University Park Series Box Set: Books 1-3 (17 page)

“I hear you talk a lot about your mom,
but I’ve never heard you mention anything about your dad.”

“Oh, yeah, um…” Raven rolled his
shoulders a few times and took a deep breath.

I sensed that I’d crossed the yellow
caution tape and needed to take several steps back. “I’m sorry. You don’t have
to answer that question.”

“It’s cool. You’ve shared your issues
with me, it’s only fair I do the same.” He stalled for a moment and then said,
“I’ve never talked about my dad because I don’t know who he is.”

“Oh.” My heart dropped to my stomach. I
wanted to tell him how horrible it must have been not to know his dad, but I
didn’t. “I’m so sorry.”

His gaze traveled to the table and he
picked at the edge of his napkin, shredding it in the process. He inhaled a
deep breath and then released it in a slow, steady stream. The emotion was
building like a sturdy brick wall, and I waited, as he struggled to tear
through it. I almost told him never mind, but he spoke again. “I’m the result
of a gang rape.”

I covered my mouth and I wanted to punch
myself in the face for asking. “Oh, Raven, I-I don’t know what to say.” My
insides twisted at the revelation and I couldn’t imagine growing up knowing
that.

“It’s okay.” He looked up momentarily.
“There’s nothing you can say that will change the fact.” His mouth twitched to
the side and his shoulders caved. He appeared a bit relieved, like sharing his
secret with me had removed some of the bricks in his way. “It’s was tough
growing up… knowing that my mom really didn’t want me. She thought about
aborting me,” he snickered, “even tried to, but I guess God had bigger plans
for me, because here I am.”

He held out his arms, and I wanted to
leap across the table and hug him tightly. Take away the hurt and pain etched
deep into his eyes. Let him know how wonderful and special he really was and to
ignore or refuse to accept anything different. Tears gushed from my eyes as I
placed my hand on top of his and squeezed his fingers.

“You’re right, Raven. God does have
bigger plans for you. And don’t you ever forget it.”

 “Don’t cry.” He reached across the
table and wiped away my tears. “Especially for me.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that… I feel your
pain. I really do. I know you’ve been through a lot and although I don’t know
if the rumors are true—”

“They are. It’s no secret. I’ve had a
drug problem, off and on, for a few years.”

I swallowed the thick lump in my throat.
“But you are so talented, Raven. Don’t throw it away for a good high or buzz.”

“Sometimes it’s easier said than done.”
He wadded up the napkin and tossed it aside. Was that how he felt about his
life? Like it was a piece of a paper that wasn’t worth anything? Did his mother
care about him or bother to show him any love?

“I’m sure it is.” I grabbed his other
hand. “Do you remember when we sang
Lean on Me
that day at my dorm?”

“Yeah, why?” He cocked his head to the
side.

“If you’re ever feeling that down…” I
paused, searching for the right words, “to the point where you feel you have to
resort to the unthinkable, I want you to call me. I’ll be there for you.”

“Lexi,” he said, as he shook his head,
“I don’t expect you to help me with my problems.”

“Look, Raven, I know we haven’t known
each other that long, but I won’t allow you to destroy your life when I know
there is something great and big planned for you.”

“Thanks, but the truth is— I don’t know
what I’m doing with my life. Sure, I have dreams of going to the pros, but
that’s what they are — dreams. I’m just taking everything day by day. If I make
it, great. If I don’t, it’s no big deal.” He relaxed against his seat
nonchalantly.

I gripped his hands tighter. “You will
make it to the pros. I know you will. You have a special talent and when you’re
on that field, it comes to life. So, if you need someone to help you battle
those demons, I’ll be there for you. I swear on my life, Raven Davenport, I
will be there for you.”

∑

“So what do you want to do next?” Raven
turned on the car as I fastened my seat belt.

My body knew what it wanted to do, but I
reminded myself to take things slow. “I don’t know. There are so many things I
haven’t done.”

Raven’s head turned quickly in my
direction. “I think you need to make a list.”

“A list?”

“Yeah, you know, like the top ten or
twenty things you want to do before you graduate.”

 I giggled. “You know, that sounds like
a great idea.”

“And you can already mark one of them
off.” He grinned.

I shot him a questioning gaze. “I can?”

“Yeah, you said you’ve never had a beer
and we already took care of that.”

“Oh yeah.” I smiled as I recalled that
day in the stadium suite. It was one of the best moments we’d shared. “I’ve
always wanted to sneak into some place while it was closed, so I guess I can
check that one off, too.” I wiggled in my seat, trying to contain my
excitement. This was beginning to sound like a fun challenge. Especially, since
it was with Raven.

“See, you already have two down.” He put
the car in reverse. “I know one more you can check off tonight.” He stretched
his arm across the seat, resting it behind me. My checks burned as his stare
turned knowing.

I know several I could mark off by
midnight if you’d let me.

“Really? What’s that?”

“A party.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to
hide the huge smile dying to escape from them. “Let’s go.”

