Rebound (Pro-U Book 3)

by Ali Parker

  "Hey. I thought you left."

  I turned at the sound of Tasha's voice and forced a tight smile.

  "No, my dad called. I figured it would be better to have our monthly screaming match out here instead of in the middle of your bedroom." I walked toward her and stifled a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around me and pressed herself against my chest. The soft press of her breasts had my body hardening again, my anger dissipating.

  Love. I just wanted to be loved by one person. Could it be her or was I delusional to even think that two broken people had anything to offer each other?

  "I'm sorry. Let's not talk about them if it upsets you." She moved back and tugged at my t-shirt. "You wanna come back inside and we can get dressed and get breakfast together?"

  "I wish I could. There's nothing I'd rather do than spend the day with you, but I have a few things I need to take care of out at the Omega House. We all have responsibilities on Fridays, and I drew the short straw. I'm in charge of cleaning up." I gave her a cheeky grin and followed her back into the dorm hall.

  "Are you guys having another party tonight?" She glanced over her shoulder at me, catching me as I coveted how cute her butt looked in her pj pants.

  "Hm?" I glanced up as warmth burned my cheeks and throat. "Oh yeah. It's the Omega House. Part of our MO is to have parties every Friday night. Gets old after awhile, but whatever."

  She pushed the door to her room open and disappeared into the darkness. Indecision raced through me. I could tell Jacob to suck a dick and just stay with her all day. He'd probably be thrilled at the fact that I was actually talking to a woman instead of protecting and caring for all of them with nothing in return.

  "Maybe I'll stop by tonight if that would be okay?" She sat down on the edge of her bed and slid her hands back, leaving her to look a little too sexy.

  "I'd love that. You can come save me from the drama, though you should know, I'm the designated driver in the house. I only have a few beers because if anything goes wrong, I take care of it." I sat down on the couch and got my shoes on.

  "Is that why you were carrying that girl over your shoulder at the last party?"

  "Yep. And why I got in a fight with a dumb-ass sophomore. Those guys get drunk and high and have no concept of right and wrong. I'm going to talk to Jacob about limiting the parties or at least banning weed."

  "You guys need a three-strike rule. Like if someone fucks up three times, they're out. No questions asked."

  "I like that." I got up and brushed my hands down my shirt as my stomach growled. "I wish I had time for breakfast with you. Rain check?"

  She got up and walked toward me, stopping just in front of me and glancing up. Innocence sat on her like a well-worn coat and damn if the bastard inside of me didn't want to take it from her slowly over a long morning session of hearing her cry out my name.

  I swallowed hard and covered her hand with mine as she rested hers on my chest.

  "Thanks for staying last night. I needed your warmth." She smiled and glanced down.

  "Absolutely." I leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Don't forget you promised to come tonight."

  "I won't." Her cheeks turned pink and I couldn't help but chuckle. It would seem I wasn't the only one with a dirty mind in the room.

  *

  "You guys really don't think anyone is going to ask about all these extra light fixtures in the house?" Jacob stood below me as I climbed up on the ladder to install another camera in the living room.

  "I don't give a fuck what they ask. We'll come up with something. I'm tired of watching you blow a fuse at everything. The only thing dicking with your life right now is this asshole at Omega breaking us down. I'm going to figure this out." I lifted up on my toes and finished putting together the light.

  "These things are brilliant." Dillon stood beside Jacob, looking up at me. They were both afraid of heights. Go figure.

  "Yeah, you did good getting these, man. I really appreciate your help." Jacob clamped his hand on Dillon's shoulder as they both turned their attention back up to me. "You guys know that it's highly unlikely that this guy is Darren, right? The loud ones are never the devious ones. He's too stupid to do anything but wag his dick around here and cause fights. That's not the kind of guy we're looking for."

  "I think you're underestimating the bastard." I crawled down the stairs and brushed my hands on my pants. "The last party we had, some pretty Hispanic girl was on the floor, drunk out of her mind with her ass showing. I put her in my bed-"

  "Good man. Was she sexy?" Dillon lifted his eyebrow.

