The Jock and the Geek (Gone Geek Book 3)

by Sidney Bristol

  She just happened to have Oliver in her bathroom.

  What the heck was he doing in her bathroom?

  Was he …taking care of it?

  What if he was in there, right now…with them just a few feet away?

  Sam swallowed, unsure how she felt about that. On one hand, they were only in this predicament because there was still something between Oliver and her. On the other, she didn’t know what the heck to call the something or how to explain it to her sister. Lily would want answers. Black and white ones. And Sam had nothing to give her.

  “These are pretty.” Lily paused to caress the peony blooms.

  Sam fought the urge to slap her sister’s hand away from the flowers. A completely irrational urge, but Oliver had bought them for her. She didn’t want her sister’s hands on them.

  The toilet flushed down the hall. Was he…done?

  Lily glanced toward the door, then at Sam.

  “I didn’t know you had company.” Lily’s brows lifted. Was it so shocking that Sam had someone over? Her life wasn’t totally dead since she’d gotten fired. Yes, it had illuminated how small her circle of actual friends were, but that was just how it was.

  “Uh, yeah.” Sam smiled, but didn’t offer any more information. What the heck was she supposed to say?

  “Who is it?” Lily mouthed.

  “Sorry,” Oliver said as he rounded the corner, one hand smoothing the front of his shirt. There was no evidence as to exactly how he’d handled the situation, except everything seemed to be taken care of. His gaze went first to Sam, his smile warming her down to her toes. The sensation went cold the moment he glanced at her sister. “Lily, good to see you.”

  “Oliver!” Lily practically squealed and threw herself at him. “What are you doing here?”

  Sam screwed her smile on tighter and focused on not staring daggers at her tall, gorgeous sister with her arms wrapped around Oliver. Lily was always acting as though Oliver and her had some sort of secret, or were the best of friends, but as far as Sam had been able to tell, the only one in-the-know was Lily. Maybe she’d ask Oliver about it. Or maybe she’d scratch her sister’s eyes out. They both sounded like reasonable options.

  “I was in the neighborhood.” Oliver patted Lily’s back and let go within the appropriate time frame for friends to hug.

  Unlike her sister.

  Who was still touching him.

  Sam inhaled another deep breath.

  Oliver and Lily looked beautiful together. Lily was…perfection. She always had to be ready for the spotlight. And today was no exception. Oliver was…masculinity barely contained. They fit. Looking at them, they made sense.

  Sam did not.

  She knew what to say, how to dress and do her job, but that wasn’t who she was. Yes, she liked Monster-Go, cartoons and video games with her politics and world events. She was happier by herself, at home, than she was at large functions or parties. Any given weekend, she’d rather hang with one person over a group. When she wasn’t working, she was awkward and quiet. She lived at this weird intersection of her family where she got each of them in their own way, but no one really got her.

  “Sam? You okay?”

  She jerked her head up, heat warming her cheeks. Both Lily and Oliver were staring at her. Great. What had she missed?

  “Sorry, what?”

  “Oh, dear. Are you feeling okay?” Lily felt of her forehead. “If you’re not okay, Oliver and I can go to lunch without you.”

  Was Lily giving her the Sister Stare? Was Sam supposed to give Lily her blessing to go off and eat lunch with him? Oliver? The man who’d just kissed Sam silly?

  “Actually, I already ate.” Oliver piped up at just the right moment to save Lily from getting slapped. “Another time, maybe? I was going to pick Sam’s brain for speech material.”

  “Oh, well, by all means, don’t let me keep you. And if you need a second source, you know where to find me. Sam, I’ll see you later. Oliver, let me know when you want to rain check? I’m going to use the office for a bit.” Lily swept out of the kitchen and into the dining room. The French doors had made it a perfect office solution for their father when they’d been living on a tighter budget, and try as Sam might to make use of it as a dining room, Lily saw it as office space up for grabs.

