King of Campus (26 page)

Unashamed, I shrug my shoulders.  “I’m hungry.”

“Clearly.”  He shakes his head before taking a big bite and swallowing it.  “And here I thought I’d have leftovers to take home for breakfast.”

“Oh, hell no.  If there are leftovers, I’m calling dibs,” I shoot back quickly.

“Maybe we should just order another pizza to go.”

I give him a little wink before taking another huge bite.  “Make it two.”

He laughs before we both go back to polishing off the extra-large pizza he ordered.  When I’m finally stuffed, I finish off my water before sitting back.  There’s no denying that my belly hurts just a bit.  I can’t believe I scarfed down three slices of pizza and I did it all in front of Roan.  Most girls probably can’t eat anything more than a few salad leaves and a carrot stick and here I go and wolf down three huge pieces in the blink of an eye.

But you know what?

I don’t care.  I like to eat.  As long as I keep myself healthy and in shape, it doesn’t matter.  I kind of wonder if seeing me stuff my face is a total turn off for him.  Curiosity gets the better of me before I finally start fishing around for an answer.  “I bet when you take girls out, they barely eat anything at all.”

Almost quizzically his brows draw together before he finally shrugs his shoulders.  “I wouldn’t know how much a girl typically eats.  I’ve never been out with one before.”

My mouth falls open in surprise before I finally clarify, “You’ve never been out on a
date
?”

He shakes his head.  “Nope.”

Clearly I need to dig a little deeper here.  “Why not?”

Glancing away, he finally says somewhat evasively, “Just haven’t.”  Then his eyes arrow back to mine before he clears his throat.  “I’ve never been interested in having a relationship and it wasn’t necessary.”

Necessary?

What the heck does-

Oh.  I see...

He doesn’t need to take a girl out and treat them nice to get what he wants at the end of the night.  Women fall all over themselves to have sex with him.

Sitting back in my seat, I honestly don’t know how I feel about that.

When I remain silent, Roan clears his throat looking just a bit uncomfortable. Well… good, he should feel like shit for acknowledging something like that.  “You’re the first girl I’ve taken out.  This.  Right here.”

And just like that, the shield of ice that had dropped over me at his words begins to thaw.  “Oh.”

Our eyes cling for a long moment before he finally breaks the silence between us.  “How about I tell them to box up our pizzas and we head out.”

I smile, feeling sort of thankful we’ve dropped the conversation but at the same time, maybe wishing we had pursued it.  Roan has me feeling all kinds of conflicted.  And I hate it.  I’m not used to being messed up over a guy.

Not even Finn affected me this way.

“I’m, ah, going to use the bathroom before we leave.”  I scooch out of the booth before heading towards the back of the restaurant where the restrooms are located.  After I’m done, I run my fingers threw my hair and slick on some lipstick before heading back to the table.  Because my mind is so full of Roan and the feelings I’m having for him, I end up slamming right into a hard body.

Feeling very much like a dumbass, which is getting to be the norm around here, I mutter a quick apology. “Sorry about that.”  The guy who I bumped into grips my upper arms, holding me steady.  When my eyes finally lift, I gasp with surprise, “Finn!”

His lips lift marginally but it’s clear from the hard edged glint in his eyes that he’s not happy.  “Hi, Ivy.”

It occurs to me that he probably knows who I’m here having dinner with.  I’ve been so focused on Roan and… well… the pizza I was so busy inhaling, that I didn’t pay much attention to the people around us.

Apprehension ripples through me as I take a hasty step back, trying to slip out of his grasp.  “Well, I, ah, need to-”

He cuts in swiftly, “Get back to Roan?”

My lips sink.  His tone is just this side of shitty.  And in all honesty, he has no reason to be angry with me.  We’ve been out one time since I’ve been back.  We’re not together.  He doesn’t get to ask questions and expect answers or be pissed that I’m out to dinner with someone else.

Straightening my shoulders, I arch a brow before glancing rather pointedly down to where his fingers are still digging into my upper arms.  “Can you please let me go?”

A scowl moves across his face as his voice lowers.  “I can’t believe you’re out with him.  That guy is nothing more than a douchebag.”

His words have me gritting my teeth in anger.  “You know what, Finn, it’s not your concern who I spend time with.”

