Page 31 of Big Man on Campus

“Of course. Who are you bringing?” I decide to rub in the fact that he isn’t seeing anyone noteworthy.

“Maybe I’ll bring Phoebe,” he says and I can’t tell if he’s teasing to piss me off, or fucking serious.

“Go for it. You’re so worried about her getting over me, give her something to look forward to. Take her out and don’t come back until the morning.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” he says. I grin because I am. If he could give Phoebe something to be distracted about it would take serious pressure off me worrying about her picking on Glory, trying to undermine her and our relationship, because I know that’s what she’s up to. I nod.

“You’re on, then. I’ll text her before class.”

“Do it now,” I push.

“You know I don’t walk and text.” I laugh because it’s his standard line and some of the young guys think he’s serious.

“Hey, I need an extra pair of tickets for my dad and his new wife for the home opener. It’s only a couple of weeks away. Do you have some you can spare?”

“Don’t you get four tickets like everyone else, or are they limiting your fans to keep your ego in check?”

I wrap my arm around his head in a wrestling move as we approach the building and we almost bump into a group of girls as Fitz pulls himself loose.

“Hey asshole, watch out,” one of the girls says to me.

“Sorry,” I say and the girl glares at me, recognition on her face. I don’t know who she is, but her and her friends stare like I’m Jack the Ripper.

Fitz tugs on my arm and we go inside the building.

“Did you see that?” I say.

He shrugs. “Don’t worry. It’ll blow away. The college brain is a vapid landscape.”

“What the fuck did you just say?”

He laughs as we walk into the classroom. “I’ve been reading too many psychology journals for my research paper. Don’t mind me.”

“You’ll make a scary good psychologist someday,” I say, meaning it. “So how about the tickets?”

“Sure. My parents aren’t coming until November and then we’ll go back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving together. I was planning to give the tickets to four lucky girls, but I can limit it to two even luckier girls.”

“Haven’t you run out of random girls on this campus by now?”

“Nah,” he says as we take our seats in the front of class where we usually sit. It’s a small class, no more than thirty students, and we have a good rapport with the prof so far, engaging in lively exchanges in the first couple of classes, much to the amusement of the other students. “There’s always the incoming freshmen to look forward to.”

“You’re a piece of work. Pretty loose with your romancing for a cautious guy.”

He shrugs. “We can’t all be so lucky to find our love of a lifetime before we’re out of puberty like you.” The professor walks in and Fitz lowers his voice before I have a chance to defend myself. “Besides, you did a lot of random romancing of your own the last three years while you were on hiatus.”

“Shhh.” The girl behind us kicks my chair. Fuck. “Quiet down, jockhead.” I don’t bother turning around. I need to ignore the animosity, but I don’t expect it in this class because we’re all pretty much jocks.

Something’s gotta give.

* * *

The annual Alumni fundraising dinner is at the swanky Alumni building. It looks like a castle on the outside and a palace on the inside. I pick Glory up with the top down on my old classic Mustang, a guilt-gift from Dad for my twenty-first birthday. When we get there, I see Fitz at the bar with Brick, but no Phoebe. We join them and I don’t ask him what happened. I thought he left the house to pick her up, but apparently not.

Glory doesn’t mind when I order her a ginger ale from the bar and I get an ice water for myself as I take in the crowd. I recognize some of the wealthy donors. Some I know to avoid and a couple I look forward to chatting up.

“Tim’s dad is here,” Fitz says. He’s a lacrosse star and his dad is some suit who owns his own business, an interesting character from New Jersey. I look in the direction of Fitz’s nod and see Tim Hill Senior heading our way—with Reverend Church.

“Time to schmooze,” I say under my breath to Glory. Her smile doubles in brilliance as the two men arrive at the bar to greet us.