The Billionaire Bull: A Billionaire and Virgin Romance

by Romi Hart

  I took apart another Oreo, smashed in three Cheetos, and then crammed them into my mouth. That night with Jett had felt special. It felt wonderful to be with him. So real and genuine. Could I trust that he’d changed his ways for me?

  Grabbing my notebook, I looked over my list of pros and cons about Jett I’d written out, right when I’d come home from the party. Pros: Handsome. Intelligent. Sweet. Thoughtful. Cons: Too many ex-girls. Known Liar. Jock. Player.

  In frustration, I chucked the notebook across the room. My list wasn’t working. Jett had been sweet and thoughtful to me, but how long was that behavior really going to last until he tossed me aside for someone else? A con was that Jett was a player, but maybe, just maybe he’d changed for me.

  Am I fooling myself to think that?

  I browsed through the Netflix interface looking for something silly and comedic. My orange Cheeto fingers lazily clicked and scrolled on my Mac’s touchpad. I scrolled quickly past the Romantic Comedies Netflix recommended to me. Mama Mia. 13 Going on 30. Legally Blonde. All adorable movies with happy endings. I slammed my laptop shut.

  Marsha walked in right then. She jumped at the sound of my laptop shutting and looked at me cautiously. “What did your laptop ever do to you?” She looked pretty in a short red dress and black stiletto heels. Taking off her shoes, she noticed my notebook haphazardly thrown on the floor and picked it up.

  Aloud, she read the list, “Pros: Handsome, intelligent, sweet, thoughtful…” She stopped reading, looking at me in confusion. “Who is this list about?”

  I grumbled, “Jett.”

  She flipped through the pages of the notebook. “Where’s Troy’s list?”

  “I didn’t make a list for Troy,” I said, taking an Oreo out of the package. “Honestly, I only see Troy as a friend.”

  Marsha threw the notebook hard onto my desk. It landed askew; the pages bent and crumpled. “I don’t get it. Troy is clearly crazy for you, but he’s still not good enough. You’d rather waste your time with a bad boy who will only fuck you and leave you.” She turned away from me, slipping off her dress.

  “Marsha, why are you so mad?” I asked, covering my full mouth with my hand. It was difficult to talk with the Oreos and Cheetos.

  She turned around to me after she’d pulled on a Cal sweatshirt and sweatpants. Tears rolled down her face. “You are such an idiot. You know that? You don’t even deserve, Troy.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

  What is her problem?

  “If you think Troy is so great, why don’t you go for him?” I couldn’t figure out her deal. Why was she so invested in my relationship with Troy?

  Marsha slowly sat down on her bed. Sniffling, she looked at me and said, “I’ve tried.”

  “You have?” Her confession astonished me.

  I put the Oreo that I had in my hand back in the package and listened as she explained. “I’ve been in love with Troy since high school. We went to Los Alamos High together, but he never showed any interest in me there growing up.” Marsha’s tears kept rolling down her cheeks as she spoke. “I wasn’t very cute back then. I wore huge thick glasses. Pimples all over my face. I even had a mustache my mom wouldn’t let me wax off until I was 18.”

  My eyes widened as I looked at her. Marsha with a mustache. That must’ve been terrible. “How sad.”

  “I was a complete dork. When I found out he was going to Berkeley, I had to come too.” Marsha laid her head on her pillow, looking up at the ceiling. “And I thought I’d reinvent myself. Then he’d see how we were meant to be together.” Her voice trailed off. “But, even here, he just doesn’t like me.” Soft sobs filled her throat.

  I was completely confused. If Marsha was in love with him, why did she want me to be his girlfriend? That sounded counter-intuitive. “If you like him, then why would you want me to pick him over Jett? I don’t get it.”

  Marsha stopped crying and sat up. Looking right at me unnervingly, she said, “Because I want to see him happy. I’ll do anything in my power to give him what he deserves: happiness and love.” Her eyes were red from crying, but they were unflinching. “You don’t know him, Laney. He’s an amazing person. Troy deserves the very best.”

  I shirked under her stare. Pulling my comforter and sheets over me tightly, I had no idea what to say to her.