Instead of letting go, he hauls me closer.  “I thought you were going to give us another chance, Ivy.  We were good together.  Are you really going to throw everything we had away?”  He cocks his head towards the main room of the restaurant.  “For what? 
That
guy?”

My mouth almost tumbles open at his words.
I
threw away our relationship?  That’s rich!  “I think you’re the one who threw away our relationship instead of trying to make it work.”  I don’t mention all the pictures Lexie sent me, but I kind of want to.

He rolls his eyes before saying through gritted teeth, “We already talked about that.  I couldn’t hack a long distance relationship at that point.  I’m more mature now.”  His eyes sear mine in frustration.  “But apparently you’re more interested in being a part of King’s pussy posse than having an actual relationship.”

I gasp at the crude words he throws at me.  I’m just about to let loose on him, when I hear-

“Ivy, is everything okay?”

Both Finn and I turn simultaneously towards the end of the hall.  Roan stands about fifteen feet from where Finn is still holding me.  Instead of letting go, Finn’s fingers dig even deeper into my arms.  I can tell by the stiff set of his chin that he’s pissed off.

And probably itching for a fight.

I give Roan a small smile as I wrench myself away from Finn.  “Everything’s fine.”

Even though he’s talking to me, his heated eyes never stray from Finn.  “You ready to go?”

Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, my eyes slide back to Finn’s. His are blazing with both resentment and anger.  “Yes, I think we’re done here.”  I hope Finn realizes that I don’t just mean this conversation… I’m done with him as well.

When Finn doesn’t say anything more, I quickly move towards Roan who has somehow turned out to feel like a safe place in my life.  As soon as I reach his side, one arm immediately slides around me as he holds two boxes of pizza in the other.

We’re halfway to the door when he asks tersely, “Are you seeing him?”

I can’t help but glance up before answering, “No.  We went out a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t seen him since.”

His arm tightens around me before we push through the heavy glass doors.  “Good.”

I don’t say anything to that because I’m not exactly sure what it means.  And I’m not sure what I want it to mean either.

Or maybe I do… maybe I know
exactly
what I want it to mean.

Chapter Twenty

Roan King with his arm wrapped around a female… and he’s not leading her towards the bedroom?  WTF???  Is it possible that our favorite Barnett football player is actually falling for someone?  Speculation is running rampant.  KingOfCampus.com

Just as we’re about to reach Roan’s black SUV in the parking lot, his feet suddenly grind to a halt.  Surprised, I glance over at him before quickly searching the surrounding vicinity.  But there’s nothing.  Nothing that should have him stopping so abruptly.

And certainly nothing to put that strange look on his face.

Again I scan the area before finally realizing there are two older men walking towards us.  My guess is that they’re in their mid to late forties.  Both of their eyes are focused on Roan as they continue moving in our direction. Which doesn’t necessarily seem out of the ordinary.

People always seem to gravitate towards him.  They think just because he’s a well-known local athlete, they can stop and talk to him.  So I assume that maybe these two are fans like the elderly couple in the restaurant.  Or the guy from the smoothie shop.  But Roan’s entire body has tensed which is definitely odd.  I’ve never seen him be anything less than gracious and cordial when dealing with fans.

When the two men are about fifteen feet from us, I quietly murmur his name but it’s like he doesn’t even hear me.  Or if he does, he doesn’t bother acknowledging it.  Unfortunately, there’s no longer time for me to question what’s going on because a moment later, both men stop in front of us.

“Hey, Roan.  How’s everything going?”

“Good.”  His shoulders relax just a bit.  “Everything’s good.” As if suddenly remembering I’m there besides him, his eyes slide to mine before arrowing back to the guy standing directly in front of him. “We just grabbed something to eat at Peppino’s.”

“That’s where we’re headed.”  His eyes encompass the pair of us.  “Been dying for a pizza all week.”

A few seconds slowly slip by as the conversation stalls. Not sure what to do, I hoist a friendly smile before thrusting out my hand.  “Hi, I’m Ivy.” I’m trying to make sense of what’s going on here.  Because it’s definitely weird.

When the man with the inky black hair smiles at me, I realize he has to somehow be related to Roan.  They’re practically identical.  Except he’s older.  By a good twenty-some years.

