by Natalie Rios
“Did he post new ones?” He didn’t mention it when we talked this morning, but he might have meant for it to be a surprise.
“Not exactly.” Lia tightens her grip on her phone before extending it out to me. “I was searching the hashtag just now and stumbled across some pictures I think you should see.”
I look at Camilla, who shrugs. We both move in closer to see what Lia’s trying to show us. It’s a picture of a beautiful blonde sitting on Theo’s lap. Legs draped across the tops of his thighs and one hand wrapped around his forearm, she looks comfortable. Cozy, even. Their heads are tilted towards each other, her lips planting a kiss across his cheek.
My heart drops as I stare at his face. At the tie around his neck.
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Maybe it’s an old picture,” Camilla says, snatching the phone out of Lia’s hand. “What’s the date on this? Could be before you were dating.”
I shake my head, my stomach twisting into a knot. “I gave him that tie.”
“There are more,” Lia says, her fingers flying across the screen. This next one’s even worse. You can’t see his face because his head is tilted back on the couch, but she’s on her hands and knees, crawling across his lap. Back arched, her barely-covered-by-her-skirt ass popping in the air. With her head tossed back, she’s grinning seductively at the camera. But all I can focus on are her ginormous boobs, which are falling out of her crop top right onto Theo’s lap.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I manage to move my eyes past the picture to the comments. Though I kind of wish I hadn’t.
Well, that relationship didn’t last long xD
The ‘girlfriend’ is salty!
Girlfriend, what girlfriend???
Lia clears her throat. “There’s a video too-”
“I don’t need to see the video,” I say, my voice cracking. Shit, shit, shit. I’m on the verge of tears and I never cry. Ever. My hands cover my face, but it’s not until Camilla wraps me in a hug that I realize I’m trembling. My entire body shudders as I try to shake the image out of my head. “Why? Why would he post that?”
“He didn’t post it, the girl did.”
“I don’t understand…” I trail off, my hand moving to press against my stomach. Why? That one question keeps burning through my mind. Why would he do this? This isn’t who he is.
Isn’t it though? A small voice in the back of my head whispers. Isn’t this exactly who he’s always been?
Camilla squeezes me tighter. “Maybe it’s not what it looks like. Or…oh, maybe there was an accident!”
“An accident?” Lia scoffs. “She tripped and his lap broke her fall? And she was so grateful, she gave him a lap dance after?”
The ache in my heart seeps into my bloodstream, but I ignore the stabbing pain. Something doesn’t feel right about this. “I need to talk to him.”
“Why? So he can feed you more lies?”
Shaking my head, I reach for my phone on the couch. “He hasn’t fed me any lies.” Yet, my brain silently adds. “I need to talk to him.”
I know Theo cares about me. I know he does. I can feel it with every look and touch. I’m going to focus on that, because thinking about those pictures hurts too much.
But an hour later, my hope has diminished a great deal.
“Why isn’t he answering his phone?” I mutter, re-dialing for what must be the twentieth time. “This is the worst possible time for him to go off the grid.”
“Take the bus into campus and bang on his front door,” Camilla suggests. “He can’t ignore you if you’re standing on his doorstep.”
I shake my head. “They’re not on campus. The team has a charity event tonight and an early game tomorrow so they’re spending the night in Boston. The event’s not for another few of hours, there’s no reason for him not to pick up.”
Lia says something, but the ringing in my ears is too loud for me to make out the words at first. “Did you hear me, Allie? We can drive to Boston.”
There’s a metallic taste in my mouth. I look down and realize I’ve been gnawing at my thumb, tearing off enough skin to draw blood. I’m a fucking wreck. “We don’t have a car.”
“It’s only five. Veronica might still be on campus. Do you know what hotel they’re staying at?”
“I know the hotel, but not the room number.”
“I’ll have Cam text one of the guys on the team for the room number. Veronica says she’s close enough to turn around. What do you think? Road trip?”