Raven headed toward the university and
turned on a street a few blocks from my dorm. He parked on the grass near the
front of the house after one of his fraternity brothers directed him to a spot
saved especially for him. I guess being the star quarterback had its perks.

“Are you sure I’m okay dressed like
this?” I looked down at his jersey I still had on from the game.

“You bet you are. In fact, no one will
mess with you, because they’ll know you belong to me.”

My hand stopped on the door handle.
“Belong?” Even though the idea of being with Raven thrilled me, I wasn’t so
sure that I wanted to belong to anyone. Not yet.

 “I’m sorry.” An apologetic look
softened his eyes. “That came out wrong. I guess what I was trying to say was,
guys will know you are with me and won’t try to hit on you.”

I pushed the car door open, relieved at
his explanation. “Okay, I think I can handle that.”

Music blared from the house, reminding
me of a movie Delaney and I watched a while back. Empty beer bottles and red
plastic cups cluttered the yard and it was only nine o’ clock. I couldn’t
imagine what the place would look like by midnight. Several people hung around
the porch, talking and drinking. Some were dancing and it was hard not to join
in with the beat of the music. I took a deep breath and climbed the steps. If this
party was anything like the one in the movie, either I was going to love it, or
I would be ready to get the hell out within the first ten minutes.

 “Relax. Just stay next to me and you’ll
be safe.” Raven grabbed my hand and I clasped my fingers tightly around his as
we walked inside. We entered the living area and several people did a double
take.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Raven greeted a
couple of guys standing by the pool table.

I looked around, wondering if Delaney
was there with Shelby or anyone else. “Whose place is this?”

“One of the guys on the team lives here
with some of his fraternity brothers,” Raven answered as he shook hands with a
few more guys.

 “It’s a nice house.” I noted the dark
mahogany staircase and bookshelves in the craftsman style home. The floor
squeaked as we walked through the great room and it reminded me of Collin’s
parents’ house. I sighed and fought to push those memories out of my head.

“Yeah, but after tonight, it’ll look
like shit,” Raven said as he continued to guide us through the house.

 “Lexi!” Delaney scurried toward me and
I was a bit relieved that she was there. “You made it.”

“Yep, I’m here.” I shot a quick glance
toward Raven and he smiled.

“I can’t believe it!” She flung her arms
around me and a strong whiff of liquor hit me. “We’re going to party all night
long,” she hollered in my ear and I quickly jerked my head away to avoid
hearing loss.

 “Damn, did you down a whole bottle or
what?” I hugged her quickly before pushing her away.

“Uh, no.” She rolled her eyes. “Just
took a few shots. C’mon. You have to try this.”

Grasping my hand, she pulled me away
from Raven’s side. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m going to see who’s here and then
I’ll come find you. Flip your phone to vibrate in case I can’t find you,” Raven
said as he headed off in the opposite direction.

I reached in my back pocket for my cell
phone and switched it to vibrate as Delaney dragged me into the kitchen.

Several people gathered around the
center island as they chanted, “Abby… Go, Abby.” I stood on the tips of my
toes, trying to get a better look, but I couldn’t see over the hordes of people
surrounding her. Delaney squeezed through the people, pulling me along behind
her. My stare immediately drew to the long, slender legs sitting on a stool.
Legs that belonged to one of the Silicone Triplets.

Great.

The brunette’s long fingernails curved
around a small glass that she held up to her mouth. She lowered the glass for a
quick second, as though hesitant to take the shot, and caught my gaze. A snarky
grin spread across her lips and she rolled her eyes at me. Abby tilted her head
back and downed the reddish-brown liquid in one gulp. Everyone clapped and
screamed as she held up her hands in victory.

“Shit! That was hot.” She fanned her
mouth as she placed the glass on the counter. “Give me another one.”

“You have to do one.” Delaney pushed me
toward the bar.

“What?” I tried not to shove the guy
standing in front of me but plowed right into him as she yanked me forward.
“Sorry,” I apologized as I pushed past him. “Laney, I don’t know if that’s a
good idea. Maybe I should start slow. Like with a beer.”

“Don’t be a puss.” She wiggled us
through the people until we had front row access. “I’ll do one with you.”
Delaney danced to the beat of the music as she kept a watchful eye on Abby.

“Go right ahead.” Abby stepped aside as
she gave both of us a once over. Delaney huffed and waved her off with a
dismissive hand.

“Delaney!” someone called out. We
turned, as Shelby danced her way toward us.

“I wanna do one,” she yelled in a
singsong voice. Pushing through the crowd, she made her way to the island. When
she saw me, she gave me a big smile and threw her arms around. “Hey, um, don’t
tell me…Lexi.” A mixture of beer and cinnamon fanned over my face and I had to
hold my breath so I wouldn’t puke all over her.

“Hey, Shelby,” I said with a restrained
voice. Between the pre-party back at the stadium and the house party, I was
certain they had drank their share of whatever they came across.

A short, thin guy wearing a white
T-shirt with a Kappa Sig logo on the pocket manned several bottles of liquor.
He turned over three glasses and filled each one of them. “Bottoms up, girls.”

