity to look the rest of her over and as I took in her smooth skin, big round eyes with arched brows, a set of full lips, the bottom one being slightly fuller than the top, and long highlighted blonde hair that fell in loose waves around her face, there was no denying she was gorgeous.
I didn’t use that word lightly, or often. Most of the girls I went for were more in the hot or sexy category, showing through their looks that they were looking for a good time too.
But this girl? This girl was beautiful. The kind of girl who turned her nose up at guys like me.
I was totally fine with that. She was the commitment kind of girl, and I was the anti-commitment guy.
To each their own.
She blinked a few times before closing her mouth and looking away from me. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” She moved to her knees and started picking up her pens. “A little embarrassed, but totally fine.”
I chuckled at her comment. “It’s no big deal.” I reached over and picked up her laptop, looking it over to make sure it hadn’t broken. “Good news. Your laptop doesn’t seem to have any injuries.”
She reached over and took her laptop from me, inspecting it as well. “Oh, good. That’s more than I can say for my pride and my behind.”
I laughed again and handed her one of her notebooks. “I could help check your behind, if you need me to.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “No, thank you very much. It will be just fine.” Her lips twitched, as if trying not to smile. “But thank you for your concern.”
I gave her my famous side smile. “Any time.”
She took her notebook and stuffed it into her bag.
