“What did you say?”
“I heard you two are hooking up. That’s why he’s telling all the guys on campus you’re off-limits. Anyone who touches you ends up like Henry G,” she says with stars in her eyes. “I wish I had a guy that possessive over me.”
“We are not hooking up. People around here gossip too much. It’s sad.”
“Well, I overheard it from him. Someone asked him and he said you were his and everyone needed to back off,” she says and bites her lip.
“What?” I growl and stumble as I release my leg and lose my footing.
“I swear. I was in the quad when I heard him say that,” she says and holds her hands up.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Girl, I would love it if he were spreading those kinds of rumors about me. He’s so freaking hot.”
I press my fingers to my temples and groan. I look like a boyfriend stealer, just like Crazy Carly said. What the hell is Bentley thinking?
Wait until I see him again. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. I try to shake off this new information and focus on practice.
However, my anger simmers even as I make my first warm-up lap around the track. I distance myself from everyone as I stew in my thoughts, not wanting to hear anything else about Bentley or this fake relationship he’s spreading around.
“Big idiot. Just wait until I get my hands on him. Why would he tell people we’re together?”
“Nickels, did you hear me?” Coach calls out to me as I finish the first lap.
“I … I … um.”
I can’t spit my words out because Bentley is standing in the training gym shirtless with a bouquet of roses in his hands and a smile on his face as Corey and Jason hold up a sign that says.
Happy Birthday, Zah.
Bentley
The lookon Zahirah’s face was not what I was expecting. I know her birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but I wanted to do something nice for her after earlier today and her seeing me beat the shit out of Henry. I need her to see me as the guy she’s always known.
However, that doesn’t seem to be working. Is she really that mad at me for kicking Henry’s ass? If she knew the things he said about her and all the other girls on campus, she wouldn’t spare him a single thought.
The dude is trash. No one on the team cares for him much. He has a few friends here and there, but they’ve been pulling away as well.
Determined to get through to Zah this time, I wait out her practice. Jason and Corey, God love them, stand cheering her name as they hold up their sign the entire time. I’ve put on my shirt that was in my back pocket and I’m still holding the two dozen roses when she stalks over to us.
“Thank you, Corey,” she says and lifts on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“You’re welcome, gorgeous.”
Then she moves to Jason and kisses his cheek as well. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” he replies.
I stand waiting for her to take the roses and thank me, but she glares at me and bites out an order for me to follow her. I’ll take that over her ignoring me. We need to talk anyway.
We step outside the gym, and she whirls on me as soon as the door shuts behind me. I stop and look at her with my brows knit. She looks beautiful even with sweat drying on her face.
“Why are you telling people we’re together? What the heck are you thinking? Especially with your psycho girlfriend lurking around campus.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. That’s what I want to talk to you about,” I say and close the distance between us.
“Could have fooled me. You didn’t press charges, that’s the only reason she’s still here. Only a jealous girlfriend would do something like that to your car.”
