And I’ve wanted to kiss her ever since.
The first order of business in my prove-to-Cassie-I’m-serious agenda consisted of ditching my usual table filled with random fan-girls to sit with her in the student union. I figured that giving her priority attention in public showed my intent. The whispers and comments were brutal that first month with my teammates bagging on me every chance they got. Not to mention the relentless advances from what appeared to be every female on campus under the age of thirty.
I never realized how exhausting it was to turn women away. It was one thing to hook up with them and then call it a day, but to be off the market completely was something I’d never dealt with before. To put it simply, girls don’t like being rejected, especially if it’s because of another girl.
But no one knew what it was like to be me. I’d finally met a girl who didn’t try to impress me. She didn’t care about what I did as an athlete; she cared about what I did as a person. I was jumping into this thing with both feet. Holding on to Cassie with both arms.
Number two on my list consisted of spending as much time with her outside of school as possible. I made myself a regular at the apartment she shared with Melissa, where Cassie and I had become masters at making out.
I never knew you could spend hours just kissing a girl. I never knew because I’d never done it before. In the last month, I’d learned just how erotic kissing could be. Many nights I’d left her place unsatisfied sexually, but completely content emotionally.
I sound like a fucking chick. I want to go drink a beer and punch something.
That’s better.
With enough food on my tray to feed an army, I passed a group of panting girls in the student union on my way toward Cassie. A sorority chick named Andrea stopped me with a hand on my arm. I moved away from her touch, scowling at her hand. “What?” I asked sharply, uninterested in whatever was about to spill from her lips.
“Our sorority formal is coming up, Jack. ” She paused, her eyelashes batting at a ridiculous pace. “And I thought you could come with?”
“No. ” The huge smile fell from her face.
“Why not? Is it because of her?” She sneered in Cassie’s direction.
“None of your business, Andrea. And if you ever refer to my girlfriend like that again, I’ll find someone to teach you a little respect. ”
She huffed at me, all offended, and I walked away, noticing Melissa laughing in my direction.
“You girls are a species all your own. ” I shook my head in disbelief as I nudged my tray against Cassie’s.
She glanced around at the girls whispering and watching us. “Tell me about it. ”
“It’s been a month, ladies. Time to get over it already. ” Melissa waved her hand into the air, her voice raised.
“Sorry to put you in the spotlight, Kitten. ” I knew she hated it when I called her that, but I couldn’t help it. I liked it. I tossed my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into me, my thumb caressing her soft skin. Her hair tickled my neck as it fell around my back and I wished I co
uld hold on to her forever. I kissed the top of her head before letting her go, her green eyes forming half moons as she smiled.
“I guess it comes with the territory. ” She looked at me, her cheeks tinged with pink.
“The territory of being Jack freaking Carter’s girlfriend,” Melissa added with a laugh.
“Glad you’re on board with this, Melis. ” I smiled, encouraged by her attitude.
“Jack, you’re still an asshole but you’ve grown on me. And if you hurt Cassie, I’ll break your pitching arm. Capisce?”
“Capisce,” I responded, purely to humor Cassie’s fun-sized best friend.
I leaned into my girl, the smell of her shampoo engulfing my senses. “You know I’d never hurt you on purpose. ”
Cassie immediately turned to face me, her eyebrows pinched together. “That’s not really reassuring. You know that, right?”
“I’m just being realistic. Don’t want to make you promises I can’t keep,” I added, hinting at rule number three of her boy test.
“So you can’t promise that you won’t hurt me?” Her tone was annoyed and I instantly wished I could take back my words.
“Cass, I don’t ever want to hurt you, but I can’t promise you that I’ll never screw up or make you mad. ” I paused, trying to make the thoughts in my head come out right.
“He’s good at pissing people off. Isn’t that right, big brother?” I looked up to see Dean smirking at me, and took a half-hearted swipe at him as he sat down next to me.