by Rose Croft
“This is our year. This is our time. This is our moment!” He raised his drink in the air and everyone did the same. “So let’s have a toast. Here’s to a great year and hope to see you at the games and all hail the mighty falcons.” He dropped the microphone and stalked off, and the packed group of people somehow separated, leaving a path with the ending near Kenzie and me. Panic shot through me. I faced Kenzie keeping my back to him, hoping he’d just pass by and not even take the time to notice me. I felt the rush of air whoosh by me and a familiar all-male scent, and the blaring of Travis Scott’s “Highest in the Room” indicating the party was back on. I inhaled deeply whether out of relief or relishing a high I hadn’t experienced in years, I couldn’t be certain. However, I kept my head down staring into my drink contemplating slipping away and walking back to my dorm.
Raucous laughter was heard over the loud music. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him standing around a group of girls a few feet away. Then a brunette stepped into his group and leaned in, kissing his cheek. Nausea threatened to rear its ugly head. If I could just convince Kenzie to go outside, away from him…
She bent to my ear. “Hey, I’ll be right back. Justin wants me to help him bring some more alcohol from the basement since the bar is running low. Will you be okay here for a sec?”
“Yeah, go. I’ll be fine.” I sure as hell hoped my voice sounded more confident than I felt. There were so many people packed in here, I could lay low for a bit, couldn’t I? Justin took her hand as I watched them walk off. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and kept unwillingly glancing his way. Soon, some of the girls in his orbit moved off toward the back of the house, while he stayed and looked like he was having some serious conversation with the brunette because he wasn’t smiling. I couldn’t see her face because her back was to me. The next thing I knew she threw her hands up in the air storming off while he glanced around with a look of indifference and took a pull from his drink.
I took one step to the side planning my exit because the group of people between he and I was thinning out as people pumped hands in the air bouncing by me to the beat of the music blaring around us.
“Roman!” a male voice called out behind me. “We’re gonna do it this year, man.” He sounded well on his way to drunk and tipped his cup in his direction. He struggled to stand up straight holding his cup high as alcohol sloshed over the side. I cringed in apprehension as Roman lifted his head, searching for whoever spoke, and the air left my lungs. He nodded at him, and then his eyes shifted until they landed on me. A shiver crept up my neck when I saw his eyes. Not only were they cold. They were filled with hate.
Tortuous seconds ticked by until his lips twisted down. “Get out.” I saw the words slip out of his mouth, although the noise was too loud to hear. It was easy to read his lips, and his warning was directed at me. Why did I stand paralyzed when I should’ve slipped out when I had the chance? Yet, I felt planted to the floor still harboring a sense of denial.
This was my Roman.
The boy I’d known all my life.
Who I didn’t know anymore.
His glare never wavered from me, and his next words hit me directly as though he were standing in front of me instead of several feet apart. “Get the fuck out!”
“Damn, bro. What did I do to piss you off?” Mr. Overserved behind me called out defensively. The few people around us shifted their head in puzzlement wondering why this football god was trying to throw someone out of a fraternity party. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment because I knew exactly who he was talking about. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people around to see what was unfolding. However, the public humiliation would only get worse the longer I stood here and stared. And there was no doubt he’d keep at it. When Roman set his mind on something he always followed through, and he had the minions beneath him to carry out his orders. Always had.
Turning, I pasted a smile on my face, hid my rising mortification, and made my way quickly out the front door before everyone at the party knew me as the girl who got kicked out of an open house mixer.
I swiped at my face rushing down the sidewalk and bumped someone as I passed by nearly losing my balance as one of my pointy heels turned beneath me.
“Hey. I got you.” Hands held my arms steadying me.
“Thanks,” I murmured giving a brief glance to the tall broad-shouldered guy with a kind smile. I looked over my shoulder hoping to avoid seeing him again. All I wanted was to make it back to my room.
“You leaving already?”
“Yup. Thanks again.” I started walking off.