I don’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
Anything’s got to be better than the hell I’m envisioning in my mind.
This was a stupid idea.
Thoughts racing, I walk down the hotel hallway. It’s been two and a half hours since Picturegate and Theo is still MIA. Cam was able to get me his room number, but no one on the team has seen Theo since check-in. I have officially become one of those needy, frantic girlfriends who has to show up at his hotel room to make sure he isn’t cheating.
This is crazy. I know this is crazy. I mean, there’s a good chance he isn’t even in his room.
Except…Except, the door is slightly ajar, propped open by the deadbolt. Frowning, I double check that I have the right room number. The numbers match. A feeling of unease creeps up the back of my neck.
Why would Theo leave his door propped open?
I knock once before pushing the door open. Stepping inside, I turn the corner into the main bedroom area and freeze.
Standing at the center of the room, with her back to me, is a woman wrapped in a bedsheet. When the deadbolt clangs as it connects with the doorjamb, she speaks. “Took you long enough, T-Rex. I’m wet and ready for you.”
She spins around and drops the bedsheet, revealing a set of massive boobs. For a moment, I can only blink, too stunned by her naked presence to do or say anything.
“Oh. You’re not Theo,” she pouts. My eyes snap up to her face, her use of his name confirming I did indeed walk in on a naked girl in Theo’s room. Recognition hits me like a punch to the gut.
It’s the girl from the pictures.
“Well, this is awkward,” she continues, not even bothering to cover herself up. “Were you invited up too? Oh! Are you a sister at Pi house? Maybe he wants to try for another Kappa Zeta Pi-”
“I’m his girlfriend, actually.” Or was. Pain, a sharp and almost unbearable pain, shoots through me.
The naked girl reaches out to squeeze my hand, sending me a pitying look. “Oh, honey. You couldn’t have thought it would last. He got bored. He always gets bored. He can have any girl he wants and once he goes pro…” She shrugs, smiling as if this explained everything. “Better you found out now, right?”
I’m too numb to respond at first, my heart feeling like it’s been ripped out of chest and stomped on. It hurts, more than I ever thought it would. But you know what, fuck that. I’m not going to cry over this asshole. He’s a dirty rotten liar and a cheat. My fists clench at my side and I decide to embrace the anger. Being furious is better than being hurt.
“When you see him, tell him his girlfriend said goodbye,” I say bitterly, making my way out of there.
Lesson learned: don’t trust a player unless you’re ready to get played.
25
Theo
I MUST BE HALLUCINATING.
I swear I just saw Allie in the hotel lobby, but when I look up again, she’s gone. Nah, it can’t be her. What would she be doing in Boston anyway? Shaking my head, I ride the elevator up to my floor and head for the room. Palming the keycard, I reach to unlock the door, frowning when I find it propped open by the deadbolt.
Levi must have left it open while he ran out for ice or something. Doesn’t he realize our shit can get stolen?
I let myself into the room and call out, “Hey, asshole. You forgot to close the door.” Turning the deadbolt, I push the door shut behind me. I head for my bedside table, a smile blooming when I find my phone fully charged.
A smil
e that quickly dies when I spot the naked girl sitting on my bed.
She looks a little familiar, like maybe she’s done this before. Shaking my head, I unplug my phone and turn it on. “What are you doing in here?”
“I’m here for you, big guy,” she purrs, rising to her knees so her massive tits are pointing straight at me. An all too common scenario, one I may have indulged in a year ago. Now, I just want her to get the fuck out of my room so I can call Allie before I have to head down to the charity auction. Getting rid of this girl is cutting into our Netflix and chill time.
I reach down for the rumpled bedsheet and throw it at her. “Not interested. Get out.”
“Come on, T. I can take the edge off before tomorrow’s game,” she says, parting her thighs.
