Heart Stopper: Rebels of Rushmore Book One

by Hercules, Michelle

  “Sure thing. I’ll drop by later.”

  Coach ends the call without another word. I should be glad he didn’t chew me out over the phone, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

  It’s my fucking fault that I got hurt. I should have never tackled Charlie. It wasn’t only anger that propelled me to do so. I wanted to touch her, to wrap my arms around her body. If I hadn’t lost my balance, I might have kissed her right then and there. Though she probably would have ripped my nut sack off in that moment.

  But later, on her bed, she kissed me back. I’m sure of it.

  I text Andreas and Danny, telling them I’ll be out of commission for a while. I should have known Andreas would want an explanation in person. Ten minutes later, he and Danny are knocking on my door and calling my name.

  With a sigh, I let them in, then veer back to the kitchen. I need coffee, stat.

  “Dude, how the fuck did you dislocate your shoulder?” Andreas asks as he follows me.

  “I told you, I fell.” I reach for the coffee jar, but opening it with one hand is a struggle.

  “Jesus, give me that.” He pries the jar from my hand and then proceeds to fill the coffeemaker.

  “That must have been a pretty epic fall. What did you do?” Danny asks.

  “I tackled the wrong person,” I mumble, immediately regretting my slipup.

  Andreas whips his face to mine. “Come again?”

  I walk around the counter, turning my back to him on purpose. “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit. I knew your accident had something to do with your roommate. Was it another prank?” Andreas is angry, which is never a good thing. I definitely don’t want him gunning for Charlie when she’s not at fault.

  “Relax. She didn’t do this. If she had, she wouldn’t still be living here.” I sit down on the high stool, facing him again.

  He’s staring at me through slits, trying to sniff out a lie. There isn’t one though.

  “Okay, fine. Charlie didn’t do this, but I don’t get your comment. Who did you tackle if not her?” Danny pipes up.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I did tackle her. We got into a whipped-cream fight, and things got out of hand.”

  Andreas’s jaw drops, and he’s looking at me with a goofy expression now. I stunned him into silence.

  “A whipped-cream fight? That sounds like foreplay, buddy.” Danny chuckles.

  Hell, I don’t want them to know how close his comment is to the truth. It would have been foreplay if I hadn’t gotten hurt.

  “Trust me, it wasn’t.”

  Andreas crosses his arms and continues to scrutinize me. “Whatever. If you’re not going to fuck her, then why keep her around? Even if she didn’t plan what happened to you, she’s still partially responsible. Please tell me you’re going to retaliate.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not going to punish Charlie because of this.”

  The sound of a key turning interrupts our conversation. Charlie comes in wearing skintight gym clothes that serve as a shot of desire straight down my crotch.

  Shit. Why does she have to be so stunning?

  She glances apprehensively at Danny and Andreas, maybe catching the tense vibe in the air, and then looks at me. “Oh, hey. You’re up.”

  “Yeah. Where did you go so early?”

  From the corner of my eye, I see Andreas shaking his head.

  “I had to return the chickens.”

  “Uh, what?” Danny looks at me.

  Ah fuck. I had forgotten about them. If I tell the guys what Charlie did to my room, Andreas will have my balls for not doing something about it.

  The thing is, I’m tired of this bullshit war between Charlie and me. I’m more interested in getting to know her than getting revenge.

  “Troy didn’t tell you?” she asks.

  “No, Troy seems to be tight-lipped these days when it comes to you,” Andreas retorts angrily.

  Charlie’s eyes widen a bit, but that’s the only sign that Andreas’s comment caught her by surprise.

  “Oh, well, never mind then.” She veers for the stairs but stops before she takes the first step and glances at me. “I don’t have class until later, but I can drive you to school if you need a ride.”

  “Uh….” I turn to Andreas, who is watching everything with rapt attention. “I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay. I’m headed for the shower.”

  Why is she telling me that? Does she want me to imagine her naked? My cock twitches in my pants. Son of a bitch. I have a hard-on. What am I, fifteen?

  She goes up the stairs two steps at a time, almost as if she’s running away from me. I don’t blame her. This was an awkward conversation. It would probably have gone better if we didn’t have an audience.

  “Okay, what was that?” Andreas asks.

  “What was what?” I look at him innocently.

  “Something happened between you and that girl.” He points accusingly.

  “Nothing happened,” I grit out.

