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“Bus. Thirty minutes. Be on it, or don’t start,” my coach reiterated.
“Fuck,” I muttered and blinked open my eyes. Only to wish I hadn’t.
I quickly shut them again and slowly lifted my lashes after a few seconds. When the image I’d seen only moments ago didn’t disappear, I felt nausea rise into the back of my throat.
There, beside me on my hotel room bed, was Megan Hawthorn. Not in a bra and panties like she had been after my birthday party the year before, but completely naked.
Just like I was.
I jerked upright then jumped out of bed before making a wild dash to the bathroom.
As I threw up into the toilet, images of the night before filled my head, and they only made me sicker.
Marsh and I had gone to someone else’s room where the party had started and gotten drinks. Girls had begun showing up, but I’d been more interested in drinking away the thought of Violet and Cannon together. After about the fifth beer, I’d started feeling pretty mellow, and that was when I’d seen Megan.
She’d been with a few friends and must have driven down for the game like so many others had. When she saw me looking her way, she left them and came up to me in the hall where I was talking to Marsh and a few other offensive players.
I’d told myself to stay away from her, and I’d even walked off a few times to get more drinks for Marsh and me. But each time, she was there when I came back. She started getting touchy.
And I was pissed at Violet for kissing someone else.
The alcohol had shut down the smart part of my brain, and I must have lost my fucking mind, because when she kissed me, I kissed her back. Before long, we’d ended up in my room.
I’d messed up. Big-time. There was no coming back from this. It was worse than Violet kissing some asshole. A million times worse. If she found out, I knew I would lose her.
If…
If she found out.
She couldn’t fucking find out.
When my stomach was empty, I jumped in the shower, washing away the evidence of what I’d done the night before. There was a condom wrapper in the trash, telling me I’d at least been smart enough to use protection. I hadn’t had any, because I’d never needed them before, but thankfully Marsh had some in his case. A case that was already gone, telling me Marsh must already be on the bus.
Wrapping a towel around myself, I walked into the bedroom and started putting on clothes while Megan continued to sleep. Once I was dressed and had my stuff packed up, I nudged Megan awake. She yawned loudly and rolled over.
The sheets slipped, and I quickly averted my gaze from her chest. “Hey, baby.”
“Last night—it never happened,” I told her, looking directly into her eyes so she knew I meant what I said. “This was a mistake. One that will never happen again. Do you hear me?”
She smirked up at me. “Sure. You keep telling yourself that, baby. But you had fun last night. The kind of fun you can’t have with that little kid back in California.”
“Keep your damn mouth shut about this, Megan, because if Violet finds out, there isn’t a place you can hide from me.” I tossed my bag over my shoulder. “Stay the hell away from me.”
“See you around, Luca,” she called with a laugh, and I slammed the door behind me
.
It was late afternoon when the bus pulled up in front of the football field back in Alabama. I’d slept the entire way thanks to my motion sickness medication, but my head was still throbbing from my hangover. I was never going to drink like that again, that was for damn sure.
“Luca!”
I turned my head at the sound of my brother’s voice, sure I was hearing things. But when I glanced around, I saw him standing several yards away. With Violet right beside him. Her back was to me, but I knew it was her.
Seeing my girl, I took two steps toward them. All I wanted was to hold her and tell her I was sorry for being an asshole. Tell her how much I loved her and that I didn’t care she’d kissed Cannon.
Then she turned around, and I saw her swollen bottom lip and the purple bruise that went all the way around her mouth. The sight had me freezing up, unable to take another step for a moment as I tried to draw in a deep enough breath. Nausea and rage swirled around inside me, and without realizing I was even moving, I suddenly found myself standing directly in front of her.
Carefully, I lifted her chin so I could see her face better. “What happened?”