  Sam stared at her sister’s perfectly coifed hair and imagined…doing nothing.

  Lily’s subtle interest in Oliver was nothing new. She’d been doing it since Oliver was a freshman in college, which had been especially painful to watch after he’d broken up with Sam. In Oliver’s defense, he always averted Lily’s attentions with an easy grace that left Sam feeling out of place.

  Oliver snagged her hand and pulled her around the corner into the TV room at the rear of the house. He covered her mouth, muting her yelp of surprise. He pushed her up against the wall, using his body to keep her prisoner. He slid his hand aside and sealed his mouth over hers. There was nothing nice or polite about the kiss. Her toes curled and her head swam.

  He pinned her hands above her head and pressed his thigh between hers. His tongue lazily stroked hers. He was doing it—that guy thing where he took and she gave. She couldn’t find fault with it because he took so very well. Her knees turned into rubber and her stomach flip-flopped.

  “About that speech,” he whispered, his lips caressing hers with every word.

  She snickered, trying her best not to laugh, but this whole situation was ridiculous. Her prim and proper sister was around the corner. If she came into the kitchen for water or a snack, she’d see them. And then what? What the heck were they doing? What was she thinking? It was hard to sort out her thoughts when she was this…giddy.

  “I have an idea.” Oliver smiled, his eyes twinkling.

  “Why do I get the impression I’m not going to like it?” She tugged against his hold on her hands, but he didn’t let her go. Whatever he suggested, she had to say no. On principal. Being with Oliver was a slippery slope, and she had to make up her mind about what she wanted. What she was willing to give him. Because last time he’d devastated her heart and soul, leaving her mind untethered. She’d gotten a C on an exam because of him—because she couldn’t focus. She wasn’t going to go back there.

  “Want to go monster hunting?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Oh…curse him…

  “Come on. It’ll be fun, and Lily won’t be there.” He dipped his head, pressing their noses together.

  He was fighting dirty, but Oliver was the kind of guy who’d do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Right now he wanted her, and she could either dig in and resist him…or…do what she wanted. Just because she…chose to enjoy some time with him, didn’t mean they were anything to each other.

  “Let go of me,” she said.

  “Not until you promise to show me your favorite hunting grounds.”

  “I can’t go anywhere barefoot, can I?”

  He seemed to consider her words for a moment. She remembered two occasions very clearly when he hadn’t let her feet touch the ground… They’d both ended in a hot, sweaty mess…

  Her cheeks heated, and he tipped his head forward, as if he knew what she was thinking about.

  “Don’t take long,” he whispered.

  Oliver slid his hands down her arms to her elbows before backing up and giving her space.

  Sam sucked in a deep breath, propelled herself back through the kitchen, and cut through the entry to the stairs. She rushed up to her room, her mind not quite keeping up with the rest of her.

  Holy shit, Oliver had kissed her. Really kissed her. Twenty-four hours ago, she would have never expected this. She’d have probably wanted to shank him for pulling a stunt like that. And now…it was happening all over again. The butterflies, the thrill, the…addiction that was all Oliver. She’d skipped classes just to be with him. Spend time around him. Where had that gotten her back then?

  Heartbroken, confused and harboring secrets.

  Sam wanted answers. Closure
. And yes, two very different parts of her wanted opposite things from Oliver. Did she want to be the woman he kissed, or the friend?

  The answer to that question eluded her.

  She shoved her feet into comfortable walking shoes and checked out her reflection.

  Shit.

  She was a hot mess.

  Sam dove into her closet, exchanged the sweat shirt for a red tank top—hey, had to show the team colors—and a stretchy, A-line skirt that had pockets. Casual. Comfortable. And not too hot. A purse just big enough for a portable charger, as well as a bottle of water and she was as good to go as she was going to get without a complete make-over.