“Can I drink it slowly?” I pulled the
glass toward me, unsure if I really wanted to drink it.

He laughed. “I don’t think you want to
drink this stuff slowly. Unless you enjoy your tongue burning like it’s on
fire.”

Delaney tossed her long, dark curls over
her shoulder. “Just swallow it all at once and you’ll be fine. I promise.”

I eyed her, not believing one word she
said. But I was there to have a good time. Straightening, I picked up the glass
and brought it to my lips. A hint of cinnamon layered with a strong infusion of
alcohol infiltrated my nose. When the crowd around us started clapping and
egging us to take the shots, I forgot all about how it would feel once it hit
my tongue.

“Wait! Wait!” Shelby yelled. “On the
count of three, okay?”

Delaney and I nodded. The crowd started
the countdown. “One. Two. Three!”

I titled my head back as I dumped the
ounce of liquor in my mouth. A burning sensation scorched my tongue as the warm
liquid slid down my throat. “Ugh! What the hell was that?”

“A Fireball. Haven’t you tried one
before?” the bartender asked, giving me a weird look.

All eyes navigated toward me and I
shrugged.

“She just transferred here from St.
Mary’s. Ya know, the Catholic university down in San Antonio,” Delaney told the
group of people gawking at me.

“Yeah, I was studying to be a nun, but
it didn’t work out so well,” I quickly blurted, not wanting to look like a
prude.

“Oh.” The group all nodded and I wanted
to laugh at how pathetic my excuse sounded.

“Do you want to do another one?” The
bartender held up the bottle in his hand.

“No, that’s okay.” I retreated. “I
better start slow.”

“One more! One more!” the crowd yelled,
but I ignored them, determined to do things on my own accord.

“C’mon, Lexi!” Delaney called, but I
continued pushing through the crowd.

“Don’t back out now,” Shelby added.
“This party is just gettin’ started.”

I held my hand up in the air and waved
bye to them. Shoving past a few people, I finally broke free, but not without
stumbling.

“Whoa. You alright?” Raven reached
forward and caught me before my face met the floor.

“Yeah, I just—um.” The words died in my
throat as he pulled me close to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around my
waist and I tensed. I silently took in a deep breath and relaxed against his
strong, muscular chest.

I could definitely get use to this.

“What’s Shelby complaining about now?”
Raven’s scent swept over me and my knees weakened once more. I stared deeply
into his eyes and was instantly pulled in to his trap. My mind drifted as I
became infatuated with the curve of his full lips, and I imagined them kissing
me until I couldn’t breathe.

Raven tilted his head from side to the
side, breaking my hypnosis. “How many shots did you do?”

“Just one.” I smiled. “Now I can check
that off my list.”

“Good. But what did you take?”

“A Fireball.” I straightened, proud that
I had done it.

He gave a slight nod of approval. “I’m
glad you only did one. That shit’s like sixty-six proof, it’ll knock you on
your ass.”

“Is it stronger than tequila?” I placed
my hand on his chest and it took all my strength not to rub the hard muscles
under my fingers.

“Depends on the tequila. Cheap tequila
isn’t as strong, but a good bottle is about eighty proof.” Raven sounded like
he was a pro when it came to liquor and I couldn’t help but wonder what else he
specialized in when it came to his reputation.

“I guess a Fireball was a good choice to
start with.”

“We’ll see.” He had a sheepish grin on
his face. “Just wait awhile before you do another one, okay?”

I nodded and relaxed even more. The
liquor was taking effect quickly and I liked how it brought out a different,
flirtatious and daring side of me.

“Hey, have you seen Shelby?” A guy with
short, blond hair placed a hand on Raven’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he said, as he pointed toward
the kitchen, “she’s over there doing shots.”

“Aw, hell.” The guy shook his head and
his eyes narrowed.

“Hey, Josh.” Raven grabbed his arm
before he took off. “I’d like for you to meet Lexi.”

Josh stopped and turned toward me.
“Lexi? The tutor?”

“Yes, the tutor.” I shook his hand and a
little happiness filtered through me, knowing that Raven had talked about me to
his friends.

“Nice to meet you, Lexi. I’m Josh
Marshall.”

Raven wrapped an arm around his
shoulder. “This guy here is not only my teammate, but also my best friend.”

“And don’t forget roommate.”

“Oh, yeah. That, too.”

“Let’s go dance!” Delaney crashed into
us, flailing her arms in the air, and shaking her body wildly.

“Damn, girl. Take it easy on the shots.
We’re going to be carrying you out of here if you don’t stop,” Josh said.

Delaney threw her head back as a laugh
bellowed from her. “I can hang with you guys. Trust me.” Her eyes drooped. I’d
never seen Delaney act so carefree.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Josh waved her
off. “Where’s Shelby?”

“Right here.” Shelby shimmied up next to
him, rubbing him up and down like he was a pole she was ready to swing on.

“And how many have you done?”

Shelby hiccupped and then giggled.
“Enough to make this one wild night.” She winked at him. He pulled her into his
arms and kissed her deeply, as if they were alone.