I wouldn’t be homeless or sleeping on friends’ couches during my junior year season. I’d have a place with a bed, where I could introvert all by my lonesome and relax. My grades wouldn’t drop because of stress, and I could keep my stats up.
Sure, this plan made me share a roof with Luca Monroe, but I could deal with it. I shifted plans all the time during a game, so why would life be any different? Life was about being flexible, changing course when something got in your way. You adjusted to the opponent, and right now, the opponents were Mrs. Whittaker, Luca Monroe, and everyone else in my marketing class.
I stretched for a few seconds, eyed my new home, and smiled.
Hope you’re ready for me, football boys.
CHAPTERTWO
Luca
Ileaned back in the chair at the student union, crumpling a wrapper of gum and tossing it into the red trash bin. Voices carried around me, not loud enough to distract me from my own thoughts.
I had failed. Well, not completely but the plan I wrote for myself wasn’t working. I was unfocused. My mind raced through every scenario that could go wrong—I flunked out of college, I lost my starting spot and my chance to show my worth for an NFL team, my grandma became sick, and I couldn’t take care of my family.
The same cyclical thoughts always hit me when I felt off-balanced, and it didn’t happen often. I refused to let it, but seeingherthis morning had thrown me off my game. Lorelei Romano defined beauty to me. From her gorgeous curly hair to the large brown eyes to her always sun-kissed skin and muscles. She was my weakness in every sense of the word. My pulse pounded when she was around, and my clothes felt too tight on my body.
The first time I saw her, my throat had closed, and my skin heated, and I forgot how to speak. She’d worn tight black running shorts and a cutoff shirt, her face clear of any makeup, and she stole my breath as she smiled. Like, the air stopped flowing to my heart because she took my ability to function. She was a goddess, and in those few seconds of seeing her, I dropped every plan I had and wanted to learn her name, her favorite color, and the sounds she made when she stretched in the morning.
That’s Dean Romano’s sister, Lorelei. She’s on the soccer team.
And just like that, the fantasy burst because I never,everfooled around with a teammate’s sister. It was rule number one and a law I followed at all costs.
Two years later, she had the same effect on me, and I hated it.
Not only was she my quarterback’s twin sister, but she also threatened the carefully crafted regime I created for myself. Girls got in the way of my goal. Well, not random hookups. Those took the edge off and kept me sane. Girls with emotions and messy feelings and attachments were an absolute nope. Been there, almost lost my football career because of it. A high school girlfriend thought it’d be fun to sleep with my teammates, trying to get us to fight because she was bored. That kinda shit stays with you.
The one woman in my life who deserved the world depended on me to play my ass off and make it to the NFL.Nothingwould stop me from making that dream a reality, and that meant shoving thoughts of Lorelei in her running gear and sweaty stomach out of my head, regardless of the temptation.
“You shouldn’t be this tense, Monroe.” Xavier Smith clapped a hand on my shoulder before sitting down next to me in the student union. “Ladies, looking fine today,” he purred.
“Do you ever turn it off?” I asked, half amused, half annoyed by him. Most of the guys on the team fell into that category. We played our hearts out, but no one else had the same desperation I did, and sometimes that overwhelmed me. My grandma’s health and future depended on my success. There was no opportunity to fail because if I did… I winced. I had to succeed. Did I miss the shit I used to do for fun? Of fucking course. I wished I could go to car shows and admire the wheels I’d buy later in life. I loved tinkering with them. The free time was now watching game film.
“Nah, why would I want to?” He winked at a few ladies taking photos of us a few tables over. “You played great Friday, and didn’t Leslie find you this weekend for some fun?”
“Yes,” I said. I pulled up the assignments on my laptop that I had to do now since the game and film was done for the weekend. Mondays and Tuesdays were the days I did most of my homework and prepared for the week, but I’d already slacked this morning because my grandma wanted to FaceTime.
I loved her more than words. She’d raised me. She wanted to come to a football game this year, but getting her here wasn’t cheap. She’d need a driver, a hotel, and a way to attend the game. All those things cost money, and my monthly allowance didn’t have room for extras.Not with the rising costs of her nursing home.
“Leslie’s hot, man. You seeing her again?” Xavier leaned onto his elbows, taking a huge bite of a sub sandwich. A little mustard got on his chin, and he wiped it with the back of his hand.
Disgusting.
“No.” I adjusted the collar of my shirt, the fabric suddenly too snug.
“Ah, that’s right, my player. One and done for Monroe.” He snickered and hit my shoulder. “I should follow your lead sometime. It works well for you.”
“Be my guest.”
I put headphones in, blasting my focus playlist, and hoped Xavier got the hint. I liked the union over the library because the quiet and stillness there freaked me out. I preferred controlled chaos, and even though it meant people would recognize me and annoy me, it was better than the tranquility. The silence reminded me too much of the year my parents realized they didn’t like having a child. I’d spent a lot of time by myself in their house. No thank you. I loved noise—it made me feel less alone.
My courses were about sports management, and I was already in the hole the first month of school. Between the season and classroom, it’d be a miracle to get by with Cs.
My phone buzzed on the table, and my gut tightened.Is my grandma okay?I snatched it fast and sighed at Dean’s name popping up.
Dean: gotta talk to you all about something. Might’ve found a new roommate.
Callum: fuck yeah when?