I turn my head away, but not because the sight does anything for me. Looking at her does nothing but send a rush of frustrated outrage through me. “I’m not interested. I have a girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend was just here, actually.”
Annoyed, I let out a sigh. “I don’t know how the fuck you got in here, but you need to leave before I call security.”
She ignores this. “She said to tell you goodbye.”
I open my mouth to snarl at her, but I’m distracted by my phone vibrating in my hand. Glancing down, I find twenty-two missed calls from Allie along with a slew of texts asking me where I am and to please answer my phone. My shoulders pull up tight, my stomach doing a little flip. Maybe Allie is in town. Maybe she tried to call me while my phone was charging.
I narrow my eyes at the stranger in my bed. “What did she look like?”
Naked girl shrugs. “Long dark hair, tan skin. Maybe she’s Latina? Anyway, at first I thought she was here for a threesome, which I’m totally cool with by the way-”
I raise a hand to halt her words and gesture at her nakedness. “Were you like this when she stopped by?”
“Sort of. I had the bedsheet wrapped around me and dropped it to surprise you. Only it wasn’t you, it was her.”
A fuse of panic lights in my chest. “Fuck me,” I groan, reaching to dial Allie.
“Oooh, gladly. Are you calling her back for a threesome?”
“Get the fuck out of my room,” I bellow, my voice echoing across the hotel room.
Naked girl winces, but puts on a brave face. “Is it because of the threesome? Because we don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m cool with just us-”
“Get out.” I don’t wait for her to move this time, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her out.
“What about my clothes?” she shrieks, but I’m done with her. Let her roam around the hotel naked. Would serve her right for breaking into my room and causing my girlfriend unnecessary stress.
I fly down the stairs, hoping and praying Allie’s still in the building. Hoping and praying she’ll give me a chance to explain.
I spot her by the main entrance, head down as she types something on her phone. Jogging over, I try to pull her against me. “Allie Cat. It’s not what it looks like, I swear-”
She shoves against me hard, squaring me with a look filled with not just anger, but hurt, pain and question. “Touch me again and I will scream.”
I back away with my hands raised. “I know it looks bad. But if you just give me a minute to explain, you’ll see that this is all a big misunderstanding.”
“I’m sure the pictures of the two of you together are just a big misunderstanding too, right?”
I shake my head. “Pictures? What pictures?”
“Seriously?” She laughs bitterly. “The pictures of her giving you a lap dance!”
“What? Allie, no. No! Listen to me. I was up there for maybe five minutes. Long enough to find out you were here and kick her out the room. I sure as fuck didn’t get a lap dance!”
“Explain how these pictures made it on Instagram then.” She shoves her phone in my face and fuck. Fuck. I hadn’t recognized her upstairs, but naked girl is the same girl who tried to kiss me at Levi’s birthday party. Someone must have taken a picture.
Correction, several pictures. Allie starts flipping through them and I want to howl with frustration. The girl had been in my lap longer than I had thought. Shit is not looking good for me.
“Please, let me explain,” I implore, covering the image with my palm. “That’s from Levi’s birthday party. I was drunk and passed out on the couch. When I woke up she was on my lap, trying to kiss me. I shoved her off and then went upstairs to sleep in Levi’s room. I didn’t touch her. I never even thought about touching her, I swear.”
“If that’s all that happened, why didn’t you say something before? You called me that night. We hung out the next day. You never said a word about a girl getting in your lap or trying to kiss you.”
“I…Honestly, it didn’t occur to me,” I admit after a slight pause. “Some girls get a little handsy when we’re out. Flirting, touching, kissing…Remember how they were at the Kappa party? And that was with you standing right next to me. It just happens sometimes. Nothing happened so I didn’t think it was a big deal. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if someone hadn’t taken pictures. You would have never known.”
Allie crosses her arms, clearly disagreeing with my assessment. “So you would rather I find out through Instagram or Carlton’s rumor mill.” It’s not posed as a question and she doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Why was she in your room naked?”
