First and Goal (Moving the Chains #1) (9 page)

My heart jackhammers inside my chest so rapidly that she must be able to hear it. I can’t believe I just did that.

“I’m skipping bio and ditching tutoring tomorrow,” she says quietly, finally looking up at my face that is only separated from hers by a breath.

I could kiss her now.

No, I can’t.

“No, you aren’t,” I tell her softly but firmly. “Because you’re too smart not to get an A in every class.”

I straighten back up. “I made you some flash cards. They’re in your notebook. You’ll need to start memorizing the rules of derivation for functions.”

Better to entreat with her need for good grades than her so-so views of me.

“Thank you for the water,” I say softly, tipping my head down towards her for one last breath before turning to go.

“Hey! I got you the water,” Christina complains from her spot on the couch.

I turn and point my notebook at Christina from my spot in the doorway. “You are on my shit-list after what you pulled today, little Miss Papageorgiou.”

This incident could really hurt my chances. More than the rumors. More than the fighting in biology. More than what Eddie did to fuck her up so badly. Evie is nothing if not proud.

“I hate you,” Evie seethes quietly behind me.

My chest tightens painfully. She’s going to be the most complicated play of my life, but the most worthwhile if I can pull it off.

I open the door to go, not wanting to rouse her anger any further.

“You don’t know the real me well enough to hate me, Eva. But I promise to change that, and
not
because of bio.” I slip out the door and pause on the porch to catch my breath before heading home.

A loss of thirty yards on first down. Time to come up with a bigger, better play on second.

“Oh my God, he
wants
you!” Christina shouts, her voice carrying through the closed door. I grin and take off down the stairs in a sprint. That’s the first decent thing Evie’s sister has said to her in the past twenty minutes. And she isn’t wrong.

E
vie’s already seated when I get to bio. She looks out the window with her arms crossed over her body, trying her best to ignore me. She refused eye contact with me in our morning classes. She even moved to the other side of the hallway when we happened to be walking near each other. I can’t really say I blame her. If she ever overheard some of the things I’ve said about her to Mike or Alex, well…it would probably result less in my embarrassment and more in her castrating me.

Gone are the leg-baring shorts and short-sleeved shirt from yesterday. It’s still hot as Satan’s ass crack out, yet Evie’s outfit is more appropriate for the middle of January. She’s wearing baggy jeans and a black sweater that swallows her body whole. Her contacts have been traded in for her big, hipster glasses. No makeup, not that she needs it. Her wild hair is piled on top of her head and held in place with…Shit, are those pencils? How does she do that?

She’s obviously trying to hide. She doesn’t understand that she’s drop-dead gorgeous, no matter how unattractive she tries to make herself. Poor thing looks hot and miserable though.

She doesn’t seem angry today, just defeated. She acts like I’ve beaten her in some sort of game I didn’t even know we were playing. I racked my brain all night trying to think of a way to fix this. I am definitely not above outright begging if all else fails. When it comes to her, I have zero pride.

Zero pride and hell of a lot of fear. A two-hundred-pound linebacker coming at me with the intent to maim? No problem. A hundred-pound girl ignoring me in the next seat? Hyperventilating.

“Hey.” She can’t ignore me forever.

“Hey.”

“Please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry for everything that happened yesterday. Yelling at you in here, and the stuff I overheard at your house.”

No response.

Clearly, I have to try harder. “I’m
really
sorry you hate my guts. Just…give me a chance to prove to you I’m not the guy you think I am. Please, Evie?”

“Don’t call me Evie.”

“All right. That’s something I have to earn with you. I get it. But, at least let me try to earn it. I promise I won’t let you down if you’ll just give me that chance.” Begging it is.

The tone of her sigh sounds like she’s on the verge of tears. Making her cry is the last thing I want to do, especially in the middle of class where the gossip mongers can run with it.

“You still gonna meet me in the library after practice?”

Again, no answer.

“Well, I’ll be there whatever you decide.” On my knees.

Evie’s already sitting at the table when I rush into the study room. My backpack gets hung up on the door handle in my haste to be near her.

Five-star athlete, my ass. Watch out ladies, the quarterback with the prowess of a drunken ogre is coming through.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“That’s okay. I was honestly hoping you wouldn’t show up, and we could just forget all about this.”

She actually looks worse now than she has all day, but maybe that’s because we’re alone. She doesn’t have to pretend for everyone else now. Her shoulders are slumped, her chin down, and she never stops working at the corner of her notebook with her nimble fingers.