“Daniel.”  He nods to the man at his side.  “And this is my partner, Linc.”

Even though no one has acknowledged it, I’m suddenly wondering if this man could be Roan’s father.  My mind cartwheels as I keep the smile firmly locked in place. Quickly I reach my hand out towards Linc.  “It’s really nice to meet both of you.”

“You, too.”  Linc smiles easily, his eyes looking just a bit mischievous.  “So you and Roan were having dinner together, huh?”

As soon as he says the words, heat fills my cheeks.  “Um… yeah…” not knowing what else to say, I hastily tack on, “we’re neighbors.”  But now my mouth is going and I can hear myself talking. Because I’m nervous, I start to babble.  “And partners for a class project.”  Both of their smiles stretch wider which leaves me feeling desperate.  “We’re just friends,” I suddenly blurt.  I seriously want to kick Roan for leaving me to twist in the proverbial wind over here.

“What class do you have together?”

Since Roan doesn’t seem like he’s going to be contributing anything further to the conversation, I answer, “Business ethics.”

“That sounds like an interesting class.”

“Extremely.”  Well… I might be overstating things a bit, but whatever.  I feel like I’m drowning over here.  And still Roan is just standing there silently.

Finally Daniel claps Roan on the shoulder.  “Well, I guess we should get going.  It was certainly nice running into you.  I was actually going to give you a call on the weekend.  We were hoping you might be able to make it over for dinner next Wednesday night.”

Since he’s barely said anything the entire time we’ve been standing here, I’m wondering if he’ll even respond.  Finally he says, “As long as it’s after six, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Again I’m hit with just how similar they look when Daniel smiles.  “Great.”

Linc’s eyes slide to mine before one side of his mouth quirks up.  Even though I’ve just met the man, I’m thinking a look like that means trouble…  “And you can bring your
friend
if you want.”  He gives me a little wink and I want to melt into the pavement of the parking lot we’re standing in.

What’s worse is that Roan says absolutely nothing in response.  Oh my god, now I
really
want the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

We all say goodbye before Daniel and Linc disappear around the corner towards Peppino’s Pizzeria.  Roan hits the key fob and the locks on his SUV automatically unlatch.  Silently he opens the backdoor of the truck, setting the two boxes of pizza on the seat as I climb into the front before slamming the door shut.

A few moments later, he slides in next to me.  Even though he starts up the truck, he doesn’t pull out of the crowded parking lot.  He just lets it run.  Because I’m not sure if I should say anything or not, I just sit there quietly besides him as he stares out the windshield.  I’m not usually a fidgety person, but I can’t help twisting my hands together waiting for him to finally say something.

I want him to make sense of what just happened back there.  I’ve never seen Roan shut down like that before.  It was weird.

Because the silence is stretched so tautly between us, it doesn’t take long for it to become oppressive.  And it’s never like that.  There have been times when the sexual tension simmering in the air feels so charged and heavy that I want to jump his bones.  There have also been times when I’ve wanted to slap him upside the head because of some inappropriate comment he’s made, but there has never been this kind of strangling tension sitting uncomfortably between us.

I hate it.

Part of me just wants to reach out and comfort him even though I have no idea why it’s necessary.  But I can’t deny the feelings are there, swirling and building within me.

I know something is weighing heavily on his mind.  I also realize it has everything to do with the two men we just ran into.  Before I can overthink it, I gently place my hand on his powerful thigh. He blinks a few times before glancing down at it.  Just when I start to wonder if I should pull it away, he covers my hand with his own.

“That was your dad, wasn’t it?”  My words are softly spoken because I’m not quite sure how he’s going to react.  I mean, it must be a big deal to him or he wouldn’t be acting like this.

He jerks his head at my words.  “Yeah.”  Inhaling a deep breath, he forces it out slowly.  “He’s gay.”

Unsurprised, I nod my head before admitting, “I figured.”

“Linc’s a really good dude,” he adds quickly, as if I might, for some reason, think differently.

“He seemed very nice.  They both did.”  Almost offhandedly I ask, “Your parents are divorced?”

“Um, yeah,” he shifts uncomfortably in the black leather seat, “when I was about fourteen, my dad dropped the bomb that he was gay.”  His eyes slide back to the windshield again before adding more quietly, “That he’d always been gay.  And that he was leaving because he couldn’t live a lie anymore.”

