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Not true. None of it. Every cheerleader that dated Maverick bragged about it, talked about howwell endowedhe’d been, and how they couldn’t wait for another round. However, it never happened. Maverick was a one-and-done kind of guy. Everyone knew it.
Maverick swallowed, ignoring Jordan’s chuckle. “Says the virgin that never dated anyone in high school,” Maverick said, leaning forward, one elbow on the table and the other reaching over and squeezing my thigh in his palm, making me jump in surprise. “Why is that Josie Lee? Why did everyone steer clear of you back then?”
Arrogance rolled off him and could have choked me.
Slapping his hand away, he didn’t budge, I felt myself growing angry. Jordan cleared his throat but I couldn’t stop myself. I grabbed my tea and tossed it at Maverick’s face while jumping up from my seat.
I didn’t give either of them a chance to say anything before I raced toward my bedroom and slammed the door.
Maverick was right, I needed to find another place to live, because now I felt scared that he would retaliate, and I wasn’t sure what that entailed any longer.
His bullying felt different. The way his palm felt against my bare thigh electrified my nerve endings and made me want ... I was too embarrassed to say it. I hated myself for it.
I wouldn’t bethatgirl. The girl that lets a boy touch her unwillingly, or fall for the one boy that ruined her life. I couldn’t let this go on any longer, because if he diminished the distance between us any more than he had—I might fall in the opposite direction.
Chapter Six
Maverick
The blindingly bright stadium lights drew sweat against my forehead and soaked the white midriff I wore underneath my LSU jersey. It became one of the things I became accustomed to while living and playing football in Louisiana.
The heat.
The murmurs of my out-of-state teammates always made me laugh. Nothing compared to the humidity of the southern states—maybe Hell, but that ranked the closest.
Our game against Vanderbilt left us with a win that erupted our bleachers into an array of flaming purple and gold celebration. All the bad energy I’d carried around for the past two days sank away beneath the 100 yards that our cleats smashed into for a grueling two-and-a-half hours.
Playing cornerback gave me plenty of running time, along with the ability to release my anger onto the other team with bone-shattering tackles and gut-wrenching blocks. It drowned out the images and frustration that lingered in the back halls of my mind. The ones I tried so hard to keep away—the staunch smell of alcoholic breath—the rough calloused fingers that tormented my head—
No. I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing any thought of it far from my mind. I swiped my forehead with the back of my hand, stumbling when Jordan shoved my shoulder from behind.
“Party time, Jackass! You’re still coming with us, aren’t you?”
We made our way into the fieldhouse, and I stripped out of my jersey and tossed it into the laundry in the far corner. I could think of one million things I’d rather do than go to this party.
I don’t drink. We can’t if we’re playing football, and I hate the stuff anyway.
“Come on,” Jordan said, slinging his arm around my shoulder.
“Don’t touch me you reek,” I said grabbing my duffle before slamming my locker closed.
Jordan leaned against the wall while he watched someone over my shoulder. “King, good game, man.”
I didn’t bother looking. I had no logical reason to hate King, he’d been a good player and a hard worker, but I still hated that he knew Josie.
“Yeah, thanks,” he said, his locker slammed.
A mischievous grin climbed Jordan’s face while I chugged an entire Gatorade. “Why are you rushing, King? Got a date tonight?”
My fingers dented the sides of my drink. I waited for his response, feeling my adrenaline spike, all the effort I put into releasing my feelings onto the field climbed up to strangle me.
“Yeah, I’m picking someone up for the frat party. Y’all coming?”
Jordan slung his jersey over his shoulder. “Yeah, we’ll both be there, right Booker?”
I kept my eyes on my duffle while I fiddled with it, looking for something that I knew wasn’t in there to keep myself busy. “Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be there.”
Once King exited the building, I felt an odd need to hurry and get to the fraternity house. Josie would spend the night with King, and I hated it. I’d managed to keep guys away from her in Zachary but this was LSU.