  This was a fact-finding mission. Research. Today…maybe she’d finally get answers she wanted. And then? They’d figure out the rest. Besides. Oliver had picked her over Lily, and her toenail polish was chipped. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

  Oliver waited until he heard Samantha’s footsteps on the stairs before venturing through the kitchen. He liked Lily. She was a wonderful friend, but when it came to the Grant girls, he only had eyes for Sam.

  The moment her gray walking shoes came into view, he knew the rest of his day was spoken for. Whatever it took, he was going to convince her to spend it with him. Even if it took playing dirty to get what he wanted. He’d been nice for long enough.

  “Where are you two going?” Lily glanced up from the dining table-turned desk.

  “Out,” Sam replied.

  He’d had years of observing the sisters to assist in deciphering that one word.

  None of your business.

  “Ready?” He twisted the lock and opened the door before Lily could ask a follow-up question.

  Sam ducked out under his arm and they were gone. Free. She skipped down the steps, and he followed her, both of them pulling out their phones.

  “Has Lily always flirted with you?” Sam had noticed it only after Oliver broke her heart.

  “Um…”

  “Seriously. Not a trick question.”

  “That is always a trick question.” He leveled a stare at Sam. “Where we going?”

  “To the corner. There’s a waystation where we can stock up, and then we can walk a couple blocks. And it’s not a trap. Honestly. How long?”

  “I do not want to answer that.” He’d just gotten back into Sam’s good graces. He wasn’t going to create any sort of shit to step in.

  “Since you went to work for dad? College? High school? Come on.” Sam bumped his arm with her shoulder.

  Oliver wrapped his arm around her waist. Because he could. And he wanted to. Plus, from this angle he had a great view of her cleavage.

  Sam glared up at him and nudged him with her elbow. Not hard enough to put a wedge between them. More….playful like. He liked this side of her. Not too serious like Lily, and not too over the top like Rashae. She was…Sam. Unique. Beautiful. Intelligent. Sam.

  “I’d much rather talk about what you’re doing the rest of this weekend.” If he had one more shot at her, he wanted to make it count. Do it right. What that entailed was still a mystery, but he’d make a game plan on the fly.

  First move was to convince her to spend time with him.

  “Nothing. Nothing. And more nothing.”

  “You mean, Monster-Go, Monster-Go, and Monster-Go?”

  “Yeah, probably.” She laughed, still one of the best sounds he’d ever heard.

  “I have a proposition…” He gave her a squeeze, and then took her hand in his.

  “I’m listening…”

  “Just for today, let’s not rehash the past. Let’s just…hang out.”

  “Ignoring the past doesn’t change that it happened.”

  “I know, and it doesn’t, I just want to hang with you.”

  Sam stared up at him a moment, her brows drawn down into a line.

  “Okay.” She lifted her shoulders.

  Oliver grinned, hope shining so bright.

  “It’s funny how much of our neighborhood I never really saw until I started walking around playing Monster-Go.” Sam swung their hands in time to their steps, like she used to do. “I used to walk by all this stuff and never even know it was there.”

  “Like what?” He didn’t really care, but he liked listening to her talk.

  “There’s a fountain between those two brownstones. They have this tiny courtyard. The park down there? Where we used to play basketball? Have you ever noticed the memorial stones?”

  “No,” he said slowly.

  “The park was founded as a community memorial to black Civil War soldiers. Now, any time a minority soldier, cop, fire fighter passes away or is killed in the line of duty, they’re added to the park. It’s mostly people in the area doing something for a family member, but I never even knew it was a thing until I paid attention to the information icons in the game..”

  “Show me?” Oliver asked.

  Being with her, spending time with Sam, it felt like they’d never lost a day. They still had that same, easy connection that had made them special. When he’d known that grown up Sam was going to rock his world.

  The ball was in her court. It always had been. Now, would she take the ball and go home, or make another play?

  5.

  Samantha gradually relaxed the longer they walked.