  Jett

  I drove home from the party in a haze of confusion. What had the girls told Laney before I got there? Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good.

  When I got back to the apartment, I wandered around the complex, looking for who was around. Hammer was in his living room binge-watching ‘Luke Cage.’

  “Let’s go outside and throw the ball around,” I said, sitting on the couch as I looked at Luke Cage on the giant flat-screen TV. He was fighting a large group of bad dudes. And he was outnumbered, but Luke Cage was Luke Cage with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. I needed unbreakable skin and an impenetrable heart. I used to have an impenetrable heart. What happened to me?

  “Nah, man. I’m on episode 6.” He threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

  On the outside, Hammer, Josh, looked like the stereotypical jock: dark buzzed cut hair and tall with huge imposing muscles, but inside he was a typical geek. “Come on. I need to let off some steam.”

  Hammer paused the video. “Okay.”

  The courtyard was outfitted with bright surrounding floodlights in case anyone wanted to come out and throw the ball around in the middle of the night. I found the light switches and flipped them on. The lawn filled with intense light.

  Hammer squinted his eyes and cocked his head to the side with an expression of ‘Really?’

  “You’re right. We don’t need that much light,” I chuckled then flipped off one of the light switches. The lawn was bright enough for us to see the ball but not bright enough to give us migraines.

  I tossed Hammer the football. “Okay. So what happened tonight?” he asked, catching the ball. “Tell me.”

  “What makes you think something happened?” I asked noncommittally.

  He gave me that look again and sighed. “Okay. All right. Laney dissed me, man. It was terrible. You remember, Jane?”

  Hammer shrugged.

  “Samantha?”

  Another shrug.

  “Teresa? Sadie?”

  Yet, another shrug.

  “You don’t remember any of these girls from earlier this year?” I asked.

  He threw his hands up with that ‘Really?’ look on his face again. “I can’t keep track of your girls, Gun. I’d need a computer program to do that. Frankly, I’m impressed you even remember them.”

  “Okay, fine. True. Anyway, these are all girls I’d gone out with and dropped once I realized I didn’t like them as much as I thought.” I sailed the football to Hammer.

  He caught it and asked, “What’s new about this story?”

  “Well, these chicks were at the party. They cornered Laney and told her what an asshole I am.”

  Hammer laughed. “I don’t remember these girls, but I can only assume that you were a complete and undeniable asshole to them. Correct?”

  I challenged him. “Maybe.” He gave me the look that told me he knew damn good and well I had been an asshole to each and every one of them. “Fine! Yes! I may have done some things that many would consider unscrupulous,” I said. Hammer sent the ball over to me in a nice arched spiral. Catching it, I admitted, “Ya. I was an asshole.”

  Hammer shrugged his shoulders. “You can’t change the past.” He put his hands up. I sent the ball back over to him. “What did Laney say?”

  “That’s the thing, man. She didn’t say anything.” I took out my phone and checked it again, making sure she hadn’t called, and I’d missed it. Nope. I shoved the phone back in my pocket. I continued, “I basically humiliated myself. In front of everyone, I asked her to be my girl. Then she just ran out.”

  “What do you mean she just ran out?” Hammer lobbed the ball high to me.


  I jumped up to catch it. “Exactly what I said. After I asked her to be my girl and promised her a full-on commitment, she straight up bounced. Houdini’ed out of there.” I tossed the football back to him. “I couldn’t find her.”

  He caught the ball. Twirling it in his hands, he said, “I know you like this girl, but dude, you gotta forget about her and move on.”

  I held my hands up. Hammer sighed, throwing the ball to me. I caught the ball, wondering if he was right. But would I be able to forget about her? After her, could I just move on to some other chick like I’d done before? I sailed the football back to Hammer while my thoughts raced. It seemed unlikely. It would take a long time for me to get over her.

  Out of nowhere, Brick House stepped out into the light. “Why do you want to break Laney’s heart so damn bad?” he shouted at me.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, looking around me startled. He literally appeared out from the shadows like a ghost.

  “How did you get in here?” Hammer roared.

