I’m not one of them. I stand there, arms crossed, watching as everyone loses their minds for the hockey team. People love hockey here.
Especially a small group of women standing near us. I do my best to ignore them talking about how much they want to sleep with all of the players.
I hate that he’s so captivating. Every single person here is listening to what he’s saying. I’ve missed most of it, so lost in thought studying him.
Sure, Marcus is good-looking, but Troy is on a whole other level. If he wasn’t a hockey player, he’d be exactly my type.
Tall, but not too tall. Brown hair that falls into his eyes. Strong arms and thick thighs that are no doubt thanks to his hockey training.
It’s annoying how good-looking I find him. I shouldn’t even be noticing this man.
“We’ve got our first game of the season tomorrow, and we can’t wait to see you all in the stands!”
More cheers.
More eye rolls from me.
“Make sure you wear your best Sand Shark gear to help cheer us on to a victory!”
Harper erupts next to me before the coach says a few words, then the marching band starts to play. The team disperses, making their way through the crowd.
“C’mon. I want to say hi to Marcus.” Harper grabs me by the arm and drags me through the thick throng of people.
“I’ll wait here.”
“Oh, you big baby.”
Because I see exactly who is trailing behind Marcus. I have no desire to run into him today. Or ever, really.
Troy Hollins is off-limits. A no go. Danger zone.
And that’s exactly how I intend him to stay.
Chapter Three
TROY
“You ready for class today, Gladiator?”
I drop down into the seat next to Marcus in our astronomy class.
“I spent all night studying for my calc test this afternoon, so no. Maybe you need to give me some of that magic you’re known for.”
Marcus is one of our best players when it comes to closing out close games. It’s why we deemed him The Wizard.
“Better hope there isn’t a pop quiz today.” Marcus elbows me in the side.
“Dude, really? Don’t even joke about that.”
I pull out my notes as class fills up around us. The science building is old, with hardwood floors and even harder chairs in the auditorium our class is in. Seats creak as the room fills up as we get closer to the start of class.
It has that old college smell.
Like paper and fear.
We’re only a few weeks into the semester but I alreadyfeel behind. Hockey has taken up most of my focus, so I haven’t given school the attention I should be.
Getting an athletic scholarship means I have to keep my grades up. I took astronomy because everyone on the team said it was an easy A.
