Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

I bet others are wondering what he’s doing with the girl in jeggings and a grey dress, plus minimal make up… if anyone is looking our way, of course. Chances are no one cares one iota.

Jordan takes my arm and leads me towards the bar where he orders me a drink. My heart thunders in my chest as I feel an odd sense of electricity prickling up and down my arm where he touched me, it’s weird. I don’t get why it’s there. I run my hand up and down it, willing it to go away, but it remains.

“Shall we go somewhere a little quieter?” Jordan asks as he hands me my drink. “I can’t really hear you in here. That music is just, like, crazy loud.”

Hmmm, not so used to parties after all! I nod eagerly, grateful for the chance to get away from the racket. I’m also excited to find out more about what Jordan’s doing here and whether he intends to use this time to grow and change too. Maybe we can find some common ground to actually build a friendship on… this life change!

Jordan takes me into one of the side rooms where there are games set up for students to play. It’s much quieter which is a relief, and there’ll be something for us to do to stop it getting awkward. But Jordan doesn’t head to any of the games, he finds a small intimate table for us to sit around.

“So” He leans his elbows on the table and smiles up at me. “Tell me all about yourself, Veronica. If we’re going to be friends then I better get to know everything about you.”

Oh God, being put on the spot isn’t my strongest suit, I don’t know how I’m going to share anything about me, but I have to admit there’s a little piece of me that’s so intrigued to learn about him, I’ll try.

“Erm, well I’m here to do English, that’s one thing. What else do you want to know?”

“Everything.” He smiles and makes a sweeping gesture with his hands. “Absolutely everything.”

2

Jordan

I wipe the sweat from my forehead feeling good as the pain of a great work out tears through my body. Football in college is very different to high school. I’ve gone from being the big fish in the small pond, to a tiny fish in a giant ocean, but actually, it’s okay. I don’t mind the challenge, it’s helping me to grow.

“Good game,” one of the guys from the team – I’m struggling to remember all of their names at the moment – pats me on the back and makes me feel good. “We all worked well together as a team which was awesome.” It’s weirdly much less competitive in college too. We all work as one which is nice. I like it so far. “Are we all headed out to the student bar later on tonight? We need to celebrate how well the season’s going so far.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” I glance at the clock on the wall. “But only for a while.”

“Oh yeah? You got a hot date? That’s the only way you can get out of drinks.”

I feel an odd blush fill my cheeks. It isn’t that at all, but I don’t want to invite more questions in. Mine and Veronica’s friendship is just that, but I have a feeling these guys wouldn’t understand that. Much as they’re much more mature on the playing field, when it comes to the female species they’re like kids in a candy store. They won’t get that me and Veronica are friends from high school, well sort of, and we’re supporting each other.

“Something like that, yeah,” I shoot back gruffly. “I have plans but I definitely have time for a drink.”

I strip my clothes down and hop into the shower to effectively end the conversation. As the hot jets of water stream over me, I think about Veronica and how it’ll be when we meet later. I didn’t ever get to know her in high school, but that was because I found myself trapped in the popular kid’s bubble. I couldn’t see anything other than the other football players, the cheerleaders, and the people who partied all the time. I barely even knew there were other people in my classes… and now I regret that because it made me miss out on people like Veronica.

The more I get to know her, the more I like her. She’s a good person to have around. Kind, funny, sweet. I’m so glad that I can connect with someone from my past, it helps to bridge that gap between this life and the last. Tonight, we’re going to grab some food from the canteen and then she promised to check over my last essay for me. It isn’t exactly hot date material, but the other guys don’t need to know that. Actually, I haven’t had any sort of date since starting college two months ago, which is shocking since I always had a girl on my arm in school… but I have other things to focus on now. It isn’t the top of my priority list. I just don’t feel like I need a woman on my arm when I’m so busy studying, socializing, just getting used to this new life.

Or maybe there’s another reason I’m not quite willing to admit yet. But that’s for another day…

***

I slug back the dregs of my second drink, glad to leave the bar. It’s been fun, I love hanging out with the guys, but the closer it gets to the time I’m going to meet Veronica, the readier I am to leave. Just as I’m about to say my goodbyes to the boys from the team, my roommate, Liam, grabs onto my arm to get my attention.

“Hey.” He stuffs his hands into his pocket, looking as awkward as he always does. There’s something about Liam that I can’t quite connect with. I really want to, so damn badly, but I find it hard to get there. “You okay?”

I nod slowly, wondering why he’s talking to me now. Usually, we only speak when we’re in our room and we kinda awkwardly nod at one another in public. This is strange, I don’t know what’s going on here.

“Yeah, all good thanks, Liam.” He doesn’t say anything, I need to ask. “Are you…?”

“Erm, oh yeah. Actually, I’m just talking to you on behalf of my friend, Sandi.” He points behind himself towards a smiling blonde who’s looking at me like she wants to eat me. “She wants to know if you’re dating that red-haired girl because if not she’s one hundred percent going to ask you on a date. If that’s okay with you.”

It’s so awkward, so childish, I almost want to scream with laughter. How has Liam managed to make some girl having the hots for me weird? It leaves me with only one answer. “Yeah, I’m sort of with Veronica, sorry.”

Liam’s eyes light up as he nods. That makes me wonder if he likes this girl. If so, I need to teach this guy to not be a push over! Asking someone out for the girl they like isn’t something anyone wants to do.

“Oh right, I’ll tell Sandi that then. Thanks, Jordan. I guess I’ll see you later on then.”

I pat him on the back and walk off shaking my head. Today is weird… a lo