  I popped him in the chest. "Shut the fuck up. Anyway, I put her in my bed and locked the fucking door. I go up there thirty minutes later and Darren has my door unlocked and is dry-humping her."

  "I’d still like to know how the fuck he got your door unlocked?" Jacob put his hands on his hips as his smile faded.

  "How the fuck did he know there was a woman in your bed in the first place?" Dillon tilted his head to the side, his comical nature all but tucked away as well.

  "Exactly. I'm telling you guys that he's playing us. He's using that loud, asshole persona to keep us from looking harder at him. It's him. I have no doubt." I glanced up at the small camera tucked into the new recessed light and smiled. "And tonight, we're going to get proof."

  "Hell yeah." Jacob popped my back. "What's next?"

  "You get the party stuff together and call the guys back. We're good now." I glanced over at Dillon and smiled. "You and I are on cleaning duty."

  "What? Aw, come on, man. Is this because I got a C on my Economics test?"

  "Yep. You'd have failed that fucker otherwise. Get the cleaning supplies from under the kitchen sink and meet me upstairs. You got the bathrooms today."

  "Awww... shit." Jacob pressed his fist to his lips and chuckled. "I would require Micah to help you get an A or B on your tests if you're going to be forced to clean the toilets."

  "You wanna do it." I turned a hard stare onto our fraternity president.

  Jacob lifted his hands and backed up. "Hell no. It's all you, brother. I'll get busy on our party planning."

  "That's what I thought." I picked up the ladder and tried hard to ignore the pinched feeling in my wrist. It was getting better. I just needed to keep pushing it and stretching it out. Our first real game was in two weeks. I would be playing point guard come hell or high water.

  "This bucket?" Dillon walked out with a scowl on his face.

  "Yep. Stop looking so excited. The other guys might want the job if you keep that shit up." I chuckled as he gave me a goofy grin and started to skip down the hall like he had the best job in the whole world. The guy was an idiot, but we all were. He fit in perfectly.

  Chapter 18

  Natasha

  I milled around my dorm room for the next hour, doing nothing but rehearsing all of the could have, should have, would haves over my night with Micah. Why didn't I stay awake and take advantage of our time together? Would it have led to sex?

  "Most likely." I sat down on my bed and flopped back. The smell of his cologne was faint, but still there. I breathed in deeply and groaned. Why did I have to run into the right guy just a year before I was out? I'd planned to move halfway across the country after graduation just to get away from the northeast. With my mother being sick, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but the hope still lay somewhere deep inside me that running far away would help ease the pain.

  Now there was Micah to think about. Even if we were still just working on a solid friendship by then... could I leave? Would I want to give up on the hope that something bigger and better waited for the two of us around the corner?

  My thoughts moved through the last few weeks and I let out a long sigh. Aubrey. I owed her an apology. We hadn't spoken since Midnight Madness and I couldn't blame her if she didn't want to see me again. We weren't necessarily friends, but we ran in the same group and it wasn't her fault that she'd bonded with my mother when I hadn't. I was hating on the wrong
person and had to give that shit up.

  I got up and picked up my phone, texting Em to send me Aubrey's number. The response came through much faster than I wanted it to, but getting the conversation over would help me release some of the guilt I was carrying around over being a bitch to her.

  Texting would have been easier, but I was never one to take the easy route. I quickly decided that I had to be a masochist at heart for all the shit I put myself through.

  "Hello?" Her voice was thick with sleep.

  "Oh shit. It's only eight. I'm sorry, Aubrey. It's Natasha. Just call me back when you-"

  "No! It's good." I could hear her moving around. "I needed to get up anyway."

  "You sure?" I stood up and began to pace the floor. What was I going to say that wouldn't sound trite? I'm sorry? So overused.

  "Yeah. I was hoping to grab a coffee and scone from that new bakery that opened up beside DeAngelos. You wouldn't wanna come with me, right?"

