Slammed #4 (The Slammed Romance Series - Book #4) (5 page)

I kept up with all of my classes and even started to
take on a few other responsibilities on the newspaper, not just doing my own
assignments but also taking some of the proofreading load off of the editors,
reading through articles that came in and checking them for spelling and
grammar before handing them off to the editors.

“I keep finding new reasons to thank Professor Grant
for signing you on,” Lisa told me once, shaking her head at how much my
additions had helped the whole team. I hadn’t been there long enough to start
pitching my own article ideas; I was still on assignments handed out by the
editorial staff—things that they had no one in particular to cover—but I was
gaining trust and I had gotten hints that in the spring semester I would start
being able to put forth my own ideas in the weekly meeting.

I hadn’t even tried to date anyone at all in the
time since the disaster with Derick. I told myself that I was swearing off of
boys for good and that I’d just wait until I graduated and find some actual men
to involve myself with once I could get started on my career. I knew it
wouldn’t last, but for the time being, it was good enough for me. I had time to
hang out with Jess, and I started to become better friends with some of the
staff of the newspaper; I was satisfied with that and didn’t even want to try
for more.

I went into Lisa’s office after classes, ready to be
told that I was going to be covering something other than the basketball team;
her email to me had hinted that I was changing up duties. “Hey, here I am,” I
said, opening the door to the office after knocking. “What’s the
sitch
, Chief?”

Lisa laughed. “Take a seat. Let me just finish this
email and I’ll give you the lowdown.” I sat down and took my notebook out of my
bag, watching as Lisa tapped out the last few sentences in an email in a rapid
staccato.
“So,
Evie
.
As I’m
sure you’re aware, we’re coming up on the championship game for the football
team.”

My heart started to beat faster in my chest.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” I said, more because I
knew she was expecting me to say something.

In the back of my mind I had been counting down the
days—I knew that everyone on campus was buzzing with excitement over it. Some
of the students had booked their plane tickets and the boosters were trying to
get as many people to the game as possible. I knew that there were some people
planning a road trip out to California where the stadium
was
at.
I had told myself over and over again that I didn’t care, that
whatever happened to the football team was barely my business, but I had been
hoping against hope that I would be too busy on other assignments when the game
came up.

“Well, Coach
Bullden
specifically requested that we send you to cover the game,” Lisa said, smiling
broadly at me.

“That’s—Wow. I wouldn’t have expected that.” I felt
my cheeks burning. It shouldn’t have surprised me, with the praise the coach
had lavished on me for my previous coverage of the team.

“I was pretty surprised too. You must have really
impressed him.” I nodded. Lisa watched me intently for a moment, tapping idly
on the top of her desk. “Look, everyone on campus knows
there’s
been… issues
with you and Zack. If you can’t handle this, let me know
and I’ll tell
Bullden
that you’re covering something
else and we can’t spare you.”

It was tempting. If I could just back out of the
situation completely—if I could avoid having to go to California and face the
possibility of having to confront Zack again, it would be a major relief. But I
thought about the fact that
Bullden
had requested me
specifically. And the fact that I knew I had done well in my previous articles
about the team and its games. Besides, it wasn’t likely that I’d have to
interview Zack—he might not even be at the game at all. I had determinedly not
kept up with the drama surrounding his suspension; I had banned all mention of
him from Jess.

“Is Zack going to be playing, then?” I asked, trying
to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely in the game. Didn’t you
hear? The investigation found out that the picture they turned in was from
like, two years ago or something. They had nothing against Zack that was more
recent.” The words hit me like a ton of bricks; I felt awful. I hadn’t even
listened to him when he’d tried to explain.

“That’s…good to know,” I said, smiling nervously.
“I’ll let you know if I can do it with my classes.” I didn’t want to even hint
at the possibility that Zack’s being present at the game would deter me. Even
if Lisa knew—she had mentioned it directly, after all—that I had personal
issues with the star QB, I didn’t want to make that the reason that I couldn’t
go.

“Just as long as you give me a couple of days to
find a replacement,” Lisa said, nodding.

I stood up and left Lisa’s office, my mind a blur
with different thoughts. Could I really hold it against Zack that two years ago
he’d had girls all over him? How could I know whether he’d changed? I sat down
on one of the benches in the Student Union, watching people pass through on
their way to classes or going to club meetings. I chewed on my bottom lip,
putting my notebook back into my bag and trying not to look like I was a
nervous wreck. It wasn’t that the idea of seeing Zack in person was so
terrible, but knowing that I had misjudged him made me feel horrible.

But had I really? Just because they didn’t have
anything on Zack—no evidence that he was still partying or involved in potentially
illegal activities—didn’t mean he wasn’t still the party-
rager
he had been. Could I really trust that he had changed?

I thought about the fact that he had tracked me down
on my horrible date with Derick specifically to try and explain to me what the
real situation was. I hadn’t even heard him out; I was already angry—and the
way he’d gone about trying to convince me to listen to him was definitely a bad
idea. But ever since then, he had left me alone—and I had avoided him. I had
judged him based on the thought that the picture had been recent, and I had
been wrong. He had probably already moved on. I didn’t know how I felt about
that possibility; in spite of the fact that I’d been avoiding him, and the fact
that I had thought I was over him, deep down I knew that there was still
something unresolved between us. It wasn’t fair of me that I’d taken my initial
anger at him and blown it all out of proportion, and didn’t even give him a
chance to explain his side. And I may have lost him for good because of that.

