The Wrong Way: Hanson University: One

by McKenna Kerrick

  “I just told you. It was cute to me.”

  “That’s so terrible, though! Do I do it a lot?”

  “You mean on previous dates? Probably. But that’s not an excuse for the way those assholes treated you,” I state firmly. “So don’t even go there. And no one else has ever said anything because like I said a minute ago, it’s cute.”

  “You’re being awful mushy right now.”

  Hell, if she thought this was mushy, she had absolutely no idea how mushy I could really be. Just wait until my I love Lila plan goes into effect. I ignore that thought for the moment, though, and place my arm around her shoulders and haul her towards me on the couch. “I’m your boyfriend, mushy comes with the territory. Now, let’s watch a movie and I’m picking it. I’ve seen way too many Disney films for a while.”

  Lila laughs against my chest as I pick up the remote.

  Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t lose this.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Lila

  I wave my newly freed hand around in the air and make a few fists. The splint came off a few hours ago, but it felt so good to be able to wiggle my fingers without a contraption keeping them close together.

  “Look!” I repeat for probably around the sixth time since we began our walk to the Union.

  “Oh my God, quit doing that!” Nina huffs back at me. “I swear, someone is going to see you swinging your fist and think you’re trying to beat me up for my money.”

  “No one is going to think that.”

  “Well, they could. But they wouldn’t think that if you would just stop waving your arm around all willy-nilly.”

  “Oh, you mean like this?” I ask innocently before proceeding to wave my arm even more obnoxiously in front of us.

  “I hate you.”

  “No you don’t,” I grin widely.

  “Oh look,” Nina rolls her eyes and gestures before us, “there’s your boyfriend. So go accidentally punch him instead of me.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to accidentally hit anyone.”

  “Slow down, slugger,” Killian smirks. “You’re liable to knock out someone.”

  Nina points to Killian and stomps her foot on the ground. “I told you!”

  “You two are ridiculous,” I sigh heavily and enter the Union before both of them. “Come on, feed me. I get to use my hand now!”

  I hear Killian snicker behind me. We all swipe our cards and enter the massive cafeteria. There’s a few tables that are empty, but since we came during rush, it’s like overlooking a sea of people.

  The weather fluctuated again, so now instead of it being freezing cold outside, it’s a nice fifty-something outside. Gotta love North Carolina weather. Although, if there’s even a chance of frost forming on the grass, they tend to cancel school. So Carolina has that going for them at least.

  “Finally,” Alex says loudly as we approach the table to drop off our bags before going to wait in line. “We need to go over plays for this weekends game.”

  A chorus of groans goes around the table.

  “I’m blaming you for this,” Ian frowns at Killian. “He was being his usual asshole self and then you got into his head.”

  “You’re welcome,” Killian grins and snags my hand. “C’mon, let’s feed you before you attack some unsuspecting freshman for their food.”

  I roll my eyes again. “I'm not going to beat anybody up!”

  Of course my life can't be that easy, though. Because the second we round the corner to where all the food stations are, we come face to face with Brad who has tape over his nose and a black eye that doesn't look to be healing up any quicker than molasses.

  “Hi,” I say and blink. Hi? That's the best thing I could up with to the asshole guy that I sucker punched in the face?

  “Huh,” Killian steps in front of me and bends down until he's eye level with Brad. “Guess my girl really does know how to throw down.”

  “She should be expelled,” Brad huffs.

  “She's a better person than you are, so that's doubtful,” Killian shrugs.

  “She hit me!” Brad yells.

  I really do have the worst luck imaginable, considering over half the Union just heard him yell like a banshee. And now everyone is staring.

  “Yeah, and you deserved it,” Killian answers bluntly. “Next time you decide to play a girl, I suggest you go for someone who didn't grow up with me.”

  Brad huffs angrily.

  Killian smirks and wiggles the fingers on the hand that's not holding mine in the poor schmucks face. “See you around, Bradley.”

  We make our way over the the taco station to stand in line behind a group of people. I arch an eyebrow at Killian in question.

  “What?” he asks while studying the menu display behind the counter.

  “Why did you say his name like that?”

  “Say whose name like what?”

  “Brad’s.”

  Killian still doesn't look at me as his eyes travel lazily over the menu I'm pretty sure he's read over four times now. “I don't like his name.”

  “It's just a name.”

  “A name in which was associated with you, who was an asshole to you, so therefore I get to not like his name.”

  That makes me crack up for some reason. “I'm sorry, were you jealous of Brad or something?”

  To that I get no response, which is a response in itself.

  “Oh my God!” I laugh harder at that. “You were!”

  “I really don't see how that's funny. You went and had a milkshake with him.”

  I wheeze out between spurts of giggles, “You're jealous because someone else took me out for milkshakes?”

  “I can't believe we're having this conversation.”

  “I can't believe we haven't had it before,” I grin. I don't know why this makes me so happy. Maybe because it shows just how much he's into me. That I'm not the only one that can get a little topsy-turvy because of someone else.

  “You're ridiculous,” Killian huffs ands grabs a freshly made burrito.

