Page 4 of Scars of Anatomy

Bold

I jog up the steps of the science building two at a time, my heavy backpack beating against me with every jump. Damn, my back and quads hurt from practice yesterday—Coach has been really drilling our asses since the first game of the season is this weekend.

On the second floor of the science building, I head toward one of the large lecture halls for my anatomy class. Finding the correct room, I walk in, and my eyes automatically scan the area for one person in particular.

Toward the center of the fifth row, I spot Olivia sitting with Delilah. I take the stairs to the fifth tier, sliding into the row and claiming the seat next to Olivia.

“Ladies,” I greet them, hooking my backpack onto the back of the chair before taking a seat.

“Hey,” Olivia greets me with a surprised smile.

I take a quick glance around the large lecture hall that’s already halfway full. “I swear, if we have to do introductions in this class . . .”

Olivia laughs, shaking her head. “I hope not.”

“If we do, I still got your back if you got mine.” I grin.

“Deal,” she agrees. “Bronx Miller, exercise science, NFL.”

“Very good,” I praise her, pleased she remembered everything I told her about myself from lab. “And Olivia McCausland, pre-med, cardiac surgeon, weirdo who can twist her fingers in an inhuman way.”

She grins. “Nailed it.”

“You told him you’re a freak?” Delilah chimes in teasingly.

“Actually, she told our whole English class,” I say.

“Liv, you have got to stop using that as your fun fact.” Delilah groans.

“What else am I supposed to say?” Olivia asks.

“I don’t know, anything but that! And you definitely don’t have to show everyone either.”

During their banter, someone from the back of the room yells my name.

I turn my head and look over my shoulder at the rows behind me. It takes only a few seconds to spot Adrianna with her hand raised above her head, waving to get my attention. Once our eyes lock, she gestures for me to come sit with her and her friends a number of rows back.

Internally groaning, I flash her a meek smile and give a small wave before turning back around in my chair, clearly rejecting her offer.

“—tell everyone you have a third nipple.” I just catch the end of Delilah’s sentence.

“You what?” I nearly choke.

“Delilah!” Olivia scolds her friend, turning a deep shade of red. Her head quickly snaps in my direction. “I do not have a third nipple, by the way,” she states.

“But, see, it really grabs someone’s attention,” Delilah teases.

“Just—ugh!” Olivia covers her face, slumping back in her chair, causing both Delilah and me to chuckle.

Before I can comfort Olivia, I feel someone looming behind me, and twist in my seat to see Rat Boy—Quinton—scowling at me.

“You’re in my seat,” he says coldly.

I make a show of scanning the desktop, and even the back of the chair. “I don’t see your name on it.”

His jaw ticks and his beady little eyes stare a hole right through me. Sizing me up, he realizes I’d knock him on his ass in point two seconds, and so his eyes shift to Olivia, waiting for her to say something.

She shrugs before pointing out, “There’s an open seat next to Delilah.”

Displeased Olivia isn’t coming to his defense, he stomps past us to take the empty chair next to Delilah.

“Jeez, what’s up with me and sitting in people’s unassigned seats? This is college, not elementary school. Professors don’t give a rat’s ass about where you sit,” I mutter so only Olivia can hear me, trying to make a joke to clear the air.

I watch as her lips press together, suppressing a smile.

Our professor walks in and sets up the projector. We spend the next hour jotting down notes from the PowerPoint presentation.

“Man, I didn’t miss taking notes,” I complain, flexing my fingers as we finish the class, students gathering their belongings and filing out of the room to flee to their next class.

“It only gets worse from here,” Delilah says, shoving her binder into her backpack. “Oh, hey, Liv, I may be a few minutes late meeting you at the car. I have to meet Josie after class to grab a few things from her, and you know how she likes to yap.”

“No problem, I have some reading to do for English class. It’s hot out there so I’ll just wait for you in the library. Text me when you’re finished and I’ll meet you,” Olivia says.

“Shit, I forgot about that,” I mumble, referring to the assigned reading for our English class.

I stand from my chair and grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder and waiting for Olivia to finish packing up her things. While waiting I feel someone sneak up behind me, a hand landing on my shoulder as a body presses up against my side.

“You’re going to the party tonight, right, Bronx?” Adrianna purrs in my ear, her hand on my shoulder sliding down my back and slipping into the back pocket of my jeans.

I squirm, awkwardly clearing my throat. I feel uncomfortable with Adrianna being this assertive, and I can sense the rising tension radiating off Olivia.

“Uh, yeah, I might swing by for a bit,” I reply, recoiling.

Adrianna grins triumphantly. “Perfect, I’ll see you there,” she says before standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on the corner of my mouth, taking me by surprise.

Anger and embarrassment bubble inside my chest as I watch her walk away, clearly pleased with herself, like an animal that’s just marked its territory.

“Awkward,” Delilah sings in a hushed tone as she, Olivia, and Rat Boy stand and shrug on their backpacks.

Olivia flashes her friend a warning look before we all file out of the room. We walk down the hall of the science building, and my mind goes haywire trying to think of something to say to clear the obvious tension still lingering.

Do I apologize?

But what do I apologize for? I did nothing wrong.

Do I not say anything at all?

“See you guys later,” Delilah says as we descend the stairs to the first floor, Rat Boy following her down the hallway toward more classrooms as Olivia and I head for the exit. I make sure to grab the door for her.

“Thank you,” she says, and we walk in silence, some awkward tension still lingering.