“Where are you headed?” He asked behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder. “Home.”
“Nick! Where the fuck you been, bro?” Someone yelled in the distance, and I picked up my stride.
“Wait,” he called out behind me, but I waved him off.
“I’m fine. Really.”
I kept up my pace fighting the sickening feeling of humiliation.
As I neared the dorm, I kicked off my heels and padded up the front steps. I heard my phone buzz.
Kenzie: Where r u?
Me: Walking home. I don’t feel well.
Kenzie: Tell me where you are. I’ll walk with u.
Me: No. Stay. I’m almost to our room. Enjoy your evening with Justin.
I could tell she really liked him, and right now I just wanted to be alone because I knew Kenzie would bombard me with questions I didn’t want to answer. What could I say? Roman and I shared a long history. The little girl who never knew her father, raised by her mother who lived in the poor part of a small country town, went from squalor to living in a mansion. I remembered the first day I set eyes on him when we moved in with his family because my mom had been hired to take care his mother.
He was a few years older than me, and I’d always had a crush on him over the years. Eventually, he’d returned the feelings. I thought we’d be together forever, but I was a naïve and idealistic girl. You don’t know what love is. You’re too young. Those were the words my mom uttered the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. Soon after, everything fell apart. Whatever love that had blossomed between Roman and I long ago was only a pipe dream.
My first week of classes had gone smoothly so far. It was Friday morning and I had classes until noon. Luckily, I had a job interview at one of the local college restaurants a few blocks away this afternoon.
I walked down the sidewalk, observing the stately, red brick buildings surrounded by lush trees. It really was a quaint but beautiful campus nestled among rolling hills covered in rock and foliage. As I came closer to the older building named after someone who’d probably contributed money to the campus years ago when it opened, I noticed a group of people lounging around the front. After walking this path for a few days, I’d recognized the same people congregated here. Most of the guys stood out being tall and muscular, probably athletes of some type, as a few girls laughed and flipped their hair or put a hand on their hip as if enraptured by whatever was being said. I didn’t know any of them, but some of the faces looked familiar in a way. Probably because they were at that ill-fated PIKE party last week. When I passed through here the first time, I’d felt some of them watch me in morbid fascination and whisper amongst themselves. At least that’s how I saw it. Perhaps some people were paying attention the other night when I had to keep myself from making a mad dash out of the party. I held my head high nonetheless. I dealt with whispers and petty bullshit before.
As I turned right to go up the stairs to the entrance, I pulled out my phone to check the time and a text came through.
Mom: Have a great day and good luck on your interview.
I clicked in the reply box, then a large shadow fell over me and chills coursed down my spine. When I glanced up, my pulse kicked up. It was like staring at a beautiful picture or reliving a bittersweet memory from my past. Unfortunately, I couldn’t forget his hate-filled glare from the party last week as he crudely kicked me out. Roman. I averted my eyes a
nd tried to move around him because I made a vow to never be caught off-guard again. However, he blocked my path. “Move out of my way.”
“Not yet,” he said, crowding the limited space between us. His chest was as broad as ever, more so even, as muscles constricted under soft fabric. I saw the tan skin that peeked out from the collar, and my eyes traveled up farther, studying his face. The angled, square jawline. The indentation in his chin. Sensuous full mouth. His pronounced straight nose. All his features screamed out strength, hard, and alpha. When I reached his caramel-colored eyes that I used to get lost in when he gazed at me, I nearly faltered. It was one thing to see his wrath from a distance. It was quite another to experience it up close. They were dark and his straight eyebrows were drawn together as he stared at me with a mixture of coldness and fury.
“What are you doing here?” His voice sounded ominous as though I was trespassing on his property.
“I go to school here.”
He leaned in; his inky hair fell across his forehead as he ground out, “How?”
