Page 12 of Cheap Shot

“Did you date her?”

“No,” he said too quickly. “I don’t date.”

“Someone needs to tell her that.”

“She knows.” He rubbed his jaw. “Dating isn’t what she’s interested in.”

I scrunched my nose. “Ew.”

I knew my brother wasn’t a saint, but I didn’t need to see the proof of that. He readjusted his hat, and I shook my head. “That isn’t going to disguise you.”

“I just don’t want to be hounded today.” He elbowed me. “I’m here for you.”

His arrogance was astounding, but as we walked toward my closest class building, I noticed the stares and waves he got, and not just from the female population. This really was like high school all over again. How had he managed to become so popular at a massive university? That wasn’t supposed to be a thing. Everyone was supposed to be on even ground here, blending in and only being friends with like thirty people, max.

“Hey, Clarkson!” A tall guy in head-to-toe West Penn clothing waved as he walked by.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Shawn Bennet. He’s on the basketball team.”

Bennet? His name was always mentioned on the national sports news for being the highest point scorer of the NCAA.

“You guys are friends?”

Ethan shrugged. “We hang out sometimes.”

We passed four more people that stopped us to talk to Ethan, and I could still see his dorm. Transferring here was a bad idea. I should have known this school would fall under his spell too. This was why when it came time to pick colleges, I found one that didn’t have a hockey team. A place where I wouldn’t be reminded every single day of the golden child.

But that hadn’t worked out.

“Sorry about that. Let’s start here.” Ethan nodded to the closest building after excusing himself from a group of guys. “Let me see your schedule.”

I handed him the half sheet of paper, and he scanned it as we waked inside. “Okay, stats is on the second floor.” He pointed to the set of wide stairs. “Avoid those. They get jammed up with people trying to go up and down at the same time.”

“But then how …” I trailed off and jogged to catch up to him as he headed down the hall. He opened an unmarked door and revealed another set of cement stairs that smelled a bit musky.

“I’ve used these for years and almost never see anyone else. It will save you time and patience.” I followed him up, and he checked the paper again. “Two-seventeen is right here.” He stopped in front of a door, and I noted the number and how far it was from the stairs we used.

“Okay.”

He looked down at the paper. “Do you want to go by day, so you know your route or just by proximity?”

“Can we do exactly what I’ll do each day? This campus is like four times the size of my old one, and I don’t want to get lost.”

“No problem.” We turned around to head back down the secret stairs.

Progress was slow. It took nearly an hour to get through one day of classes because we couldn’t make it more than a few yards with someone stopping Ethan. Each interruption cemented my decision to stay away from him and Reid and the rest of his team. I wasn’t interested in joining the fan club, and they were used to being adored.

We ran into some of the members of the football team, and I took a half-step back, using my brother as a shield while looking for Linc or Brown. Neither of them were with the group though.

“Well, hello. I haven’t seen you around.” A guy with a buzz cut and beard eyed me up and down. “I don’t think I would have missed that body.”

The guy next to him nodded and winked at me.

“Who’s this?” one of the brawny guys asked, and Ethan grunted as I took a step closer to him. I didn’t particularly like the way they were looking at me. None of the football players from the party acted like them.

“My little sister.”