She sips on her tea, totally chill. “Okay, and you want me to, what?”
“I heard you run a group for women?” I swirl the ice cubes around in my glass, wondering if I overstepped my bounds.
When I look up, she’s staring at me intently. “Uh-huh. It’s for victims of sexual abuse.”
“Would it include women who’ve been roofied? I’m either too open or she reads people well because her eyes widen.
“Were you?”
“Kind of.” I gulp down my tea, hiding behind my glass.
“Tell me.” Setting my drink down, she leans over, and takes my hands in hers.
I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose, forcing away the headache that threatens every time I think of that horrible night. “The worst thing is the loss of memory. No matter how I try, it’s just gone.”
She nods, eyes on my face, not blinking. “I’ve heard others say the same thing. You should come to our meetings. It can help you manage your feelings. Did you see a therapist?”
“No. I wasn’t raped.” I’m not a victim.
She leans back and stares at the fluffy clouds in the sky for a while. Then, she sighs. “Sexual assault isn’t only about rape, hun. If a man touches you inappropriately or tries to force you to have sex, it’s going to affect you.”
I nod enthusiastically. “Exactly why I want to do my report on it.”
“You can come to my group. If you let my members stay anonymous, I’m sure you’ll have some willing to tell their story… if you share yours.”
That’s a hell of an if.
After we chat politely for a while, her nanny comes out with a sleepy-eyed toddler, arms outstretched.
“I should go.” I stand while she writes down a time, campus building, and room number.
“We meet twice a week. Come tonight, if you can.” She gives me a quick hug and takes the little one into her arms.
“Thank you, thank you so much.” I give her a quick hug then strolls to my waiting Uber at the curb.
She turns to face me, “Just be careful, okay?” Mel bounces the tyke on her hip until a grin sneaks onto the baby-face.
Waving goodbye, I have my driver drop me off at the police station where I ask to speak to the officer in charge of my case.
They take me into a room full of desks where a woman stands, smiles, and shakes my hand. “Ms. McKenzie. What can I do for you?”
I find out Officer Frank handles any and all female cases. Internally, I use air tics and shoulder angel is as affronted as I am. It sounds way too close to mental cases.
We talk for a while but my first impression was wrong. Donna Frank is pretty cool. I explain what Knight Walker did, what my adviser said, and why I have to change my topic.
“I only have a few days to put together my new proposal. I want to do it on girls who have been roofied on campus.”
Her eyes widen. “I can’t give you any na-”
I wave away her misunderstanding. “No names. I need statistics. Can you give me those?”
“Sure.” Let’s go back to my desk.” The fortyish woman logs in, swings her screen around, then puts some numbers into a search screen. What scrolls out shocks me. “Oh my God. That many? What percentage?”
“FSCU is a little above the national average.” She points to a graph, going up on the right-hand side. “Drugging coeds is on the increase.”
“Wait, so if I have a party and invite fifteen of my girlfriends, one has been roofied?”
She smiles sadly. “Kira, you invite none and you would still have one.”
I shake my head vehemently. “But I don’t count. I wasn’t, you know, assaulted.”
Her mouth grows tight and she tilts her head, similar to the look Melanie gave me earlier. I guess I’m missing some point but have no idea what it is.
I ponder while she takes a screen print of all her data and emails it to me.
“I can’t thank you enough.”
I shake her hand, the she smiles. “Anytime. And good luck.”
With all this, and a couple interviews from people in Mel’s group, I should have the start of a good story.
Chapter 18
Ryan
“She was loud.” Quest jogs alongside me as I make my way toward the fieldhouse.
“Shut it.”
“Was she good?”
“None of your business.” I grin. “Damn good.”
“What about you? I heard you were seeing a high school sweetheart.”
He grins about as wide as I’m grinning. “Maybe.”
“Want to tell me about her?”
“Fuck no.”
We slap each other on the back and it’s back to work. On the field, the assistant coach, more surly than usual, gets in my face.
“Two laps, top speed, or do it again.”
I nod and take off while he takes out a stopwatch. “
Damn. The thing about running is there’s only you, your thoughts, and the finish line. Any lapse, you lose a fraction of a second, and your time is off.
I adjust my gait, my breath, and pour on the steam until I’m fucking running like I never have before. When I get to the finish line, even Chris looks stunned. He clicks the stopwatch a couple times, shakes his head, and shows me.
Holy fuck, I clocked in a full five seconds faster than my best time.
Chris limps up to me and points to the bags. “Good. Start there.”
For over an hour, I shove dummies across the field and back. We break off and I practice our plays. Every fucking time the ball leaves my grasp, it’s like I’m traveling through the air with it, forcing it into my teammates outstretched hands.
Jackson slaps me on the back. “What kind of vitamins you taking?”
I laugh and don’t answer. I’ll be damned if I’ll share how sex has changed my game. Mostly, I’m more relaxed. That’s probably all it is.
Jeff shouts and throws me a drink. “You keep this up and you’ll be the number one draft choice for sure”
I shake my head, grin, and wave him off. As long I’m picked up by a team, the number doesn’t matter so much to me. Then, I work out until it’s too late to do more. After, every day is pretty much rinse and repeat.