  “Not as ridiculous as why you were jealous.”

  “I didn't even realize I was jealous, okay?” Killian says. His cheeks heat up and it makes my stomach do little flips to know it embarrasses him how overprotective he can sometimes be.

  “You like me,” I smirk.

  “Damn right I do.”

  We grab our food and head back towards the table of guys. Nina is now sitting on the opposite side of the table next to Jackson. She looks completely at peace in her relationship and it makes me feel giddy that I now have that same feeling every time I’m around Killian.

  After sliding into our seats, Ian leans forward and snatches a French fry off of Killian’s plate while continuing to glare at him. I pull my plate in tighter so that way no one can steal anything off of it.

  “I don’t understand what the big deal is,” my boyfriend shrugs towards Ian. “He’s focused on the game.”

  “On making us work harder than we already do,” Ian says sternly. “I don’t have time for the added workouts he wants to implement.”

  “It will help us get towards the championship,” Alex answers nonchalantly.

  “We lost one game, it’s not going to make or break us for the championship slot,” Ian rolls his eyes. “Coach has us on a good workout plan and we’re all getting things done smoothly.”

  “But we could be better,” Alex shrugs.

  “We could always be better,” Ian throws back at him. “But overworking ourselves isn’t the answer.”

  “Guys,” Killian interjects. “How about a compromise? We’ll add another day onto our workout regimen. That way we’ll get to discuss plays and which areas need work without having a mutiny on the team, sound good to everyone?”

  It takes me a minute to look around the table as all the guys on the football team nod their heads in agreement. Most people would say that the quarterback is the team leader, and while that’s probably true, Killian seems to be the one they all go to
when they’re unsure of something. Alex might be the leader, but Killian is by far the mediator between everyone.

  “What?” Killian looks at me.

  “What do you mean ‘what’?” I ask.

  “You’re staring at everyone,” he points out.

  “I’m just looking at all of our friends,” I smirk at him before sticking out my tongue. “You know, all those people you want to show me off in front of, who already know me?”

  “Well if that’s the way you want to be about it, fine,” Killian grins back. But it doesn’t look near as teasing as my smile had been. Oh no, his was a pure get ready to eat your words type of grin. “Hey!” he hollers at the table. “This is Lila, my girlfriend.”

  Everyone proceeds to let out a few catcalls and whistles.

  “I’m showing her off, okay?” Killian adds on.

  “You’re such a dork,” I snort.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” my boyfriend smiles broadly.

  “You two are a walking disaster of the best kind,” Nina laughs from across the table. “You’re perfect for each other.”

  That gives me a slight pause. Not because I think she’s wrong, but it’s like being hit caught out in left field with a baseball coming straight towards you, and then that moment of clarity when you think I got this.

  Which is exactly how my mind responds to her words. I got this. It’s always been oblivious to Killian and I, that much is true. We circled each other for far too long before things were bound to wind up this way. Not that it’s that big of a surprise looking back.

  If anyone had told me two months ago that I would be dating my best friend, my partner in crime, the only guy who’s successfully driven me to the brink of insanity, I probably would have laughed in their faces.

  Because my response would have been: I’m not Killian Blane’s type.

  And that was true. I wasn’t his type at all. I didn’t match what those girls wanted from him: a one night stand. Instead, I was something so far different than them that is worked in my favor. I wasn’t after Killian Blane the football player who was going pro after college, or the manwhore who practically owned the campus, or a groupie who was only after his name.

  I was Lila Summers, his best friend.

  “You have that look on your face again,” Killian says softly to me, all the teasing gone out of his features.

  “What look?”

  “That you like me look.”

  “But I do like you.”

  “Thank God for that,” Killian smiles and brushes his lips across mine briefly.

  “Get a room!” someone yells from down the table.

  “Get a life!” Killian yells back with laughter.

  The whole table chuckles along with him and I settle into his side to continue eating my lunch.

  “I don’t see what the point of this is,” I tell Nina as we sip our water bottles to watch football practice continue.

  “It’s for the banquet and you know it’s necessary,” my roommate says and shoves her phone in my face once again. “What about this one?”

  “I don’t think online shopping for a dress is going to be the same as actually going to a store and trying it on to make sure it fits,” I tell her.

  “But we can look online to know where we’d like to go. Or would you rather spend several days going to different stores to be disappointed in finding nothing when we could have checked online first?”

  Well, when she puts it like that, online shopping doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Except for the fact that I don’t like shopping in the least bit.

  “It’s this or we gossip,” Nina points a finger at me.

  I roll my eyes. “You know everything about my relationship, what could there possibly be to gossip about?”

  “Alex.”

  My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “Why do you want to gossip about Alex?”

  “Why does nobody talk about why he’s a manwhore?” Nina points towards the field. “Every time someone brings up having a girlfriend, he freaks out. What gives?”

  “That’s not my business to tell,” I say firmly.

  Now it’s Nina’s eyes that go wide. “So you know!”

  “Of course I know,” I laugh. “I was there for all the drama that happened.”

