Page 46 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)
Shelby
I place my head down and smile. Actually, I haven’t stopped smiling since I left Christian’s house this morning.
Going and getting my morning coffee with the cheesiest grin on my face probably couldn’t have been more obvious if I had a flashing neon sign on my head saying, ‘Just had the best sex of my life!’ It’s crazy to think how happy I am right now; although, it does make me nervous that maybe it’s all just too perfect.
The door burst open. “Oh my God, did I miss it?” Letti says, flying through the door and leaving me thankful I had finished my coffee.
“Holy shit!” I say, covering my heart with my hand. “You scared the crap out of me!” She flings her backpack onto her bed and joins me on mine. “Sorry, I just woke up and raced over. So, tell me what happened, did you win?”
“I won!” I say, turning off the PlayStation.
She wraps me in a hug. “Woohoo! That’s awesome! Oh, but first tell me, how did last night go?” She looks around the room and stops on my neatly made bed and gives me a mischievous look. “ Did you stay the night again?”
I roll my lips. “Maybeeee.”
“How was it?”
“Amazing. Oh my God, that man leaves me speechless! But more importantly…”
“What!?”
“We made it official!”
She screams, wrapping her arms around me and tackling me back onto the bed, her body smothering mine as she covers me in a congratulatory hug.
“Congratulations, babe, I’m so happy for you.
After everything you have been through back in Australia, I’m so glad things are working out for you over here.
You have to stay with me forever! Oh, and Travis owes me twenty bucks. ”
“Twenty bucks,” I ask as she rolls off me, both lying on our backs, staring at the ceiling. “Yeah, I’ll get him to buy us a bottle of vodka with it, it seems like it was a joint effort.”
“What was the bet?”
“That you guys would start dating this weekend.”
I smile at her confidence in us. “I’ll get more orange juice.”
“Deal,” she says, holding up her hand for me to high five it.
Slapping her hand, I sigh. “It all just seems like a dream, he’s so sweet, so cute, and talented.”
“Yes, and all yours. Oh,” she says, sitting up and shuffling off the bed.
I sit up, gently shaking my head. “I can’t believe I have a boyfriend. I have to ring my family and let them know that we made it official.” My family is going to be so happy with the progress I’ve made while I have been over here.
“Not just any boyfriend either, the star running back and all-around golden boy Christian Stone. You should yell that from the campus bell tower or get on the university chat page and announce it,” she says as she grabs an apple juice out of the mini fridge and toasts her drink in the air.
“Here’s to Christian’s heart and Randy’s ass that I now want to see so badly. ”
“So, I don’t have to sing?” I question incredulously.
She takes a seat on her bed and starts to unpack her bag. “Yeah, that too,” she smirks.
“I can’t believe how big this PlayStation battle has gotten and that everyone is talking about it.”
“Some people on the page were hinting at you two dating, but I guess that rumor should disappear pretty quickly.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yep. You know for a freshman, I think the whole university knows who you are, and if they don’t, they will by the end of the week when they see whose hand you’re holding.”
“What can I say, it’s been a good day,” I say, reaching for my phone and seeing a text from Christian.
Christian: Nice game, babe, u got this, just 1 more win.
Me: Thank you.
Christian: Lunch? Café? 12:30?
Me: Yes. Yes. Yes.
Christian: That’s what u said last night.
I blush at that comment. I’m sure that word slipped from my lips many times.
I couldn’t help it. The way Christian traced his hands over my body and the control he had over me, I was lost to his touch.
He stole the air from my lungs and the fight from my bones.
I didn’t stand a chance. It was heaven. “I’m going to have lunch with Christian at 12:30 at the café,” I say to Letti as she continues unpacking her bag and gathering her shower essentials.
“Cool, I’m going for a shower, then heading to the library.”
“Oh, I need to go to the library, too, I’ll join you. Did you want to have lunch with us after?”
“Nah, babe, I’ll leave you alone with your boy.”
