Campus Player

Or need.

But this girl—if I squint hard enough and suck down a couple more drinks—bares a striking resemblance to a certain someone else. Thinking along those lines will be precisely what gets me into trouble.

“Rowan?” When I don’t answer, she presses closer, pushing her breasts against my chest. “Did you hear me?”

Yeah, I heard. If I end up leaving with her, it’ll be for all the wrong reasons. She might resemble Demi with her dark hair and eyes, but her body is a lot softer instead of being tight and athletic.

I’m five seconds away from giving in when my skin prickles, and I glance around, knowing that she’s somewhere in the nearby vicinity. Call it fucked up Spidey senses. I scan the thick crowd until my gaze homes in on her dark head. Her lips are a tight slash across her face, and there’s a hollowed-out look in her eyes. Even from this distance, I realize something is wrong.

Without thinking, I yell, “Demi!”

Even though the music is obnoxiously loud, and I’m unsure if my voice carries, her gaze slices to mine as if she knew I was standing there the entire time. It only reconfirms that I’m not the only one who feels the strange gravitational pull. Whether she wants to admit it or not, there is a bond that connects us to one another.

For a fleeting moment, our gazes lock and hold. Pain flares in her eyes before it’s blinked away. She drags her gaze from mine before pushing steadily through the mass of bodies toward the front door.

I don’t realize I’m on the move until the girl previously wrapped around me calls out, “Hey! Where are you going?”

Barely do I stop to throw the words over my shoulder. “Sorry, a friend needs me.”

Although that statement is highly debatable. It’s unlikely that my friend wants any assistance from the likes of me.

“I thought we were leaving,” she whines, unwilling to throw in the towel just yet.

“Maybe another time.”

Or...more like never.

My size and notoriety on campus make shoving my way through the crowd unnecessary. If you’re not looking to get mowed over, move your ass out of the way. Within thirty seconds, I’ve cut a direct path to Demi. I wrap my fingers around her bicep, effectively halting her escape.

“Hey.” I spin her around until she has no choice but to meet my searching gaze. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head, but the fib is there, lurking in her dark depths.

“Why are you lying?” I drag her closer. “Tell me what happened.”

“I’m just tired.” Demi jerks her arm, attempting to break free from the hold I have on her. “I want to go home.”

I study her tightened features for the truth. “Why don’t I believe you?”

A crack of anger flashes across her face. “I don’t care what you believe.” For a second time, she tries to wrench her arm free, but I refuse to let her get away that easily. I don’t like the pain reverberating in her eyes, and I want to know who put it there. “Let me go!”

“Demi!”

Our heads swivel as Justin crashes onto the scene, interrupting our conversation. Any struggle Demi had been putting up ceases as every muscle in her body goes rigid.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts, gaze focused solely on her.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that I’m not much of a Justin fan. Even before they got together, I never had much for the guy. He always struck me as a conceited tool. And I’ve become even less enamored since they’ve been seeing each other. He’s nowhere near good enough for her. I was hoping Coach would put the kibosh on their relationship the other night, but that didn’t happen.

My eyes narrow as I pull Demi closer. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”

Justin tears his gaze from her long enough to shoot me a glare. Heat flags his cheeks. “That’s none of your damn business.” He waggles a finger between himself and the girl pressed against me. “This is between the two of us.” He shifts from one foot to the other before dropping his voice. “Please, Demi, can we go somewhere and talk in private?”

A gurgle of disbelief bubbles up from her throat. “You didn’t seem too interested in privacy a couple of minutes ago.”

What the hell does that mean?

Justin grits his teeth as the flush staining his cheeks creeps further down his neck. “Would you hear me out?”

When she presses herself against me, I realize that whatever she’s upset about has everything to do with him. That’s all the incentive I need to snake my arm around her shoulders and tuck her carefully against my body.

Justin plows a hand through his hair as frustration flashes across his face. His voice drops, taking on a pleading note. “I made a mistake, all right? Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”