I needed to take them all the way.
Anything else was not an option.
“We’re heading over to the house if you want to come for a beer?” Gio said.
He and Griffin lived with a few of the other guys in a big house just off campus.
“Not tonight.” I wanted to make it home in time to see Felicity.
Between classes, the team, and her work at the shelter, we’d barely seen each other. I wanted nothing more than to take my sweet time exploring her body before I sank deep inside her.
“Hot date?” Griffin smirked and I flipped him off.
“Actually, I missed date night.” Guilt snaked through me. But I could make it up to her. I couldn’t, however, make it up to the game Friday night if we weren’t ready.
“Oh shit, you’re gonna be in the doghouse, man.”
“Nah, Felicity understands.” But as I said the words, my stomach knotted. I was asking a lot of her. We both knew the level of dedication and discipline playing college ball would require, but even I’d underestimated just how intensive it would be. Playing for the team didn’t only mean practice and games. It meant bonding with the guys, being a brotherhood... a family. You couldn’t just shirk your way out of that. Especially not when you were the captain.
“I’ll catch you later,” I said to the guys as we filed out of the building. It was already dark.
I jogged to my car and climbed inside. Then I checked my cell. There was a text from Cameron, but nothing from Felicity.
With a heavy sigh, I fired up the engine, backed out of the parking lot and took off toward our building to make it up to the girl I loved more than I ever thought possible.
Our apartment in Powelton Village was less than a ten-minute ride. The closer I got to our building, the more I couldn’t help but feel like I’d messed up. Wednesday was always date night. It was something we'd started back in freshman year, to make sure we put aside some time each week for the two of us to just be Jason and Felicity.
I pulled into my allotted parking spot and cut the engine. It was almost nine thirty. Late, but not too late to salvage the night.
Grabbing my cell, I found Cameron’s number and hit dial.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“How do you know I did anything?”
“Because it’s nine thirty on a Wednesday night...” He let the words hang.
“I think I messed up tonight.” I dragged a hand over my face.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“It’s date night and it slipped my mind.”
“That doesn’t sound so scandalous.” He chuckled.
“I’d arranged to watch game tapes with the guys, so when I realized, I—”
“You chose the guys over Felicity.”
Fuck. The fact he answered for me only cemented my guilt.
“When you say it like that it does sound like a dick move.”
“Fee knows the deal. She knows what it means to be on the team.”
“Yeah, I guess...”
Silence fell over the line until Cam said, “Things are okay between the two of you, right?”
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, we’re not spending much time together lately. She’s at the shelter or with tutor boy. And I’m either trying to study or with the team... Why? Has she said something to Hailee?”
“What? No! Even if she had I’m not sure she’d tell me.”
I scoffed at that. “Bullshit. My sister would tell you everything.”
“Did you just refer to Hailee as your sister?”
“No,” I grumbled at my slip of the tongue.
“You did. I heard it as plain as day. You said—”
“Okay, Chase, don’t get too excited. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Oh, but it does.” I heard his smile. “Wait until I tell her you’ve progressed to sis—”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“I’m sorry.” His laughter subsided. “Your secret stays with me, I swear.”
“Hmm. I should never have called you.” That’s what I got for seeking out some advice.
“Yeah, you should. You needed someone to tell you to pull your head out of your ass, go find your girl and grovel.”
“You’re right.” That’s exactly what I intended on doing.
“Are the girls still planning to take Mya away for her birthday?”
“I think so,” I said. “Asher suggested we could go stay with him.”
“I’m easy. It’ll be good to see you.”
“Yeah, you too. Thanks for the chat.”
Cameron’s laughter filled the line again. I was fucking ecstatic that he found this funny. “Anytime. Now go grovel.”
We hung up and I climbed out of my car, grabbing my bag from the trunk. Our apartment was on the top floor with views of the Schuylkill River.
When I got inside, it was quiet. “Babe?” I called.
Throwing my keys onto the sideboard, I moved deeper into the apartment. The lonely plate on the draining board made my chest tighten. She’d eaten alone.
It shouldn’t have mattered as much as it did.
Felicity
I heard Jason before I felt him. Measured footsteps in the hall, the creak of the bedroom door, the rustle of him stripping out of his clothes. Part of me ached to glance over my shoulder and greet him. But the part that had stewed all night on Darcy’s words kept me rooted in place, eyes closed and heart heavy.
The covers moved behind me and a rush of cool air hit my back, and then Jason’s hard, warm body brushed mine. “Babe, you awake?” He slipped his arm around my waist and tucked me into the lines of his chest. Usually this was my happy place, but tonight, the distance between us felt bigger than ever.
What was happening?
We’d survived freshman year. That was supposed to be a couples big test, wasn’t it? Survive freshman year—the lure of new experiences and endless parties—and you could survive anything.
Jason’s lips ghosted over my neck, trailing a path to my ear. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and those two words damn near broke my heart. They were so full of regret and sincerity, but they didn’t promise the one thing I really needed to hear.
That it wouldn’t happen again.
Jason
We were leading the Ivy League four to none, with three games left to play. The pressure was on after what could only be described as a flawless season. Probably my best football season to date. My passing yards total was already a season best and I was currently tied second with a kid out of Cornell on the Division I FCS season passing yards leaderboard.
I was heading for the single most perfect season of my life... and yet, my personal life was a fucking mess.
Letting out a frustrated breath, I pushed open the door to the hotel bar and found Asher and Cameron sitting in wait.
“Hey, it’s good to see you.” Cam got up first, pulling me into a guy hug. Seeing my friends was like coming home. I loved my team at Penn: the guys, the coaches, the fans; but it wasn’t Rixon.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Don’t sweat it, we know the drill.” They did. They’d seen me captain the Rixon Raiders, witnessed how deep I became when handed such a responsibility. I didn’t just carry my own thirst for the win, I carried every single player’s.