  After their moment in the kitchen part two, all she’d known was that she wanted to be near Oliver and as far away from Lily as she could get. The reasoning behind those two urges was flimsy at best. Oliver made her…feel. A lot. Not all of it was good, but it was addicting. A drug. Something she needed more of, or thought she did.

  She had to keep her head screwed on straight and analyze everything.

  They weren’t kids anymore. She couldn’t skip class to be with him. Now, more than ever, she was aware of the cost every action incurred. Even before knowing Oliver’s motivations in breaking up with her, she’d been acutely sensitive to the cost. As an adult there were more factors to evaluate.

  “Did you catch that Wormie?” Oliver glanced her way. His hair was unruly today, the curls poofing out in a way that made her want to run her fingers through them.

  “Hm? Oh yeah, thanks.”

  “Have you finished your pros and cons analysis on me yet?”

  “I was not…” The protest died on her lips.

  “You were. Don’t lie.” He tugged on her hand.

  “I didn’t… I just…” They weren’t supposed to talk about the past. That’s what he said. And yet, she was stuck with one foot back then and one now.

  “It’s okay. You’re going to do it. Want to talk it out to me?”

  “No.”

  “Come on. Cons. Our history. My track record.”

  “Oliver.”

  “I work for your dad. Us being together will make for some very awkward explanations. People will talk, either because of the reputation I inherited, because of the color of our skin, or because the sky is blue and we’re on different teams.”

  “Stop, Oliver.”

  “But the pros?” He stopped and turned to face her, his dark-brown eyes fully focused on her. He wanted to win—her. This. Whatever. “Your family likes me. We know we can work, if we try hard enough. There’s still chemistry. I only want to make you happy. And—”

  Both of their phones vibrated.

  “Is that…a wild Xnorlas?” Sam tapped at the nearby feature that allowed them to sort of hunt monsters. Usually, Xnorlas was a monster that had to be hatched from rare eggs.

  “I don’t even have one. Where is it?” Oliver turned in a circle.

  “Hold on.”

  Sam tabbed to her Facebook community Monster-Go group.

  “It’s a block over, and one north. Come on.” Sam grabbed Oliver’s hand and took off at a jog.

  “How do you know that?” Oliver kept pace with her easily.

  “Facebook.”

  “Someone’s already caught it?”

  “Local group. There!”

  They rounded the last corner
. A group of six or eight people stood around, phones up and cheering.

  Sam didn’t bother glancing at her screen, just kept her thumb on it, arms pumping. The rarer monsters were notorious for disappearing fairly fast. Their window of opportunity was slim.

  “It’s on my screen.” Oliver skidded to a stop.

  Sam had to go another five feet before her phone buzzed, signaling the very important monster was close enough to be seen.

  “Do I just throw a regular ball at it?” Oliver asked.

  “Give it pie. Do you have pie yet?”

  “Uh, yes? I go to the bag to do that, right?”

  “Yes.” Sam focused on her screen.

  Pie for the Xnorlas.

  The pointy-eared creature hopped as it gobbled up the digital pie.

  She clicked into her items and exchanged a regular ball for a Super Ball.

  “It just ran away from me,” someone to her right groaned.

  “Yeah, it just poofed.”

  Crap.

  Sam had to do this just right.

  She swirled her finger on the screen until the ball started to throw off sparks.

  Careful…

  Just the right moment…

  The circle around the Xnorlas narrowed until it focused on the monster’s face.

  She swiped her finger straight up the screen, teeth gritted.

  “I got it!” Oliver cheered.

  Sam’s green and white Super Ball boinked the Xnorlas right on the nose.

  Tendrils of white, sparkly stuff pulled the monster into the ball and it snapped shut. The ball wiggled.

  Once.

  “Stay in,” she whispered.

  Twice.

  “Come on, stay in there.”

  Three times.

  “Yes!” She pumped her fist.

  Her knuckles hit hard bone.

  Oliver stumbled back, clutching his jaw.

  “Ow!”

  “Oliver!” She shook her hand, pain radiating up her hand.