I spent the rest of the day with my mind on the game
and on Zack. I couldn’t really blame him if he had given up on me. It seemed
like almost from the beginning of the time we’d reunited, things had been
stacked against us—though I was mature enough to admit that part of that was my
fault. I was afraid of getting involved with him, afraid of how easily I could
fall head over heels for him. If he had given up on me, that would never be an
issue; and while it was a relief to think that Zack had probably found another
girl who was a little more able to deal with having a relationship with him, it
also made me miserable to think that I’d ruined my chances with him for good. I
only had a couple of days to think about taking the assignment. Lisa sent me an
email in the afternoon detailing what the newspaper wanted for the coverage;
since it was a huge game and a major opportunity, it was going to be featured
on the front page of the edition, with supplemental material in the sports
section. She wanted interviews with the team and backgrounds and profiles on
the different players. She also wanted full coverage of the game itself for the
main story. It was a lot of work; it would be great for anyone’s portfolio.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to let Lisa know,
and soon, but I had no idea how I was going to deal with the situation. I tried
to go through my normal routines, to pay attention in my classes, but it was no
use. Until I figured everything out, I was just going to continue being
hopelessly distracted.

CHAPTER
FIVE

The next day, I was sitting in the dorm, waiting for
it to be time to get to my next class of the day—I’d had a gap between lunch
and class, and of course the only way I could think to fill it was with
thinking about Zack and the assignment to cover the national championship. I
had told Jess that I would do it and she had given me the instructions I needed
to get to the game; I would be staying at the same hotel as the team and I
could bring someone with me. I also had prime seats in the enormous stadium.

Jess came into the room, practically bouncing. “So,”
she said, throwing herself down onto the couch next to me, “I hear you’ve got
the prime seats to the championship game.”

I rolled my eyes. “They want me to go and cover it.
Apparently
Bullden
specifically requested me. I’m
supposed to interview everyone, too.”

“So who are you taking with you? Got a date? That
would be a primo way to convince a guy to help you dirty up a hotel room.”

I groaned, throwing my head back and shifting
uncomfortably on the couch.

“I could just watch the game on TV and interview
everyone once they get back,” I said, staring up at the ceiling.

Jess laughed. “Yeah, sure you can—and you could also
hit up one of the sororities and join them. Come on,
Evie
.
Just because you’ve got issues with Zack or whatever doesn’t mean you shouldn’t
have a good time. Hell, take me.”

I sighed. “I really just…” I scrubbed at my face.
“So I found out—and please don’t laugh at the fact that it’s old news—but I
figured out that I’d sort of…misjudged Zack.”

Jess raised an eyebrow. “Oh, we can talk about that
situation now?”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I found out about it and
now I feel like shit because I didn’t even give him a chance to explain what
the picture was, and I’m pretty sure he’s probably already moved on. I don’t
want to have to see him.”

“Well, I mean, you’re going to have to move beyond
that eventually, right? So just take advantage of the fact that the school is
basically paying you to visit California and watch a really awesome football
game.”

“If I let you come with me, you’re not going to
like…try and make me go to some crazy party after, right? I mean, I just want
to do what I came there or and come back.”

“Okay—how about a compromise?
I won’t drag you to a party, but if I meet a guy there and want to bring him
back to the hotel, or even if you do, the other one of us will hang out at the
pool or wherever to give the other some privacy.”

“Are you seriously thinking of snagging a guy at the
championship game?”

Jess shrugged with a little grin.

“Adrenaline pumping, excitement; win or lose, it’s
pretty much a sure thing, right?”

I tried not to groan again. Sometimes I really did
wonder if Jess considered going to college to be little more than an excuse to
get with as many guys as she possibly could. It wasn’t fair of me—I knew she
was making good grades—but sometimes it seemed like she spent more time making
plans to ensnare a hot guy for a night or two than she did on her classes.

“Okay,” I said finally, thinking to myself that it
was likely I would easily regret this. “Okay, fine. I will go to the game, and
you can go with me. And if either of us ends up actually hooking up with
somebody, we will work out how to give each other privacy. Let me borrow your
ID and I’ll get the information the office needs to issue our tickets.” I shook
my head. The last thing I had wanted to do was actually go to the game; but if
I had to go, I thought to myself that at least it would be interesting, with
Jess there with me.

CHAPTER
SIX

I had thought that our stadium was impressive; when
Jess and I got out of the bus carrying students to the bowl game, I was shocked
at the hugeness of it. The parking lot was crawling with people—tents and
campers and RVs were scattered across the place, with team colors flying on every
conceivable corner, and the smell of dozens of different kinds of food filling
the air. In spite of the fact that I’d been dreading going to the game and
having to watch Zack, I found myself getting swept up by the excitement that
everyone else was contributing
to
. Everyone was
amped—cheering as they made their way towards the stadium, calling out to the
opposing team’s fans, in a mood for a really good game. I had to wonder just
how well Zack would perform; if he was going to crack under pressure, it would
be a game like this where he was going to be televised across the country,
where the stakes were the highest—a rare, championship game.

Jess and I split away from the group at the gate.
The tickets I had as a reporter for the campus newspaper were much better than
the
general
; it was one of the perks of the job—after
all, I needed a good view of the game to report on it. As we moved through the
crowds flooding through the stadium, Jess was looking around—for the best food
options, for people heading to our section that might be interesting, for the
possibility of getting a cheap beer where she wouldn’t be carded. I was focused
entirely on the game. How would Zack perform? Would we win? I was trying to
think of just how I would cover it for the article, as well. After all, the
game itself was a big draw—but what story about the game would I tell? It was
one of the exercises Professor Grant had us do: pick an angle on an event and
try to come up with the way that you would go about writing an article from
that perspective.