I rake a hand through my hair. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Allie scoffs. “What do you mean you don’t know? How did she get in there?”
“I don’t know. My phone died on the bus ride here. I left it charging while Levi and I grabbed lunch. We ran into some of my old friends from elementary school and I stayed for a couple of more drinks. When I got back to the room, she was there.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that? A naked girl just wound up in your room somehow? The same girl who somehow wound up in your lap at a party? Hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”
“It’s the truth!” I insist. “Girls make it into our rooms sometimes. Doesn’t happen often, but it happens. This isn’t even the first time it’s happened this season.”
Her face falls, her arms coming up to wrap tightly around her chest. Like she’s shielding herself from me.
I close my eyes, jaw tight, trying to resist the urge to shake her by the shoulders. “Allie Cat, listen to me. I haven’t been with anyone else. I only want to be with you. You know me. You know me better than anyone else in this world. This isn’t me. Please believe me.”
She just stares at me and when she finally speaks, her voice is flat, completely devoid of emotion. "Either you're lying and you cheated on me or you're telling the truth and this is something that just...happens."
My gut rolls like there's a lead weight in there. She's slipping away from me and I don't know what I can do to hold on to her. "It does happen. The girls get through hotel security or they pay someone off at the front desk. Comes with the territory of being a popular athlete. You have to believe me."
Her gaze slides away from me. "Believing you means this is the new normal. Girls grabbing and kissing you, naked girls somehow sneaking into your hotel room, girls bragging about having threesomes with you-"
"Threesomes?" I blow out a long breath through my nose, trying my best not to panic. "What are you talking about?" Shaking my head, I decide to play my trump card. I haven’t told her how I feel because I was afraid she wouldn’t believe me. But I need her to understand how serious I am about her. About us.
“Allie,” I start, “I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. I lo-”
"I don't think I can do this."
It's like a grenade went off in my heart. Wrecked and devastated, I can feel my throat closing in on me. "Wait. Are you..." I have to pause and take another breath. "Are you breaking up with me?"
"I'm not saying it's over. I'm just saying...This a lot to take in. I need some time to t
hink."
"Think about what?" I ask, not bothering to hide the nerves in my voice. She says it's not over, but she's not looking me in the eye.
"How much of this lifestyle I can handle.”
Fuck. Fuck. My heart is pounding so hard, I can actually feel my pulse in my neck. “What can I do to fix this? Tell me what I need to do to make things right."
She sighs. “I don’t know. Look, I'm not going to lie and say I'm okay with all of this, because I'm not. I'm not okay with naked girls being in your room. Or seeing pictures of girls crawling across your lap. Even if nothing really happened, I'm not okay with it. I mean, these pictures are all over social media! Anyone can find them. My friends, my parents, your parents, our classmates. Just reading the comments on my way here...” She presses a fist against her mouth. “It's humiliating, Theo. I’m the one who looks like an idiot. I’m the one receiving pitying remarks. I’m the one who is going to have to defend our relationship and my decision to stay with you."
“Hey, Allie.” Schmidt appears from behind us and Allie takes a step toward him. “Veronica called me. Everything okay here?” His words are for Allie but his menacing glare is all for me.
Allie nods. Wrapping her arms around herself again, she turns to leave. But then she stops and looks back at me, eyes finally meeting mine. "I just need time to process, okay?”
And then she walks away.
26
Theo
ANYONE WHO TELLS you this shit gets easier with time is a dirty rotten liar and can go fuck themselves.
I’m not living, I’m existing. It’s been a week since the hotel incident. Seven days of me not sleeping well, not eating enough, worrying about Allie, and fucking sucking at football.
The morning after the incident, I played like absolute garbage. I was sluggish off the first snap, my head too full of jumbled thoughts to focus on the location of the routes. I got sacked, fumbled the ball, and threw an interception. All in the first quarter.
And shit just went downhill from there.