  She reaches over and wraps her hands around my bicep before shaking me like her personal rag doll. “Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

  Jeez, she’s like a dog with a bone. One whiff of it and she’s on the hunt. I’m amazed it took her this long to hold it in before exploding and wanting to know about it. “Why don’t you just ask Alex what happened?” I suggest.

  “I tried that once. He gave me his super angry face and walked off.”

  That’s not surprising in the least.

  “And I want to know what happened. Maybe I can set him up with one of my friends for the banquet. He’d be cool with that, wouldn’t he?”

  “I doubt it,” I shrug my shoulders. “He had one serious girlfriend and after that, well, you know how he is now. Strongly disagree that he’d like to be set up with someone.”

  “Even if she liked him?” Nina asks.

  I pause. “One of your friends likes Alex?”

  “Yeah, Chloe. She’s in one of my study groups and talks about him nonstop,” Nina rolls her eyes. “I don’t even think I’ve talked about Jackson that much in my life, and I’m dating him.”

  “It’s probably not a wise choice if she’s serious about liking him,” I shake my head.

  “But why is it not a good idea?”

  “Show me more dresses,” I say immediately, trying to change her mind on wanting to know more about Alex’s love life, or lack thereof.

  “Nuh-uh,” Nina holds her phone away from me. “Tell me about the girl that’s the reason Alex won’t date or get set up on dates.”

  I sigh, knowing she’s not going to let this go unless I give her something, and say, “Her name is Grace. And she broke his heart.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Killian

  There’s an energy floating through the air as an air horn goes off. Several thousand people are screaming and stomping their feet in the stands. The sound so loud in the air that the field actually seems to be vibrating.

  Alex taps me on the shoulder as he rounds back towards the huddle where Coach is at. I take up a spot next to him as Coach continues on with his wisdom and threats all rolled up into one big shebang.

  “...So keep your heads out of your asses and let’s keep this up!” Coach hollers above the yells of the crowd. “I don’t get paid to stand here and watch you make a fools of yourselves. Stick to the script and let’s get this game over with!”

  “One, two, three,” Alex says from beyond his helmet.

  “Break!” everyone echos as we trot back onto the field to our places.

  I’m eyeballing the line from the back of the field. The opposing team is shifting every few seconds it feels like, even though they really aren’t. Everyone is antsy to see how this game goes. To see if we can come back from the epic fail that I caused last Saturday. We’re not in Hanson, but a few hours south near the South Carolina border.

  It feels like the majority of the school came out to cheer us on. And I know somewhere in the stands, Lila is sitting next to Nina waving a foam finger and wearing one of my old t-shirts. That knowledge alone makes me feel invincible on the field.

  The whistle blows, the ball gets hiked and the linemen surge forward with the brutality of Viking warriors, or in this case, the force of a hurricane. Since that’s our team name and all. I run left, twist until I’m midway between Ian and Alex, making sure to hit the guy currently barreling for Ian with all the force I can drive behind my body.

  We go down in a tangle of limbs just as I see Ian hop in the hair and take off into the open field towards the end zone. In less than twenty seconds, we’re awarded a touchdown. Ian does his little bunny hop, since we’re not supposed to outright dance in the end zone. As soon as he’
s done, we line back up for our kicker to come onto the field.

  Not that we use him, considering we go for a two-point conversion and get it. But he’s there all the same to join the crowd and the team in celebrating the victory as the crowd goes wild and the buzzer signals the end of the fourth quarter.

  We won.

  And I’ve never been so happy or relieved.

  We’re sitting in the visitor locker room while waiting for all the gear to be rounded up before we’re released to the bus to head back towards campus. If you’re lucky, and I mean really fucking lucky, then you get to drive your own car back. Or catch a ride back.

  It’s the one rule Coach doesn’t mind if we break as long as he okays it beforehand. And that’s why I’m impatiently waiting around so that way I can head out to the parking lot and find Lila.

  “Shit!” someone yells and we all turn and crane our necks to see what’s happening.

  Lila’s fiery hair is bouncing in her ponytail as she rounds the corner and scans the room until her annoyed eyes settle on me. Nina is holding on to the back of Lila’s shirt, her other hand plastered over her eyes.

  “Are you kidding me?” Alex snorts from beside me.

  “Babe!” Jackson yells in confusion. “What the hell are you doing back here?”

  “Lila was impatient to get going before traffic got bad,” Nina says, turning her head while still keeping her eyes shielded. “Please tell me no one is naked in here.”

  “No one’s naked,” Jackson huffs.

  “Oh thank goodness,” Nina sighs and drops her hand to look around the room for her boyfriend.

  “We would have been out in like ten minutes,” I smile at Lila.

  Her gunmetal eyes roll in her head. “I was impatient.”

  Obviously she was if she’s standing in the locker room right now.

  “How do you get back here?” Alex asks from beside me, sounding a little bit in awe.

  “Why? Is it supposed to be hard?” Lila frowns. “I just told your little guard guy that I was tired of waiting around and that if he didn’t move that I was going to move him.”