  I glanced around the room, knowing that having to see her was even worse than having to apologize. Why in the hell would she want anything to do with me?

  "That sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes?"

  "Perfect. See you there." She dropped the call, and I let out a long groan.

  Why did fate have to line me up with the one girl in this whole damn university that cared about the one person I hated? Why?

  I changed and ran a brush through my hair before grabbing my keys and my basketball. The walk would take twenty minutes. I might as well work on my dribbling while I went. It's not like people hadn't seen me bounce the basketball just about everywhere I went for the last three years. It was somewhat expected. Basketball had become such a huge part of my life, and I was grateful for it. I needed to stop by and talk to my coach too. I'd left her hanging after her offer to counsel me if I wanted it. I didn't, but maybe that was my problem.

  Her words about swallowing poison and hoping someone else would die ran circles in my head as I walked across campus. The chilly fall morning helped to calm my nerves and center me a little. I had some mending to do with both Aubrey and Coach Murphy. After I worked through those relationships, I needed to work through mine and Micah's. It was a little more than obvious that he wanted something from me far more than a friendship would provide. Was he working to win me over for a night? For a year? For a long time?

  Nothing less than the final option would work for me. I didn't date or fuck around. It just wasn't my persona at all. I wanted long-term. If I was going in, I was diving in deep. So deep that it would be damn near impossible to resurface. Fear swelled in my chest at the thought of giving myself over to anyone and trusting them with my heart. So many of my limiting beliefs from childhood held me back from true relationships, and though I knew it, they were like a warm blanket of protection. Somehow that blanket had grown heavy - suffocating.

  I tucked my ball under my arm and pulled the door open to the small bakery. A young guy with a mop of blond hair glanced up and smiled.

  "Morning! Welcome to Hendrick's Bakery."

  "Thanks." I glanced around and nodded toward a seat by the window. "I'm waiting on a friend. We'll order when she gets here."

  "Awesome." He turned and busied himself as I sat down and pulled my phone out.

  An unanswered message from my dad popped up. He was back in Boston and wanted to have lunch if I was free. I agreed, though I wasn't sure what frame of mind I might be in after talking with Aubrey. Either way, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see my dad and try to talk him into giving up the rest of the information on Mom's cancer. I sure as fuck wasn't asking her.

  "Sorry if I kept you waiting." Aubrey stopped beside the table and smiled. Her long dark hair was in a high ponytail and she looked pretty outside of the dark circles under her eyes.

  "No problem." I stood up and walked to the counter with her.

  "My treat. Get whatever you want." She lifted her credit card. "My parents just loaded it back up. My mom will flip her shit to see I went to a bakery, but we're due a good fight over my weight anyway."

  She snorted and moved up to order. I let her words sink in. It would seem that not everyone had the great life I'd painted in the background for them. Why did I think I was the only one with problems? It would seem most of us were jacked up in some way or another.

  I ordered and walked back to the table as I tried to work through what I could say to her that would sound as sincere as I wanted it to.

  "Tasha-"

  "Aubrey-"

  We laughed uncomfortably. I sat back in my chair and sighed.

  "Let me go first."

  "Sure." She nodded as her hands dropped in her lap. Something was bothering her terribly and I had no doubt it was Lucas or Layla. Maybe both?

  "I'm really sorry for being a bitch the other night." I ran my fingers through my hair and forced myself to regain eye contact with her. "My mother and I have a horrible relationship, and I shouldn't have been jealous of what you have with her."

  "I don't have anything with her." She reached across the table and offered me a tight smile. "She's mean as hell when I mess up and treats all of us like trash. It's only in the moments where I'm dancing like she wants or pushing myself past the breaking point that she's happy with me, but it's easy because it's just a few days a week. I do care about her, because she's my adviser, but if you think I've taken your place, you're wrong."

  "I'm not sure she would give anyone a place." I shrugged. "I just needed to apologize for being so horrid. I was in shock when they announced that she hadn't been at school for a while. I had no clue."