***
We cross the quad on our way to the library, freshly showered and taking in all the looks we are getting. “Do you think people know about me and Christian, or am I just overthinking the way they’re looking at us?”
“Oh no.” She scans the surroundings. “They are looking. So, it’s either they are looking at you because, one, you’re fucking Christian; two, you’re fucking Randy, three, you’re the COD Queen; or four, they are checking out your hot friend.”
I laugh. “And how do you know they aren’t looking at me?”
“Hmm, that could also be possible,” she says, her shoulder bumping mine.
“You do know you’re dating a hockey jock, right? If people mess with you, they mess with the whole team, and those boys love a good brawl. People know not to go near you, Letti. The whole campus might be just learning about me, but they already know who you are.”
“I guess,” she says, giving me a knowing look. “And to think, we are only freshman. Just wait til next year, when Christian is a senior.”
“Yep, then the year after, when Travis is a senior, and let’s not forget the year after that, when we are seniors,” I say.
“Hell yeah.” She bounces along, an extra spring in her step as she brushes some of her brown locks away from her freshly glossed lips.
***
What feels like hours later, I check the time on my watch. “Are you ready?” I whisper to Letti from across the table. I don’t want to get into trouble with the grouchy librarian, and I don’t have the Randy charisma to sweet talk her.
“I’m ready,” she says, closing the book in front of her. “That was good, I feel like I got a lot done in that short amount of time. ”
“Me too,” I say back as I shove the books I borrowed into my backpack.
We cut across the grass and dodge a Frisbee game as we make our way over to the café.
“What are your plans tonight?” I ask.
“Travis and I are going out to dinner, and then we will probably watch Netflix. What are your plans?”
“I don’t have any, I guess I’ll see what Christian wants to do.”
“And speak of the devil,” she says as we watch his black truck park in front of the café. He steps out, then strolls around the front end, the sun glinting off the polished grill. When he spots us, he lifts a hand in greeting and leans casually against the hood, waiting as we make our way over.
“Geez, that man’s got some good genes,” Letti says, lowering her sunglasses in appreciation.
His body and facial features are almost cruel for every other man who walks this earth. Dressed in black shorts and a plain light gray shirt, he’s hard not to stare at. “Yep, and he’s all mine,” I say for the first time with confidence.
He pushes off the hood as we approach, walking toward me and reaching for my chin to pull me in for a welcoming kiss.
“I missed you,” he whispers to me as we pull apart.
“I missed you too.”
“Hey, Letti,” he greets.
“Hey, Christian.” She smiles .
“How did you like the camping trip?”
“We really loved it. I can’t believe we had never been there before. We definitely want to go back.”
“We should all do it again, maybe stay longer next time.”
“Sounds great, you and your girlfriend figure out some dates and let me know. Well, I better get going. Got things to do, people to talk to, chaos to cause.” She throws a wave over her shoulder in farewell.
I wave Letti off, and when I glance back, Christian’s already watching me.“Hungry?” he asks
“Starving!” I say, grabbing his outstretched hand and letting him lead me into the café. As soon as we enter, I notice people glancing our way as Christian finds a table in the center of the café. “I haven’t eaten anything all day…just had coffee.”
“You had me this morning,” he says, winking at me.
I feel my cheeks heat and my body ache for his touch. “That I did,” I say, catching some onlookers staring at us. “People are looking.”
He leans back in his chair, stretching and turning his head to the left and right. “So?”
“It’s weird. You’re probably used to it.”
“It’s new gossip.” He shrugs. “After I FEED MY GIRLFRIEND,” he says loudly, making more people look.
My eyes go wide as he laughs at my stunned reaction.
“How about I take you back to your dorm to get some clothes and you stay at my place tonight. It’s Randy’s night to cook, I’ll send him a text to add another plate? ”
And with that, all my embarrassment disappears because I’m with Christian. Audience or not, I’m safe and secure, comfortable in my surroundings, and there is no place I’d rather be. “Sounds great.”