My skin began to burn as he edged in, and his masculine, woodsy scent filled my senses. He’d broken my heart, and now seemed as though he wanted to strangle me. That was apparent. However, Roman questioning how I got into this school was ridiculous. Was he implying that I wasn’t good enough or too poor to attend this small private school?
“I have a scholarship.”
“Is that right?” His voice rose with a deceptive coolness. “You were always very resourceful, huh, even coming from the trailer park. You should be very grateful for my family’s generosity.”
“What does that mean?” Did he think I should fall to the ground in gratitude because I had the chance to live under his family’s roof while my mother earned her way? Why was I standing here listening to this? I complied when I was at the party. However, I was not going to listen to his condescending crap while I was on campus getting the education I worked hard for. What could he do? Kick me off campus too? “I earned the right to be here.”
“I’m sure you did.” His mouth lifted in a cruel smile. “But, don’t get too comfortable because once you think you have everything, it could all be lost in the blink of an eye. You know, karma and all.”
“We’re not at a stupid frat party. You can’t throw me out of the university.” The intelligent side of my brain knew I should’ve ignored him and ran as far away from him as I could. Instead of trying to provoke him.
I shouldered around him and before I could step forward, fingers dug into my elbow, yanking me until my back crashed into his chest. I felt his breath at my ear as he warned low, “That’s where you’re wrong. Don’t tempt me. You don’t know the lengths I will go to when it comes to you.”
I sat down in one of the desks at the back, glancing around the small auditorium preparing for my Sociology class, still shaken over seeing Roman again. I thought he was different. Yes, I came from poverty, but over the years he’d befriended me, even defended me when the other privileged kids in high school made fun of me. I thought he loved me. I thought I was good enough. I thought he wasn’t a superficial person who cared about status. In reality, I was good enough for him to sample the milk, but not to be seen on his arm.
“Is this seat taken?” I shook my head and glanced up to see the blond Adonis who’d seemed to show up late every day we had class this week. Hearing the whispers among other students, he was supposedly some football star on campus. He certainly was built like one. His eyes were light green and his skin tan. His muscles were etched under the white designer T-shirt he wore. Then recognition hit me, and he said, “Remember me. The guy you ran into the other night.”
“Oh hey.”
He dropped down beside me, and I noticed he didn’t bring anything with him—no laptop, books, pen, or paper. “You took off in a hurry. I’m Nick by the way.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling well. Think it was food poisoning.”
“Ugh. That shit sucks.”
I bit back a smile and flipped open my school-issued Chromebook as our professor began his lecture. Soon, another guy slid into the chair next to blondie. He was equally built too, but had dark curly hair and mocha skin. “You didn’t bring anything to take notes?” he whispered as though put out.
“No.” Nick leaned back in his seat. “You know you’re a better note taker than me.”
“What the fuck, bro? Do I look like your personal assistant?”
The professor paused and glanced around the auditorium until his eyes settled on our area in the back, apparently hearing the loud whispers. “If you find my lecture boring, you can leave.”
When the room remained silent, he turned and started writing something on the Smart Board, and Nick whispered to his friend, “You told me if I took this class with you, you’d make sure I passed. You said you’d take one for the team.”
His friend sighed, but didn’t respond. A few minutes later, as I furiously typed my notes, I felt blondie’s eyes on me as he bent his head to my ear. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you again, since I noticed you were in the same class as me.”
I chewed on my lip, and kept moving my fingers across the keyboard.
He leaned in again. “But I still don’t know your name.”
I blinked up at him and rushed out, “Theodora.” I cautiously glanced back to the, front of the auditorium scared that I might be heard and then asked to leave the class.
I felt a breath on my ear again. “Theodora. I like that name. It sounds exotic.”
Dr. Smith paused and scanned the room. A few seconds later, Nick exhaled a loud breath. “Do you even know what the hell this lecture’s about? I’m lost.”
“Shh,” I warned as silently as possible. Maybe if he wasn’t talking through it, he would know.
