Convenient Fall (Players of Marycliff University Book 2) (15 page)

“Why bother?” Chris tried to act nonchalant, like it didn't matter, but his gut was churning and he felt sick thinking about it. Since he'd started studying with Megan he'd begun to wonder what it might take to graduate in the spring. But he'd need to pass this semester, and even with the studying he'd been doing he still wasn't sure he could pull it off.

“Why bother?” Matt scrubbed his hands over his face and muttered to himself. Chris couldn't make out what he was saying, but Megan seemed to find it funny judging by the look on her face. Finally, Matt calmed down enough to talk intelligibly. “Dude. You've been here for almost four and a half years. You're just going to throw it away? Seriously?”

Chris looked away. “I’m not sure I can make it happen. I think my grades have slipped too far this semester.”

“I could help you if you want.” Chris and Matt both swiveled to look at Megan, where she sat perched on the arm of the couch. She was looking at Chris. “Find out from your professors this week what you'd need to do to pass. We can make it happen if you’re serious. We can plan out what you need to do to graduate in May.”

Chris sucked in a breath and thought about it. “Really? You think I can do it?”

Megan nodded. “Yeah. We're not quite halfway through. Unless you've failed every single thing you should be able to pull a passing grade. Maybe some of your professors will let you redo stuff that you've failed since you miss so many classes for football. That might work in your favor. Your coaches care about your grades, so if it looks like you're failing anything, see if they can help you work something out. If you're serious, I think we could make it happen.”

Hope blossomed in Chris's chest at the determination in Megan's eyes. She really believed he could do it. Most people just assumed he was a dumb jock. Academics had never been his thing. The only reason he’d gone to college was so he could play football. But if she thought he could do it, maybe he could.

“Okay.” He nodded once. “Okay, I'll see what needs to be done.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Thanks for letting me come hang out tonight. I needed to escape.” Megan plopped down on their old couch next to Abby. She'd come over after classes on Thursday evening. “What did you tell Lance?”

Abby shrugged, picking up the remote for the DVD player. “Just that we needed a girls' night. He said he'd go hang with the guys. They'll probably fart and drink beer and play video games. I'm sure they'll all have a blast.”

“If I'd known it was that easy, I'd have insisted on this sooner.” Megan grabbed a handful of popcorn, munching on it while Abby started the movie.

“So, what are you escaping from? Is everything okay?” Worry seeped into Abby’s question despite her attempt at nonchalance.  

“Yeah, everything's fine. It's just been a busy week.” Abby looked at her expectantly, waiting for more. Megan let out a sigh. “Chris said that I could help him come up with a plan to graduate, and, y'know, help him actually pass his classes. All that on top of my regular work load and tutoring schedule. He's more behind than I expected.”

Abby blinked a couple times. “I didn't realize Chris was in danger of not graduating.”

“Yeah, I guess he'd decided not to even try anymore, so he barely went to his classes the first few weeks. Just enough to not get dropped for too many absences.”

“Wow. Is he going to be able to turn things around?”

Megan rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, I think so. He's been going more lately since I make him study with me, so he's not as behind as he would've been.”

Abby threw her arm around Megan's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Aw, you're a good influence on him. That's so sweet.”

Megan threw popcorn at her. “Shut up.”

“Hey! Don't make a mess on my couch!”

“You deserved it. And anyway, it was our couch first.”

“Like that matters. Just because you used to be part-owner of the couch doesn't mean you can make it messy now.” Abby paused, her attention pulled back to
Mean Girls
playing on the TV. They'd both seen it a million times, so they didn't need to pay attention. After a minute she refocused on Megan. “Seriously, though. I'm glad. He really is a good guy. I'd hate to see him give up on himself. I'm glad you're a good influence on him. How did you get him to agree to try anyway?”

Megan snorted. “Chris got jealous that I was sketching Matt for my figure drawing class.”

“Who knew Chris could be so possessive?”

“I know, right? Anyway, it came up that my parents generally disapprove of me. I mentioned that we barely talk and that I hadn't told them that I was living with the two of them, much less that Chris and I are … well, whatever it is that we are.”

Abby's eyes narrowed and her gaze sharpened on Megan. “Whatever you are? I thought it was pretty clear by now.”

Megan shrugged, trying for indifference, but refusing to meet Abby's eyes and ignoring the statement. “He was upset that I hadn't told my parents about him and said he'd told his parents about me, which surprised me, but when I asked if he'd told his parents he wasn't graduating, he got all quiet.” She looked up at Abby, suppressed laughter in her voice. “Man, Matt was pissed when he found out Chris was just going to drop out after this semester.” Abby's lips were compressed, and Megan could tell she wanted to say something, but she kept going before Abby could jump in. “So, I told him I'd help him and he agreed.” She reached for a handful of popcorn and returned her attention to the movie.

“He told his parents about you?”

Megan lifted one shoulder, still eating popcorn. “That's what he said. Weird, huh?”

Abby's hand reached into the bowl between them. “It's something alright.” Megan held her breath while she waited for Abby to say something else about it, and let out a relieved sigh when she didn't.
 

“Is this the first time you’d told him about your parents?”

Megan shrugged. “Yeah.” She gave Abby a pointed look. “You know I don't like talking about them, and,” a smirk split Megan's face, “we don't exactly do a lot of talking, if you know what I mean.” Megan snickered at the look of disgust on Abby's face.

“TMI, friend. TMI.” Abby gave her an acerbic look. “Maybe you guys should try talking a little more. Shouldn't your boyfriend know the details about your family issues?”

“Ah, yes. Well, that was kind of my point earlier. I'm not sure if Chris even considers himself my boyfriend, so … yeah.”

