Campus God (Campus)

Do I really believe Brooke fits into that kind of merciless category?

No. She was totally clueless about Andrew’s side pieces. The hurt that had radiated off her when she’d discovered the truth was palpable.

He rolls his eyes. “No way, dude. She had no idea what was going on. Andrew’s an asshole for what he did.”

Agreed.

Here’s the problem—Andrew and I have known each other since third grade. Say what you want about him, but he’s always had my back. I might not agree with the decisions he makes, but I’m not about to end our friendship over it. When I broke my leg freshman year of high school, he’s the one who helped me rehab it and pushed me to get back on the field when all I wanted to do was sit around and feel sorry for myself. Without him, who knows what would have happened. Maybe I wouldn’t be at Western playing football or have a chance of getting drafted to the pros this spring.

I owe Andrew a lot, and he deserves my loyalty. I’m unwilling to throw our friendship away because he’s been known to make dubious decisions.

Before Easton can comment further on the situation, I say, “Let’s get moving.”

His brows rocket skyward. “Since when do you care about getting to class on time?”

I don’t. What I care about is shutting down this conversation.

“Since now.”

3

BROOKE

“Are you sure you’re good with being here?” Sasha asks as we shove our way through the thick crowd at the football house.

Is she kidding?

This is the last place I want to be. More than likely, I’ll run into the two guys I have zero interest in seeing. But I refuse to allow them to stop me from hanging out with my friends and enjoying myself. Even if I have to grit my teeth and fake it the entire time.

I paste a smile on my face and hope she buys it. “Yeah, of course.”

She scrutinizes my expression before looping her arm through mine. “I know you do. I promise, we won’t stay long. There are plenty of other parties going on.”

My spine loses some of its rigidity as my muscles loosen. “There’s a ton of people here. Maybe I’ll get lucky and won’t run into…” My voice trails off as my gaze collides with bright blue eyes.

Damn.

Naturally, my ex is knee-deep in fangirls, all who are vying for his attention.

When I first caught sight of Andrew on campus freshman year, I was instantly besotted. He’s blond, handsome, and tall with a muscular body honed from years of lifting weights and playing football.

It wasn’t until the end of sophomore year that he finally noticed me. We started talking and he asked me out. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. This guy could have any girl he wanted, and he chose to spend time with me.

Me.

Even more dizzying than that, Andrew wasn’t a guy known to get serious with one girl. I was the first. I’m not going to lie—it made me feel special and blinded me to the telltale signs in front of my face. After all, if you’re more interested in sleeping around, you’re not going to be in a committed relationship…right?

Wrong.

Instead of acknowledging him, I swing away. The last thing I want to do is get sucked into a conversation.

“Uh-oh,” Sasha mutters, gaze pinned over my shoulder, “incoming.”

Great. And we haven’t even been here for five minutes.

Just as I attempt to shove my way through the sea of partiers, a heavy hand lands on my shoulder, halting my movements. A second later, I’m spun around.

“Hey, babe,” Andrew says, flashing me a charming smile that gives him a boyishly innocent look.

I huff out an exasperated breath. “I’m not your babe.”

“Aw, come on. Don’t be like that.” He pulls me forward until his brawny arms can wrap around me and I’m inundated with his fresh, citrusy scent. Once upon a time, I would have melted in his arms and clung to all that chiseled strength, never wanting to let go.

Those days are long gone.

When he brushes his lips against the crown of my head, I fight my way free. If I’m not careful, he’ll glom onto me for the rest of the night, and I won’t be able to shake him loose. It’s happened before, and I’m unwilling to spend the next couple of hours trying to escape from him.

I push against his chest until he releases me. As soon as he does, I take two quick steps back. When I’ve put enough distance between us, his gaze meanders down my body. “You look gorgeous as usual.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, babe.”

I draw in a steady breath, hoping it’ll calm everything that rages inside me. “Andrew, we’ve been through this. I’m not your babe. You need to move on.”

He reaches out and snags my fingers before toying with them. His blue gaze flickers from them to mine. “What if I don’t want to move on? What if I want to give us another shot? Come on, you can’t deny that we weren’t good together.”