Kira’s body becomes as familiar as my own as we fall into a routine with lunch my favorite part of the day. Not wanting to give up my time in her arms, I’ve learned how to make a power shake in two minutes flat.
“I get a few days off for Christmas.” I stretch, reluctantly roll off the bed, and get dressed. “Will you come with me?”
Her brows raise high. “Seriously? To Texas?”
I grab her ankles and slide her toward me. “You got something against Texans, Ms. McKenzie?”
“No but…” She kicks and laughs as I lift her and spank her lightly.
“Yes, butt.”
“You sure your family wants to share you… with me?” Her voice sounds hopeful, so I don’t tell her I don’t give a damn what they think.
“They’ll love you.”
Her eyes pop at the ‘L’ word. Hell, I haven’t told her how I feel but she hasn’t said it either. The moment it comes out of her mouth, I’m buying a ring.
Fuck yeah, when the time is right, I’m going to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me.
“I’m sure I’ll love them, too.” Her eyes get all bright and her face turns red under those freckles.
I get it. We’re still talking around the ‘L’ word. I guess it’s my own damn fault. I was the one who believed somehow having a permanent woman would ruin my mojo. Holy shit, I was so wrong. I’ve never played better in my life.
“I’ll have Jeff book our flights. You sure your family will be okay with this?”
A cloud washes over her sunny face. “You do recall my disastrous Thanksgiving?”
I laugh. “How could I forget? Poor Aunt Katherine. Did she ever recover?
“According to my mother, no.” She slips into a sweatshirt and yoga pants, then steps behind me, chin on my back.
Her arms wrap around my waist. “I really like being here with you.”
I turn and kiss the top of her head, “Me too, darlin’, me too.”
Before I head out to the field, I remember to ask about her journalism paper. “Did your professor like your new topic?”
“Yeah. She passed me, but just barely. She says I have a chance to bring up the grade next semester when I hand in my first draft.” I pass my drink to her, she takes five gulps, and hands it back.
Unable to resist, I lick off her milk mustache. “Text me tonight. I can’t see you tomorrow, I have a makeup exam.”
She frowns. “So, Monday?”
“Not that either. Coach is scheduling longer practices. I’m afraid I’m booked solid until Christmas.”
“Okay.” She hugs me tight, like it’s weeks instead of just a few days.
“I’ll have Jeff send you everything. You just show up outside your dorm, all packed and ready to go.”
“Do I need boots? I heard the snakes are huge.” She slides a hand over my cock and I grin.
“Just one, luv. Don’t need to worry about the rest.”
Chapter 19
Kira
The football field is on the way to class so as I often do, I stop and watch for a moment as Ryan starts his laps. In shorts, his strong thighs still take my breath away.
Grinning, I throw kisses to Matt, Russ, and Jackson when they look up and wave. If they hadn’t pushed me in the pool, I never would’ve hooked up with Ryan.
And now, I’m going to meet his parents.
Am I ready? Is he? Sure, we’ve been sleeping together but does that mean he loves me? He hasn’t said it and to be fair, neither have I.
Deep in thought, I wander back to my apartment and pick up my notes on Ethics and Social Media. Everything else forgotten, I study for my final exam. It’s after dinner by the time I finish and change out of my yoga pants. Maybe, I’ll hit Melanie’s group tonight. I missed a couple sessions and it didn’t feel right.
I need to be there.
When I walk in, Mel is already seated at her place in the circle Quickly, I grab a hot chocolate and find a chair next to a new girl. With red nose and swollen eyelids, it’s obvious she’s barely holding it together.
“Hi, I’m Kira. I was roofied last September.”
Her eyes widen. “You, too?”
“So was Gena, Joyella, and Shayana.” I point them out and as I say their names, they wave.
The one guy in our group stands, crosses the open space with his hand forward. “Hey, I’m the token male, Tom.”
“I’m Rianne.” A little of her sadness fades.
Once everyone is seated, Mel begins with a short prayer. “Great Spirit, Goddess, God the Father, we call upon You to help us to heal.”
“Amen.” Those of us regulars respond.
Melanie smiles brightly. “Well, we have a new member, today, Rianne.”
“Hi.” The new girl speaks toward her feet, her face red.
I remember what it was like, so I put my hand over hers to stop them from wringing in her lap. “You don’t have to talk, okay?”
She nods and as soon as she sniffs, Mel reaches to her feet, picks up the Kleenex box, and passes it to her right.
Like breaking bread, everyone takes one, including me. I pull one out for Rianne and pass the box across her lap. Once it reaches the end of the circle, Mel sets it back down.
“How about you start us off, Kira. Where are you with your story.”
Rianne raises a brow so I fill her in. “I’m doing my journalism final on sexual assaults that have taken place, here at SFCU. I had two close calls but got away. Most here, were not so lucky and none have had any success with the police.”
“Why not?” Rianne’s hope-filled eyes raise to me.
Gena, a beautiful black woman with high cheekbones answers. “The guy who drugged me said I went with him willingly and he had plenty of witnesses to back him up. All I remember is clinking beers with him and thinking he was a conceited prick. Then, I woke up in his bed. At first, I didn’t even know we had sex. The fucking bastard still goes to this school.”