“You sure you don’t want to come tonight?” I ask, stuffing my hands in the front pockets of my jeans.

She shakes her head. “No, thanks.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow in class?” I confirm, and detect the uncharacteristic sound of insecurity in my voice.

She gives me a soft smile, any lingering tension dissipating. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to read those poems.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The wall vibrates against my back as I post up against it, the bass rattling the entire house. I press a red Solo cup to my lips, taking a swig of the cheap, lukewarm beer inside. I’m surrounded by some of my teammates, talk of our first game this weekend fading in and out over the music.

Ciara sashays up to our group, her shoulder-length blond hair tousled from being out on the dance floor all night.

She wedges herself between Taylor and me, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.

Taylor wraps his arm around her waist as he chats with Brennen, who’s sitting to his left.

It’s been rumored for the past week that Taylor and Ciara have been hooking up. Nothing serious, though.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” I ask Ciara, bending at the waist to chat with her more privately.

She shrugs. “She’s not my girlfriend anymore. We broke up just before the end of last semester.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry,” I apologize, not realizing they’d broken things off.

She waves her hand dismissively, unaffected. “Don’t be. I think you and I both know she wasn’t quite up to my speed.” She smirks.

Ciara is another one of my frequent repeats, after Adrianna.

We started casually hooking up freshman year and slowed down last year when she started having a couple of exclusive relationships.

She had a boyfriend for a handful of weeks and then she was with her girlfriend for about three months.

During that time I kept my distance, respecting her relationships, but when Ciara approached me at a party last semester with her girlfriend, asking me if I wanted to have some fun with the both of them, I couldn’t say no.

We ended up going back to Ciara’s place and I could tell Molly, her girlfriend at the time, wasn’t too into it.

I kept asking her if she wanted to continue and she would always say yes, wanting to please Ciara.

But I could sense she was uncomfortable, that this wasn’t something she was used to, sharing Ciara and being intimate with a male.

So I kept my distance and my hands to myself unless asked, letting her come to me and give verbal consent frequently during that night we all shared.

I guess Ciara became too much for Molly to handle. Or Ciara felt Molly couldn’t keep up with her. Ciara is wild as hell, and I feel a little guilty for their split, but I know it’s going to take someone really special to keep Ciara’s interest.

Ciara peers up at me with hooded eyes, and I can tell that thoughts of that night are dancing around in her mind.

She bites her lip, her eyes leaving mine to do a quick sweep of the house.

When her eyes come back to me there’s a naughty glint behind them, especially when that wickedly talented tongue of hers slowly pokes out to moisten her plump pink bottom lip.

Without a word, Ciara stands from the couch, Taylor’s arm falling from her waist as she does, but he doesn’t seem to mind, focused on his conversation with Brennen.

Her body slightly brushes against mine, and she leans in to brush her lips against my ear.

“Meet me in the upstairs bathroom,” she whispers before disappearing into the crowd for a moment until I spot her form reemerge, walking up the staircase.

Not wanting to draw any attention, I wait a few minutes before downing the rest of my beer, dropping the cup on the floor, and casually walking over to the stairs.

I make my way to the second floor and head for the bathroom at the end of the hall.

After I knock twice, it doesn’t take Ciara long to open the door and eagerly pull me inside by the collar of my shirt, the two of us going at each other.

Ciara stands as I zip up my jeans, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She walks over to the mirror, combing her hair with her fingers before reapplying some lip gloss.

“Always a pleasure seeing you, Bronx,” she says flirtatiously, flashing me a smile over her shoulder. “Hope to see more of you this semester.”

“Likewise.” I chuckle, bidding her goodbye as she slips out of the bathroom.

I walk up to the mirror myself, straightening out my clothes and splashing some water on my flushed face. Once I look put together enough and some time has passed since Ciara exited, I slip out of the bathroom.

As soon as I do, I spot Adrianna leaning against the opposite wall, looking absolutely livid. Her green eyes are hard and dark as she scowls, her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

“Fuck,” I mutter lowly, already knowing I’m going to receive a mouthful.

“Ciara, Bronx, really?” she says, voice dripping in disgust.

“Yep,” I simply reply, breezing past her to head for the stairs.

Her hand grips my bicep. “Are you serious? You really just fucked Ciara in the bathroom?”

“I didn’t see you judging or complaining when it was you the other night,” I state, and her jaw nearly drops to the floor.

“You’re a fucking asshole,” she seethes.

“Why? We’re not together!” I remind her, growing angry myself. “You don’t own me, Adrianna. I’ve made that clear multiple times.”

Her lips purse together and rage swirls in those wickedly green eyes. “You’re right,” she says, voice eerily calm despite her demeanor. “You’re allowed to fuck whoever you want, and I’m allowed to fuck whoever I want.”

Just as the words leave her lips, Colton from the soccer team walks past us, and Adrianna grabs him by the back of his shirt. He spins around and Adrianna pounces, shoving her tongue down his throat.

Surprised at first, Colton takes a second to respond, but nonetheless grabs Adrianna by the hips, willingly making out with her in the middle of the hallway.

Adrianna makes a show of running her hands over his body, tugging at his hair.

She makes sure to open her eyes to look at me, to gauge my reaction as she mauls Colton right in front of me.

I know she’s expecting a rise out of me, or hell, even some sort of response or emotion to cross my face, but I can’t find it in myself to feel anything. To care at all.

Realizing she’s not going to get anything from me, she angrily shoves Colton away from her and storms down the stairs, leaving Colton confused as hell.