“No! My dad put everything he had into making that company. I couldn’t ever sell. I just…” I pause to pull my glasses off and rub between my eyes.
“It’s okay, princess. You stay focused on school. You know I have everything handled on this side of things. Just try and stay out of Vanessa’s crosshairs as best you can. If it gets too bad, you could always transfer somewhere else.”
I nod sadly even though he can’t see me. “I, I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you soon, Uncle Mark, and…thanks. Thanks for everything you do.”
I hang up quickly and stare blindly at the wall where a poster hangs. It has a cute little kitten hanging from a tree branch by one paw and the caption is, hang in there! I take in a deep breath and nod. I either have to hang in there or hang myself. With my sister here now, I’m not sure which one will win out.
SAVY
Iclutch the folder of notes I promised to lend Tate against my chest and look around nervously as I wait for him outside the players’ entrance of the football stadium. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. I don’t know what Tate was thinking, kissing me like that and implying we are together. In the moment, I ran with it, mostly out of shock. But now…now that Vanessa will be going to this school and will find out quickly that it was a lie, I’m screwed. She’s going to come at me so hard when she finds out. I’ve witnessed enough of her bully playbook to know exactly what she’ll do with that juicy bit of information. It’ll start with nasty rumors about me and escalate quickly to something much worse.
I turn away from the door and start walking away. I don’t have a choice, I need to transfer to a different university. I can’t spend the next two years under her evil eye.
“Savy! Hey! Where are you going?”
I hear his footsteps running my way but I keep going until he grasps my elbow and turns me back. I take in the football jersey covering the huge pads players wear and the frown on his beautiful face and sigh at one more thing that would never happen to a girl like me. I thrust the folder toward him.
“Here, you can just keep them. I won’t need them back.” I tell him and try and turn away but he still has a hold on my elbow.
“Whoa, hold up. First, thank you for lending me these. You’re really saving my ass. Second, I was hoping to talk to you about another favor.”
I shake my head and try and pull away but his fingers aren’t going anywhere.
“Sorry, I can’t do anything else for you. I’m…I’m transferring to a different school as soon as possible. Good luck with your assignments.”
His frown deepens and I see a flash of frustration cross his face before it quickly disappears. “What are you talking about? You can’t transfer out in the middle of a semester. Nobody does that. Tell me what’s going on.”
I finally yank my elbow from his grasp so I can cross my arms across my chest. I can’t even look at him. I’m humiliated enough already.
“Why do you even care?” I mumble.
His fingers reach out and tip my chin up so I’m forced to look into his eyes and I can already feel the redness creeping up my neck to my face.
“Savy, you seem like a nice person and you offered to help me so tell me what happened and maybe I can return the favor.”
I search his hazel eyes for the mocking look I expect to see from a guy like him but don’t find it so I let my shoulders slump and just tell him.
“It’s my sister. I just found out she’s registered to start here. She’s…not a nice person and she…well, she likes to mess with me. She’s brutal and after what you did in the library… Vanessa’s going to make my life a living hell when she finds out it was just an act. So yeah, I’m leaving. I hear good things about universities in Europe.”
There’s a range of emotions sliding through Tate’s green and gold flecked eyes as he processes what I just told him until amusement finally fills them and a grin spreads across his face. My anxiety flares hard seeing that he finds my misery entertaining and I’m a second from turning to run away when he says the last thing I ever expected a guy like him to say.
“I’ll be your boyfriend.”
I choke on my own saliva and sputter out, “Huh…wha…uh…”
He laughs like I’m the most amusing alien he’s ever met and then steps close and slings an arm around my shoulders.
“Oh, man, you should see your face right now! But seriously, I mean it. That was part of what I was going to talk to you about. I need your help and now you need mine.”
I pull away from him still a little dazed and confused by what he’s saying. I shake my head and glare at him. “Spit it out, Tate. What exactly do you need my help with?”
He looks around to make sure no one can overhear us before meeting my eyes again with a serious look. “Here’s the deal. I need help to get caught back up on my assignments. You’re really smart so you would be perfect for that. I also need some breathing room from all the shallow football groupies that keep throwing themselves at me. That’s the part of the favor that benefits both of us. You help me get caught up with my assignments and pretend to be my girlfriend at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.”
I just blink stupidly at him for a few moments and then I start to laugh because fuck my life, I’m getting played by two hot assholes in one week. What did I do in a prior life to deserve this? What about me screams “fun to fuck with”? I’m still laughing as I turn to walk away but for all his big size, the man can move fast and he gets around me to block my way.
“Savy, come on, I’m serious! This will help both of us out!”
Too far. He’s taking this too far and I finally get mad.