  “Bullshit,” Danny replies. “Even I noticed.”

  “You fucked her, didn’t you?” Andreas says.

  “No, I didn’t. And since when are you a gossipy old fart?”

  “Since that girl just cost us our QB!” He throws his hands up in the air.

  “Danny is more than capable of holding down the fort until I’m better.”

  “That’s not the point, Troy. Yeah, I know Danny will do an amazing job, but this is your senior year. It’s the last time we’re going to play together.”

  Ah hell. Now I get why Andreas is upset.

  “What do you want me to do? I fucked up. Don’t go blaming Charlie for something that was totally my fault. Besides, the doctor said I could be back in four weeks.”

  “Okay, that’s not too bad,” Danny chimes in, trying to defuse the tension. “That means our ski trip isn’t canceled.”

  “Yeah, thank fuck for that.” Andrea snorts. “Seriously, Troy, you have to get your head straight. Fine, I get it. Charlie is a hot piece of ass. But she’s also a fucking menace. If you need to screw her to get over whatever it is you have going on, do it. And then kick her to the curb and out of your life.”

  Danny whistles. “Things escalated fast.”

  I curl my left hand into a fist, fighting the sudden anger that’s bubbled up my throat. “You’d better watch your tongue, Andy. I’m not a fucking pussy who needs to be rescued by his friends.”

  His face remains closed off, but the storm has vanished from his green eyes. He knows he went too far. “Good. I’m glad you’re not completely whipped.”

  “Don’t worry, man. There’s zero chance of that happening.”

  The biggest fucking lie I ever told.

  15

  CHARLIE

  Maybe Troy doesn’t remember our kiss. Yesterday, when I came home from the gym and found him with his teammates in the kitchen, he sure acted like he’d forgotten. I didn’t want to linger to find out, especially when Andreas kept glowering at me. Troy must have told him that I was to blame for his accident. I’d be pretty pissed at me too if I were him. Their quarterback won’t return to the game for a month.

  Damn. I wonder if Troy is angry with me. He didn’t show any indication, but he also didn’t take me up on my offer to drive him to class yesterday or today. I only offered because it was the right thing to do.

  You live in a house of lies, Charlie.

  Ugh. Shut up, conscience!

  It doesn’t matter. My schedule is already busy enough as it is. I’m low on cash, so I decided to take more editing jobs. I have a two-hundred-page novel to start tonight. I’m glad I stopped by my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and grabbed dinner. I was running all day and barely had time to eat a handful of nuts.

  Troy is watching TV when I come home. He glances over his shoulder, and his eyes give me a quick once-over before he says, “Hi.”

  “Hey,” I croak.

  What the hell? Where is my damn voice? Oh yeah, it�
�s being squeezed by the tightness in my throat. One single glance from him makes me as nervous as a schoolgirl in front of her first crush.

  What was that look all about anyway? Was he checking me out?

  Oh God. Maybe he didn’t forget about the kiss after all.

  I veer for the kitchen, angling my face in a way so my hair covers half of it. I’m acting like an idiot, but it seems that kiss shattered my protective shield, revealing the bumbling mess that I am. It was so much easier to pretend I wasn’t attracted to him when I had all that hate going on.

  “What you got there? It smells good.”

  “Tex-Mex. I got plenty if you’re hungry.”

  He jumps from the couch. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

  Great. There goes my plan to make a plate and eat in my room. If I do so now, he’ll know I’m avoiding him. I can’t give Troy that kind of leverage. Never show weakness.

  “All right then.” I grab plates and utensils. While I’m unpacking all the food, I feel his gaze staring a hole through my face. “What’s up, Troy? Got something on your mind?”

  “You’ve been living here for three weeks, and this is the first time we’re going to sit down to have a meal together.”

  “We have busy schedules. And there’s also the fact that we don’t like each other very much.” I give him a lunatic grin, but Troy’s face remains serious.

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” he says casually as if his words don’t make my heart skip a beat.

  “You can’t possibly tell me that after everything I’ve done, you like me now. Come on. You had a chicken run in your room all thanks to me.”

  He finally cracks a smile, making my erratic heart go haywire. It doesn’t know if it should speed up or stop beating altogether.

  “The room looks perfect though. I think you’ve made up for your mistakes.”

  “Well, you sure haven’t made up for yours. I can’t open my bathroom door anymore without a slight degree of apprehension.”