  In the bright floodlights, Troy looked maniacal. His fists were clenched at his sides. He paced quickly back and forth into and out of the light. In the shadows, he looked like a large hulking beast. Speaking quickly, he asked, “Why do you want to break Laney’s heart so bad?” He repeated the question a few more times until he screeched, “Answer me!”

  "Troy, you have no idea how I feel about her. Just get lost, okay? You're pathetic," I said watching him pace and clench and unclench his fists. "She doesn't want to be with you. I can see it as plain as day in her eyes. Man, she just doesn't like you like that. Why can't you see that?" Troy stopped pacing to look at me. Half of his face was in the light. The other half in darkness. The lit half of his face began to twitch. "You should stop trying. Go for someone else," When I said that, the side of his face in the light transformed into a blaze of rage.

  He charged toward me and tried to nail me with a right hook, but I ducked out of the way. I landed an uppercut on his chin, sending him stumbling backward. He squeezed his eyes tightly, grabbing where I’d hit him with both of his hands. The blow only served to infuriate him even more.

  He came charging back toward me with his head lowered and body centered low, tackling me to the ground. As we rolled around in the grass, I hit Troy in his ribcage with my fists. Troy pinned me down with a knee and rained his fists into my face. I pushed my hands on his chest as hard as I could. Troy fell backward, so I scrambled up.

  Just as I raised my fist up to pummel Troy’s face, Hammer pulled us apart. “That’s enough!” he yelled at us.

  Troy sat up with wrath still in his eyes. I could tell he still wanted to fight. He picked himself up, blood running down his face then lowered his head, getting ready to charge us both. Hammer held his massive arm up. “I don’t have to remind you both the consequences for fighting, do I?” He pointed at Troy, “Do you want to be kicked off the wrestling team?” Troy relaxed his stance. Next, he pointed at me, “You have a chance at getting drafted. You want to ruin that?”

  I heaved an exasperated sigh. The NFL was my dream. What was I doing jeopardizing my chances? “No.”

  Hammer continued, “The two of you need to get your shit together. This chick is making you lose your damn minds.” He shook his head. “Listen, I’m sorry.” He indicated to both of us. “But, she doesn’t want anything real with either of you. You guys need to move on. Seriously.”

  I sat down in the grass. Troy turned away, crossing his arms. I noticed my bottom lip was puffy and bleeding. I touched it gingerly with my fingertips. “Ow…”

  Hammer watched the two of us moping. “See what you’ve done? You two pretty boys have fucked your faces up.”

  I laughed, but Troy looked so distant. He acted like he hadn’t heard Hammer. Slowly, he walked out of the courtyard without saying a word.

  When he was gone, Hammer said, “At least, you’re not that guy. Damn. He’s worse off than you. He’s clinically insane for that chick.”

  I nodded. I was crazy for Laney too, but I showed it differently. Acting like a crazy violent stalker wasn’t my thing. I am the type to be silently sad, missing her while trying not show it.

  Laney

  My phone vibrated from underneath my pillow. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Instinctively, half asleep with my eyes closed, I felt around for my phone.

  Buzz. Buzz.

  I peeked an eye open to see who it was.

  Jett. My eyes popped open. It was 4:32 in the morning. What did he want? Was he okay?

  Buzz.

  Biting my lip, I thought about the possibilities that he was injured and needed my help. Regardless of whether we were going to be committed to each other, I still wanted to be his friend and wouldn’t refuse to help him if he needed me. I clicked accept.

  “Hello?” I kept my voice low, looking over at Marsha asleep in her bed. After she berated me for being an ungrateful bitch to Troy, she’d put her headphones on and watched something on her laptop. I left her alone and turned away from her, facing my wall until she fell asleep.

  Marsha had been a great roommate. She had seemed nice and friendly. That is until I questioned whether I wanted to be in a relationship with the love of her life, Troy. All of it seemed so odd and twisted to me. If I really liked someone, it would kill me to see him with someone else. I couldn’t be like Marsha who actively encouraged another girl to go out with Troy, selflessly just for the quiet satisfaction that he would be happy even if it was with someone else.