A few more women share similar stories, my pulse quickens and when it’s my turn to speak I turn to Melanie. “There must be something we can do.”
“What do you ladies suggest?”
“Can’t we go to the college president? Ask if we can send out an email? A warning about what’s going on?” This comes from a pretty blond education major sitting across from me.
I shake my head back and forth. “I tried to go to him when I got the statistics from the local police. He said it would reflect badly on the school, especially in light of coach Bradley getting fired last year.”
Melanie nods. “CJ and I discussed everything before moving here. He’s very concerned as am I. Women’s rights come before football. Do we all agree?”
The whole group nods.
“Besides discussing what happened to you, part of healing is to feel empowered to bring about change.” Melanie searches each of our faces to make sure what she says sinks in.
Gena raises her hand. “How about we post a website of our experiences?
Say where it happened, how it happened, who we were with. Maybe we could email people and ask them to forward it on?”
I like the idea but because of Knight, maybe I’m overly cautious so I turn to Melanie for guidance. “Can’t that be perceived as defamation of character?”
Her brows go up and she nods with a finger to her lips. “I tell you what, my brother-in-law is a top-notch lawyer. Whatever we decide to do, I’ll run it past him.”
We talk a little more and after, I gather a few more notes for my paper.
I find out Rianne, a freshman, is thinking of dropping out so I hand her a card. “This is an off-campus therapist. She’s good. Talk to her before making any decisions, okay?”
At the end of the meeting, I’m more determined than ever to make FSCU roofie-free.
Chapter 20
Kira
As I wait for an Uber to take me to the airport, I call my mom. She doesn’t pick up so I text Alice who agrees to talk.
“Hey, sis. I thought you were off to Texas?” Her chipper voice saddens me because this is the first Christmas we’ll spend apart.
“I’m waiting for my ride. It should be here any minute. I, ah… tried to call Mom but she won’t pick up. Is she still angry?”
“You never missed Christmas before. She’s hurt. Me, too.”
My throat gets a little tight and my eyes sting. “Don’t be. Ryan only gets two days off then he’s got playoffs. After, if he’s lucky, there’s all these special events for draftees. I’ll hardly get to see him until spring.”
Alice clicks her tongue. “You got it bad for him, huh?”
“He may be the one.” I sigh, knowing how impossible it probably sounds, even to a sixteen-year-old.
“Whoa. Did you tell him?”
“Not yet. I’m kind of hoping we can talk once we have more than an hour together. Hey, someone just pulled up. Can I call you later?”
“Sure. Talk soon. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
A limo stops in front of me, the passenger-side window rolls down, and the driver leans over the seat. “Ms. McKenzie?”
“Ah, yeah.” This isn’t the blue Ford escort I was expecting. I glance down at my app to be sure I didn’t screw up.
This is strange. The driver, an older guy in a cap, suit, and tie jumps out and opens the back door wide and…
“Surprise!” Ryan grins, grabs my hand, and pulls me into his lap.
“You ready?” He slips his hands through my hair so he can get at my grinning mouth and kiss me.
When we finish, I slide off his lap, buckle up, and my gaze shoots to his mischief-filled eyes. “I thought we were meeting at the airport.”
“That was the plan but after our last win, I thought we should go in style.”
“You�
��re not racking up credit card debt, are you?” As much as I love his surprise, I don’t want him living way above his means.
“You worry too much and it’s my gift to you so it’s none of your business.” His tone says the conversation is over but I’ll bring it up again, later.
So much could happen between now and the NFL season. What if he gets injured? Instead of millions of dollars a year, he’ll be lucky to pull forty-thousand. And, if we get married, it will be my debt, too.
“Stop.” He taps my temple.
“What?”
“Thinking. C’mon. Relax darlin’. It’s Christmas.”
I reach behind his neck noting how long his hair has gotten and bring him to my lips. “Thank you, cowboy. I never rode in a limo before.”
“No way. What about senior prom?” His hand rests on my knee and when he squeezes, what went on in high school no longer matters.
“My date backed out at the last minute. I’d already bought my dress.” Funny, but for the first time, it doesn’t make me sad.
“Don’t tell me, Derrick?”
“Yeah. He said he had to go out of town for his uncle and couldn’t get out of it.”
Ryan’s brows furrow. “And you bought his line of shit? Stayed with him?”
I shrug. “In my defense, I was only seventeen.”
“Once I’m in the NFL, you will have your prom night. I’ll invite all your alumni and you will be the most envied woman there.” He threads his fingers into mine, eyes all intense like they get before making love to me.
My heart flutters. Is it possible he wants a future with me? More importantly, can we make it work? I need to slow down. He hasn’t ever said those three important words and neither have I.
We have about a three-hour flight ahead of us so I try to notch down the fire burning between us. “Did you get your final grades? You think you passed?”
“I had to ask for an extension in math, but other than that, I’m pretty sure I squeaked by. Did you hear from your adviser? Was she okay with your new subject?”
Misconduct (FSCU Pitbulls Book 1) Page 10