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Two Years Later…
“Come on, dude. Wake the fuck up.” It’s the first thing I hear the moment the morning sun stings my eyes. Throwing my arm over my face, I groan, stretching out my legs.
“What time is it?” I grumble, scratching my head as I peer up at Wilson, LSU’s star running back and one of my closest friends.
We were lucky enough to get bunked together my sophomore year after my first roommate dropped out and moved back home. Wilson was just a freshman then, but we hit it off instantly. Since then we’ve pretty much been inseparable. He, like me, likes to play hard and work even harder, putting everything he has onto the field.
The one glaring difference between us is his drive to play ball professionally whereas I’ve chosen to walk away from it all together. I lost my love for the game a long time ago, and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t seem to get it back. So I rode out my scholarship and declined to speak to any reps from the NFL when they came knocking.
Will thought I had completely fucking lost it. He’s been dreaming of playing pro since he was little and can’t see a world where someone else might not want the same thing. He’ll no doubt go in the first round of the draft next year barring any crazy injuries. There’s no way he won’t. The kid is fucking magic on the field.
“It’s fucking late, that’s what time it is,” he says, throwing a pair of dress pants over his shoulder. “Only you would be late to your own graduation.”
It isn’t until then that I remember what today is.
“Fuck,” I groan, rolling to my side, the entire bottle of whiskey I killed last night burning the pit of my stomach.
Then I remember that my parents’ flew in this morning, or at least they were supposed to, and my stomach lurches for another reason entirely. I haven’t been home since two summers ago when I had yet another blow up with my father and he ended up kicking me out ofhishouse.
Since then my relationship with my parents’ has only gotten worse. Quite frankly, I’m surprised they even want to come to my college graduation at all. At this point, I think our relationship is beyond salvaging, so I’m not really sure why they even care. Then again, I’m sure it’s nothing more than to save face. They’ll take pictures and smile so they can brag to all their friends about what amazing parents they are.
Fucking pathetic.
“You can always stay here with me.” I hear a female voice seconds before the bed shifts and an arm drapes over me from behind.
I glance over my shoulder to see bright green eyes, a pretty face, big red curls cascading over her slender shoulders, and while she’s beautiful, I’m flooded with the same sensation I get every time I wake up next to a different woman—guilt and disappointment.
I slide her arm off of me and quickly sit up, holding the sheet in place as I do because I’m very certain I have no clothes on underneath. I look up to find Will fighting a smile as he slinks out of the room and into the adjoining bathroom, shaking his head.
“You better hurry the hell up!” he calls over his shoulder, laughter in his voice, seconds before the bathroom door slams shut, vibrating the wall.
“Last night was amazing,” redhead croons as she slinks up behind me, pressing her bare chest against my back.
“Yeah, it was,” I grumble out, running my hand over my face as I lean forward, elbows on my knees, still feeling the effects of the alcohol from last night.
When a few of the guys from the team, most of which are graduating today, suggested we spend the night at the bar just off campus celebrating, it sounded like an amazing idea. Now, well, now I’m wishing like hell I had taken it a bit easy. At this rate, I’ll be showing up at graduation still drunk.
Glancing at the clock, I stand abruptly the second I register the time, the sheet falling from my lap. I hear an audible purr behind me but am too frantic to pay her even a second of attention. The ceremony starts in just over an hour, and I have to be there thirty minutes prior.
Racing around my room, I slip on a pair of boxers as I quickly gather the suit I plan to wear today, draping it over the back of the desk chair before turning to usher redhead out the minute she’s dressed. I thank her for an amazing time, like I have so many other women before her, not even bothering to try to remember her name; I know I won’t ever see her again.
I’ve watched countless girls walk out of my dorm room over the last four years, but every time there’s only one girl I see…Tess.
I can’t imagine she’d be proud of the man I’ve become or the fact that I’ve slept my way through half the student body just trying to fuck her out of my heart and my brain. It hasn’t worked yet and I doubt at this point it ever will, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.
Will exits the bathroom, successfully pulling me from my thoughts. I blink, realizing I’ve been standing in the same spot looking at the back of the door where redhead just exited for who knows how long.
I shake my head, quickly slipping past Will and into the bathroom. Hitting the shower and then shaving faster than I probably ever have in my entire life, I re-emerge within twenty minutes looking a lot more put together than I feel.
Will is decked out in a navy suit, his dark skin accentuating the white collar of his dress shirt making him look like he’s already a rich NFL star. Hell, with the traction he’s received already he might as well be.
“Bout time. You ready?” he asks, strapping a thick banded gold watch around his wrist before looking in my direction.
Even though he doesn’t graduate until next year, he and the entire rest of the team, along with the coaches are coming to the graduation ceremony to support their graduating teammates.
“As I’ll ever be.” I let out a breath, waiting for Will to slip on his dress shoes before following him out into the hallway.
***