There was a quiet chuckle. “Don’t worry. He won’t kick me out of class. I have immunity.”
Of course he did. It was the same in high school with the star athletes. Obviously, college was just an extension of allowing athletes to have carte blanche. Did Roman get a pass too? Was he regaled on campus like he was in high school?
When the class was over, I heard the rumbles of students and the click of laptops flipping shut. I was still trying to finish typing my notes. As I gathered up my things, I glanced up to see Nick’s grin with his golden-boy looks. His friend leaned in nudging Nick aside. “Apparently, this asshole has no manners. I’m Axel by the way.”
“Theo.”
Nick shoved him back playfully. “Don’t you have another class across campus? Better hurry. Don’t want to be late.”
“Yeah, unlike you I take school seriously.” He leaned in whispering conspiratorially. “Don’t believe anything this joker says.” With that, he saluted with a huge grin. “Later.”
Nick rolled his eyes with an easy-going smile. “Hey, I was wondering if you were going to the football game tomorrow? I play linebacker on the team.”
Kenzie was going and had basically coerced me into going with her. I knew I’d see Roman on the field judging from the props he received the other night. For as long as I knew him, Roman always had a football in his hand. It’d always been his dream to play. The thought caused some kind of weird stirring in my stomach. I should’ve said no, but instead these words fell out of my mouth. “I’ll try to make it.”
Nick winked. “You do that. By the way, my number is fifty-five.” He smirked. “You’ll know when you see me out there making tackle after tackle.”
“Cocky much?” I teased.
“Nah, just stating facts.”
As he walked off whistling, I wondered why I was thinking about whether or not I’d see another star player making all the big plays?
Theodora
It was mid-afternoon and Kenzie and I were sitting in the student section at the football stadium behind the home team. I cheered with everyone else as the sea of red jerseys with the word Falcons displayed across their chests ran through the tunnel onto the field. As players trotted over to the sidelin
es, many carrying their helmets in hand, I made an effort to search for Nick. I truly did. However, my attention was drawn to the dark head of number eighty-seven. Why did he have to look so hot and intimidating in his damn uniform? Roman wasn’t the tallest guy on the team, although close, but his presence was always larger than any player on the field. Today was no exception.
“Look, there’s Justin!” Kenzie nudged me. Justin and she had steadily seen each other more and more for the past week. I glanced over where she pointed briefly, but my eyes kept going back to Roman. He was now off by himself on the sideline kneeling just like he always did before games as he stared at the field. He’d once told me he liked to visualize his routes and catches before the game. It got him in the zone. Whatever he did, it usually worked.
It always made me pumped to know you were at my game watching me. You’re the best good luck charm, Corazón. You’re my girl, always.
“Theo. Theo!” My friend jostled my arm. “What just happened? It’s like you tuned out and were in a daze.”
“What? No,” I recovered. “If you haven’t noticed, it’s kind of loud in the stadium.” Gosh. I needed to stop this nonsense before my friend started pressing me for info. I was stuck in a moment and wasn’t ready to delve into my past with my newfound friend. College was supposed to be a clean slate for me. I vowed to keep it that way. I shouldn’t even think about him considering the way he’d treated me recently. You don’t know the lengths I will go to when it comes to you.
As the game progressed, we watched as our offense marched down the field. Roman had already caught several passes, moving the chains. He was dominating his position as usual. The Falcons offense was at midfield, and the quarterback took the hike and back pedaled, Roman breezed by a defender as he burned down the field. The QB tossed it in the air his way…and it landed in his hands as he ran the next twenty yards into the end zone. “Touchdown Falcons!” the announcer yelled, followed by a loud train sounding horn of a contraption behind the end zone. “Roman Martinez!” It was noisy but all I saw was my high school crush who jumped around in excitement and yanked off his helmet as he bellowed out to the sky with his neck strained while teammates gathered around him in celebration. That was the first of two more touchdowns he would score, and the Falcons would go on to win 44–0.