This is all my stupid fault. If I hadn’t bitched her out yesterday in bio, if I hadn’t come up with that stupid plan to go to her house last night… Yeah, we wouldn’t be making out in here today, but she wouldn’t look like she’s about to cry, either.

I nudge her shoulder when I’m seated next to her. Now that I know she’s not vehemently against me touching her, I plan to use that to my full advantage. “Well, I took a quick shower instead of grabbing a snack so you wouldn’t have to endure my smell.”

She doesn’t look at me, just laughs darkly and continues her fidgeting. “Oh, I’m sure the whole school knows exactly what I think of you by now so your body odor is the least of my concerns.”

It absolutely kills me she would think, for even a second, that I would do that to her.

“Which part? The part where you hate my guts, or the part where you think I’m a male slut?”

That earns me a small smirk as intended. But I need more, so I’ve gotta give more.

“I didn’t say anything. To anyone. I wouldn’t do that to you. I don’t actually make it a habit to gossip about people and contribute to the rumor mill here.”

Tears well in her eyes. God, why can’t I just say anything that doesn’t upset her?

“I can’t vouch for your sister though. What’s up with her? You two don’t even seem related.”

She barks out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, I get that all the time. My mom actually ordered her to apologize to you about yesterday, so don’t be surprised if she comes sniffing around to try and snag a date instead.”

“Yeah…she made it pretty clear yesterday that she’s only interested in my
ego,
so I’m gonna have to turn her down. No offense.”

The laugh she graces me with is more genuine this time, but she’s still staring at the desk, slowly disintegrating the square of paper that she won’t leave alone. “I’m sorry, that’s not funny. I know how hurtful rumors can be. And even though, you know, that ‘big dick’ story probably works well for you, it’s still not funny.”

“Yeah, it works great for me. Do you have any idea what it’s like for girls to constantly be looking at your package instead of your eyes when they talk to you? It’s embarrassing and weird.”

She finally turns to meet my eyes as if to prove she’s nothing like those other girls. “What kind of jock are you?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you.” I nudge her gently again. “Not the kind you think.”

Her blue eyes change from a tear-filled ocean to an icy glacier. “Just be straight with me. Are you playing me? Am I some kind of dare to you and your teammates like Neveah Winters was last year? You want to see if the rumors about me are true? So what’s your angle? You’re playing the nice guy, hoping I’ll buy the act and fuck your ten-inch dick like all the other whores in this school? Do you think I’m like all those girls who are willing to risk internal injuries in the pursuit of getting to be with the mighty Rob Falls? You think I’ll take a pounding, just to be able to claim that your precious phallus has invaded me? You and your buddies have some kind of bet to prove that I’m loose enough to take a beast like you? Is that what this is? Well, I’ve got news for you, pal. You will
never
get into my lacy little panties. Ever.”

Oh, hell no.

I turn away from her in disgust before all the anger and frustration pours out of me like hot lead. “You know what, Eva? Yes. That’s what this is all about. I’m trying to get to know you in bio. I’m taking time out of my busy schedule to tutor you in calc. I showed up at your house last night with flashcards. All because I’ve been fantasizing about fucking you a million different ways with my ten-inch dick since the first day I met you. But you’re a small girl and I’m a big guy, so I just had to wait for someone else to prime your pump. Since you were too good for all the other guys that came your way, I had to wait a
really
long time. Shame you chose Eddie with his tiny dick. He at least popped your cherry, so I figure you can take the pounding from me now. Drop your pants and spread ‘em, sweetheart. I’ll go lock the door and bend you over the desk right now. But don’t you dare cry if I’m so big that it hurts because I’m definitely not gonna hold back since that’s all you seem to be interested in. You want a good fuck? Fine. ‘Cause that’s all I’m good for, anyway. Rob fucking Falls, quarterback extraordinaire and God’s gift to women.”

Take that, you little hypocrite.

“There. That what you wanted to hear? You happy now?”

The silence stretches on forever as I try to breathe through my rage before I punch a hole in the desk in front of me. I’ve been kidding myself all these years that she’s different. I just didn’t know back in ninth grade that she would turn out to be like everyone else. Guess she was right; we were never friends. I never knew a thing about her except what I wanted to see.

I don’t know why I do it, but before I start packing my things to leave, I look at her. I don’t know if it’s to get it through my thick skull that this isn’t ever going to work, isn’t meant to be, whatever.