  “Laney,” Jett sighed into the phone. Silence filled the space between us. I put my head down on my pillow, holding my phone to my ear and turning towards the wall, hugging my pillow to my chest. “I get it now.”

  “You get what?” I asked. Marsha had fallen asleep with her lamp still on. The light outlined a soft shadow of my body on the white wall. I traced it with my finger and waited for him to continue.

  He took his time as he talked. Allowing himself to pause, I guessed, to mull over the words he wanted to say to me. His words felt slow and leaden tugging at his voice and dragging it to a lumbering tempo, “I get that you don’t like me. I accept that you never will,” His voice cracked. It sounded like he was crumbling.

  “Jett, I...” I tried to say.

  He cut me off. “No, Laney. It’s okay. I like you more than any girl I’ve ever met, but I get it.” He laughed. The laugh came out resentfully. I let him continue on without interruption. “I’m going to leave you alone, Laney. From now on, you won’t have to worry about me.”

  My heart sank. I gripped the pillow even tighter to quell the ache. “Jett…” I said.

  But, he still wouldn’t let me talk. His deliberate tirade continued. “When we’re in class, I won’t even talk to you, sit next to you, or even look at you. I’ll ignore you as if we had never met.”

  “Jett!” I said to stop him. I couldn’t let him keep going. What he was saying hurt me. Ignore me? Never talk to me again? Pretend we’d never met? My chest throbbed with pain. “I won’t be happy with that,” I uttered into the phone. “That’s not what I want.”

  There was another silence on the phone. I barely breathed. The silence was so dense and heavy; I checked the iPhone screen to make sure he hadn’t hung up. He was still there, but I felt I was losing him.

  I pressed my left ear down into the pillow and the phone to my right. I listened, waiting, hoping that ignoring each other wasn’t the answer.

  Finally, Jett said, “Laney, do you want to be with me?”

  I let his question hang in the muffled air. That was a question I couldn’t answer just yet. I had my own questions that needed to be answered. “Are all those stories true?” I asked.

  It was his turn to handle a difficult question. I heard shuffling. There wasn’t silence this time, but the light scuffle of cloth. I imagined Jett had pulled his sheets over his head or bunched up his comforter in his hands in frustration.

  A few moments passed. A crinkle of paper. Another shuffle of linen. A deep weigh
ted sigh. Finally, he answered, “Yes. Those stories are mostly true. I haven’t been a nice guy to a lot of girls.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, hearing his answer. I thought of the girls I’d met that night: Sadie, Samantha, Teresa, and Jane. All beautiful girls with bright futures, attending one of the best institutions in the world. I imagined myself as one of those girls. In truth, I was one of the girls.

  I shuddered, thinking about lying with Jett on the bed in the guestroom. I'd almost gotten too caught up in the moment. He had his hands on me: rubbing and fondling the most sensitive parts of my body. I felt myself unraveling under his touch. that moment, I wanted him.

  What if that guy hadn’t interrupted us? We could have had sex. Who knows if Jett would have dropped me right there at the party afterward? Or if he’d ignore my texts the next day? Or maybe not ever talk to me again?

  Jett interrupted my thoughts that were spinning out of control. “Until you came along, Laney, I can’t deny what an asshole I’ve been. But, I’m done trying to prove to you I’ll never hurt you that way and that you are truly special to me. I’m done.”

  A sob burgeoned deep down my throat. I swallowed it back down. I couldn’t cry just yet.

  What does that mean, he’s done?

  I gripped my iPhone, pushing it against my ear hard. I wanted to hear every word he had to say, every sound from his mouth, in case, it was the last time we ever spoke.

  “If you want to be with Troy, you should go for him. He is literally crazy about you.” Jett sputtered out a weak laugh. “I won’t stand in your way.”

  Glancing over to Marsha’s bed, I checked to see if she was still asleep. Her eyes were closed, and her breath was even and calm. Just in case, I whispered loudly into my phone, “No! I don’t want to be with Troy. I like you, Jett! I’m just afraid of getting hurt.”

  Marsha stirred, but then just turned over in her bed. I sighed in relief. The last thing I needed was Marsha waking up and throwing a fit that I was on the phone with Jett and not Troy.