The Gorgeous Villain, my brother’s rival.
Reed Jackson.
Actually, ReedRomanJackson.
That’s his full name. And all us freshmen call him by his full name.
Well, except for me. I already call him something else, but yeah.
To freshmen, he’s a celebrity. A shiny star to admire from a distance. An awe-worthy creature.
And she’s here for him.
“You’re here for R-Reed?” I blurt out instead of answering her question.
I not only blurt it out, but I stumble on his name too.
Like it’s a roadblock in the dark. A jagged rock on an otherwise smooth trail in the woods.
Something that trips you. Makes you fall.
Something that you don’t see coming, not until you’ve already fallen.
“Yeah.” Tempest gives me a quizzical look. “Why?”
Avoiding her eyes, I clear my throat, feeling embarrassed. It doesn’t matter that she’s here for him. Lots of girls are here for him.
He’s a playboy, remember?
“Nothing. I just noticed, uh, his name on your t-shirt.”
“Do you know him?”
“Not at all,” I say quickly. A little too quickly and it only increases her suspicion. So I immediately follow it with, “I-I mean, except for the fact that he plays for the team. My brother plays too.”
That seems to distract her. “Your brother?”
Okay, good.
I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t even know why I got so jarred at the fact that this girl, Tempest, has specifically come down from New York to visit him.
It’s none of my business.
“Yes,” I say proudly. “Actually, my other brother is the coach.”
“Other brother?”
“Yes. I have four.”
“Holy shit. I can’t handle one.”
I chuckle. “I know, right? Brothers can be…”
“A pain in the ass with all their protective shit?”
“Yes.” My chuckle turns into a laugh. “Exactly. They can be a little overprotective.”
“A little? My brother is the very definition of overprotective. He isinsane.” She rolls her eyes. “If he had his way, he’d lock me up somewhere and wouldn’t let me out until I was thirty or something. A thirty-year-old virgin. Imagine that.”