Abby stopped the movie that they were mostly ignoring anyway. “Wait, what? You guys have been together for like a month. Why wouldn't he consider himself your boyfriend? Did you break up? Is that why you're really here?”

“No, nothing like that.” Megan started picking at the arm of the couch, pulling off little bits of fuzz where it had pilled. “We just have kind of a casual arrangement. We're exclusive with each other, but neither of us have used those words. Like I said, we don't talk a whole lot, and when we do, I'm not going to bring up something that's more than likely going to have him running for the hills.” When Abby didn't answer, Megan stopped picking at the couch and looked at her.

Abby tugged at her lower lip, her eyes on the TV, but unfocused. Finally she pulled herself out of her thoughts and faced Megan. “Let's walk through this. You and Chris are sleeping together, right?”

“Right.”

“I don't just mean having sex. I mean actually sleeping in the same bed every night.”

“When he's not out of town, yeah.”

“Okay. And you're exclusive, meaning neither of you is dating or having sex with anyone else, right?”

“Yeah. I insisted on that from the beginning.”

Abby arched an eyebrow. “Oh, so you can talk about your relationship with him that much, but you can't figure out if he's your boyfriend or not?” Megan glared at her, but Abby ignored it. “Do you do things besides just have sex? I mean, I know you said you don't talk much, but surely you don't just have sex. Right?”

Megan laughed. “No, we do other things. He hangs out with me while I do homework, and at least pretends to do homework as well. If he's going to graduate he'll have to do more than just pretend, though.” She waved a hand. “Anyway. We have dinner together sometimes, and the three of us hang out and watch movies or play video games every once in a while. Between practices and away games, they're gone a lot, though.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think most people would say he's your boyfriend.”

Megan grabbed another handful of popcorn, spilling some with the force of her hand diving into the bowl. “What's the big deal? Why does everything need a label? You refused to call Lance your boyfriend for like two months.”

Abby shrugged. “That was different. He was leaving, and I had no expectation of him coming back. I was trying to protect myself.”

“That worked out really well, didn't it?” Abby threw a handful of popcorn at Megan. Megan picked a kernel off her shirt and popped it into her mouth. “What happened to not making a mess of your couch?”

“I said
you
couldn't make a mess of it. It's my couch. I can cover it in popcorn if I want. You can't compare your relationship with Chris to mine with Lance, though. The fundamental basis for the relationship is different.”

Megan sighed and glared at Abby again. “I came here to get away from the headaches of my life, not have you add to them.”

“Well, one thing's the same at least.”

“What's that?”

“You're in denial as much as I was.”

Megan threw popcorn back at Abby, who just laughed and turned the movie back on. Abby was right, though. She was denying the depth of her feelings about Chris. She was just starting to acknowledge them herself. There was no way she'd tell Chris how she felt, so why bother telling Abby? She'd learned over the years that there was no use voicing your desire for something that couldn't happen. It wouldn't change anything, and it only made you hurt more.

* * *

A wolf-whistle sounded from the direction of the kitchen when Megan walked out of her bedroom. Matt stood there in a snug fitting vest and cargo pants, a toy bow in one hand, and a quiver of arrows sticking out over his shoulder. “Looking good.”

“Get your own woman!” Chris pushed Matt out of his way with his Captain America shield to get out of the kitchen while Matt just laughed. Chris stood in the doorway, his eyes raking over Megan in her black skinny jeans, knee high boots, and fitted black leather jacket. She'd used some washout dye to turn her dark brown curls auburn to complete her Black Widow costume. It wasn't quite the right shade, but it was the closest she could get. She pulled the toy gun out of the holster on the cargo belt slung around her hips and blew across the tip.

His eyes darkened and he stalked across the room, pulling her tight against him. Megan chuckled when her hands encountered the fake foam muscles under the fabric of his costume. “I don't think you need the extra help with the physique.”

He grinned down at her. “Thanks for the compliment, but I couldn't find one without the muscles. You ready to go?”

She nodded and he pulled her in for a kiss before they all piled into Matt's car. They'd played rock, paper, scissor earlier to decide who would be the DD and Matt had lost. They were on their way to the team's annual costume party that they held every October. This year they got to have it on Halloween, since it fell on the Saturday of the only weekend before Thanksgiving that they didn't have a game.

Megan had been looking forward to it since they'd all decided to go as characters from
The Avengers
. She'd never been part of a group costume. When the guys had suggested it, she'd been doubtful. She hadn't seen the movie before, which had made them groan in disbelief and determine to remedy the situation at the first opportunity. She'd enjoyed the movie more than she'd expected to, and started trying to figure out how to put together a costume for Black Widow almost as soon as the movie had ended.

Chris had sprung for a store-bought costume, saying that it would take too much time and too much work to put one together himself. She and Matt had managed to find most of the stuff they needed at thrift stores. She’d scored with the jacket. It was perfect—black leather that zipped up the front with an almost non-existent stand up collar. It had only cost twenty dollars, and she could wear it for more than just Halloween. The other bonus was that she wouldn't freeze in this costume on the cold, rainy night.
 

They went to the same house where the pool party had been at the beginning of the semester, the party already well underway. So much had changed since she'd been here last. The weather meant there wouldn’t be any swimming going on tonight and more of the house was opened for the partiers. Like last time, there was a variety of drinks available, plus bowls of Halloween candy placed all around.
 

Megan took it all in, not recognizing as many people as she expected due to their costumes. She was less recognizable than normal as well, with her hair the wrong color. A young woman in a skirt suit turned, and Megan almost did a double take. “Abby?”

Abby grinned and rushed over, giving her a hug, lightly touching Megan's curls. “Hey! I almost didn't recognize you with your hair like this. I like it!”

Megan laughed. “I know what you mean. I've never seen you dressed like this before.”