“That must have been really difficult.”  More like devastating.  Having your parents split up is hard enough without adding the extra layer of one of them being gay.

“Yeah.  It was.”

I’m not sure if I should ask any more questions.  Obviously this is a touchy subject for him.  “Are you two close?”

His eyes finally slide back to mine.  He searches them carefully before continuing, “We weren’t always.  It really sucked when he first told us.  I didn’t get it.”  He shakes his head as if to emphasize his words.  “
Like at all
.  The whole thing just pissed me off and I didn’t want to be around him for a long time.  Years.  It took me a while to accept that he was still the same guy he’d always been.  The one I’d worshipped while growing up.”  Inhaling a deep breath, he continues, “Once I was able to wrap my head around the fact that he was still the same guy, we were able to move past it.”

I can’t even begin to imagine what that was like for him.  An adolescent boy learning his father was gay... It couldn’t have been easy.

Not that I’ve cyberstalked Roan (okay, maybe a teeny tiny bit), but I have tooled around on the website dedicated to all things Roan King.  I don’t remember seeing anything about his parents or that his father was gay.  Which is kind of surprising, because it seems like everything else regarding his life is out there for the world to view, share, and comment upon.

The reason for that suddenly occurs to me.

“No one knows, do they?”

Once again his eyes cut to mine as the sun sets in front of us.  Even though I normally enjoy watching the sun dip beneath the horizon, I’m way too focused on Roan to appreciate it.  “No.  They don’t know anything about my father.”

Curiosity has me asking, “How have you managed to keep it a secret?  Your life seems to be an open book.  You can’t go anywhere without pictures turning up or information being splashed across a website.”

He jerks his big shoulders into a tight, almost defensive shrug.  “It was never a concerted effort on my part to hide it.  But by the same token, it just didn’t seem like anybody else’s business either.”  Yanking off his ball cap, he plows his fingers through his dark unruly hair before slapping it back in place.  “He’s gay and lives with his partner.  After he came out, he never tried covering it up or hiding who he was, but he isn’t the type of guy to ram it down your throat either.  It’s just one piece of who he is.  It doesn’t make up the totality of him.  Just like me being heterosexual isn’t the only thing that defines me.  I’m a lot of other things as well.”

He blows out another lengthy breath.  “I know exactly what the media will do if they get ahold of this.  It’ll become the focal point instead of my talent and skill.  I don’t need that shit going into the draft.  My dad is an architect and he’s a damn good one.  He owns his own firm.  Once it’s out there, every time someone makes the connection between us, that’s exactly what will be uppermost in their minds.  Not him being great at what he does, but that he’s gay.  If I were just a twenty-two year old guy looking to get a job in business after college, no one would give a crap about it.  But like you said before,” his eyes burn into mine, “I’m not anonymous.  And everything that’s put out there about me seems to get overblown.  Neither one of us needs or wants that.”

I can’t help but squeeze his thigh as he finally runs out of words.  “Not everything about your life needs to be made public.”  I think about the pictures of us that were posted and all the ugly comments.  Even though being gay is nothing to be ashamed of, I also realize that not everyone is accepting.  It’s no one else’s business if his father is gay.  And it should be a non-issue even if people do find out about it.

Nodding his head, he finally puts the truck into gear.  “We should probably get going.  I still have some studying to plow through tonight.”

“Okay.”

As he pulls out into traffic, I can’t help but stare at him.  Roan has a really strong profile.  Even though his ball cap is still in place, I see the vibrant turquoise color of his eyes as he focuses on the road.  His nose is straight, his lips full.  His face is all chiseled angles and planes.

My heart actually skips a beat as I sit there quietly studying him.

Just when I feel like I’ve got a firm grasp on who I think Roan is, something happens to totally change it.  And every time it shifts, I’m surprised to realize that I like him even more than I thought I did.

Chapter Twenty-One

The sexiest man at Barnett seems to be spending an awful lot of time with a tall willowy brunette.  And yes… she’s the very same girl who has been previously photographed with him.  Who the heck is this girl and how has she managed to capture his attention so completely???  Am I the only one who feels as if the world has completely fallen off its axis???  KingOfCampus.Com