  "I'm sorry your relationship with her is so bad. My relationship with my mom is horrible too." She picked up her scone and took a big bite. "She'll bitch at me for weeks about eating this."

  "Why? You're beautiful." I tilted my head to the side, wanting to offer her friendship, but not really knowing how to go about it. Emily and I were close because she forced herself on me. Clara and I got along really well because she was comical in her snootiness and had no one else, but Aubrey? She had everything she needed.

  "Thanks. I finally have come to the realization that I'm happy being me. I have Lucas, who reminds me all the time that-" She paused and glanced down, visibly swallowing a few times. When she looked back up, tears lined her vision. "I'm sorry."

  "No, it's okay." I reached across the table and squeezed her arm. "You miss him?"

  "So fucking bad." She glanced up and pressed her napkin to her eyes as her lip trembled. "And something is up with Layla. She's taken the semester off to deal with some shit with her family and I miss her. I haven't seen her in a week or so, and honestly it's driving me crazy."

  "Everyone seems worried about her." I released my hold on her and leaned back in my seat. "Well, it's not much, but I'm here if you need someone."

  She wiped at her eyes and offered me a teary grin. "You have so much going on right now. So much more than me. I'm just weepy because I feel alone."

  "Come with me to the Omega party tonight. I'm hoping to score some time with Micah Sanders, but it should be fun to let our hair down. I'll invite Emily and Clara too. It'll be fun." I found myself feeling a little better about everything. Maybe helping someone else was the key. It seemed to leave me feeling alive again each time I served at the pregnancy care center. Maybe it was more than just serving at a designated location, but really watching out for people that needed something right around me.

  "Okay. I'd like that." Aubrey picked up her pastry and took a small bite. "How is your mom, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "She's not doing good." I picked up my coffee and took a small sip. "I keep fighting myself on going over to check on her. I'm not anywhere near her favorite person in the world, not sure she has one of those anyway." I smiled. "She gets pretty pissy when I show up, so I just keep waiting for the next time she calls and needs me."

  "What type of cancer is it?"

  "No clue." I pursed my lips and let out a brea
th through my nose. "I'm having lunch with my dad today. Hopefully he'll have some answers to my questions. She's not telling me anything, but to be fair, I'm not asking either."

  "And your dad is the coach for the Celtics, right?"

  "Yeah. I didn't know anyone knew that."

  "Emily told me and Layla awhile back when we asked about you." She gave me a sheepish smile. "I should have just asked you myself, but you didn't seem to want to talk too much."

  "No, I usually keep to myself. Basketball has been my outlet for everything."

  "That's dance for me." She took a quick sip of her coffee.

  "So Lucas is playing for the Washington Capitals now?"

  "Yeah." Her smile faded. "He's amazing."

  "And what are your plans? Are you going to join him when you graduate?"

  "That's the goal. I'm honestly thinking about just taking my last semester in Washington next spring and going up there so we can see each other more. I thought I would be able to get through this, but I'm a fucking basket case."

  I smiled as she forced a laugh. "Whatever you need to do to make sure that you guys stay together... do it. That kind of love doesn't come around too often from what I've seen in my life."

  "You're right." She tapped the table as her eyes grew glossy. I was almost jealous of what her thoughts might be. To give up everything for someone? I'd never imagined doing it, but watching her contemplate it made me want to experience that type of passion at least once in my life.

  Chapter 19

  Micah

  "Hell yes! The Celts are playing tonight. Kicking off the season right by being at home! Turn the fucking TV on." Jacob walked through the living room and stopped by the couch.

  "Hell no. The Capitals are playing tonight." Dillon tucked the changer in his pants and gave us all a cheeky grin.

  "Thank you." Aubrey sunk down into the couch and focused on the TV as her expression hardened. I hated to see her so upset, but she and Lucas had taken a deep plunge together over the spring semester. I couldn't imagine agreeing to spend the rest of my life with Tasha and her moving halfway across the country.