  He twists his face into something like remorse. “I’m truly sorry about that. I specifically told those pledges to stay clear of the second floor.”

  “You can’t trust frat boys, that’s for sure.”

  “Where is that comment coming from? Do you have a feud with someone from Greek Row as well?” He quirks an eyebrow.

  “Not me per se. A friend of mine does.”

  He narrows his eyes. “Hmm. And you’re the type of person who lets others’ opinions sway yours?”

  “If you’re implying that I’m a sheep without a mind of my own, you’re mistaken,” I snap.

  “Ah, there’s the Charlie I know. I was beginning to worry you’d left me for good.”

  That makes me pause a beat. “What? You like when I’m mean to you?”

  “Oh yeah, I live for your testy barks.” He chuckles.

  “You’re crazy.”

  I pull up a chair, making sure I skip one so there’s plenty of space between Troy and me. We eat in silence for a moment, and I begin to relax. He doesn’t remember the kiss, or if he does, he wants to forget it happened too.

  “This is pretty good,” he says.

  “Yep.”

  “Not as good as your kiss though.”

  I choke on my food as it goes down the wrong pipe.

  “Are you okay there?” Troy glances at me, half-amused, half-worried.

  Lost in a fit of coughing, I reach for the glass of water. When the danger of suffocating on fajitas is gone, I dare to look at him. “You remember we kissed?”

  He turns in his chair, leaning his good elbow on the counter. “Charlie, no drug on earth would make me forget that.”

  Oh my God. What the hell does he mean?

  “Is this a joke?” I ask.

  He sits straighter, furrowing his eyebrows. “What?”

  The doorbell rings, interrupting our conversation. Damn it, I wanted him to answer that. The butterflies in my stomach are wide awake now and wreaking havoc in my belly.

  “Don’t go anywhere,” he tells me.

  I stare at my plate, suddenly no longer hungry. My mind is spinning like a top. What the hell is going on here? Troy must be concocting something. It’s the only explanation for why he would say he would never forget our kiss.

  I mean, I know he’s attracted to me. I’ve seen plenty evidence of that. That must be it then. He just wants to get me to sleep with him before he gives me the boot.

  A female voice jars me from my inner thoughts. I turn in my seat to find a beautiful Barbie in our home. Her attention is 100 percent on Troy, but I don’t need to have a good look at her face to recognize her. She was in a few photos with Troy on his Instagram account. They seemed close in them.

  “I can’t believe the Pied Piper of all daredevils got injured at home. Are you sure you weren’t doing tricks with your skateboard?” she asks.

  Troy chuckles. “No. I wish that were the case.”

  He glances in my direction, catching me staring at the duo like an idiot. The girl follows his line of sight, and for a couple beats, her expression darkens.

  “You must be Troy’s new roommate,” she says with a tight smile. “I’m Brooke.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I get up from my seat with my plate in hand.

  Troy arches his eyebrows. “Where are you going?”

  “Now that you have company, I won’t feel bad for eating dinner in my room. I have lots to do before hitting the sack.”

  He seems disappointed, but my eyes don’t linger on his face long enough to be sure that’s the case. Besides, why would he want to hang around me when there’s a Victoria’s Secret model standing in front of him?

  Ugh, I sound like all those loser heroines with too much low self-esteem. When did I become that person?

  16

  CHARLIE

  The drawback of bringing fajitas to my bedroom is that it stunk up the place. Food smells don’t belong where you sleep.

  It was all for nothing anyway. Troy’s comment about our kiss and then seeing him with Brooke stole my appetite. I ended up having to throw the food away because I refused to return to the kitchen while they were still in the living room.

  It was hard to concentrate on my work while their voices and laughter carried upstairs. The noise-canceling headphones helped, but then my imagination took over. I kept imagining Brooke smiling and touching Troy in an intimate way, and that kept my mind trapped in an endless torture loop. In the end, I gave up trying to work and called it a night.

  I snuck out of the house pretty early, all in the hopes of avoiding Troy. My plan was a success, but that meant I was a zombie, and staying awake during classes could only be accomplished with copious amounts of coffee.

  The good thing about today is that I’ll escape a Troy ambush again. There’s a game night at Fred’s, and those usually run late. Funny how yesterday I wanted Troy to answer my question, but today my bravado is gone. I don’t want to know if he was serious or not because if he was, I have no idea what I’ll do. Even if Troy is no longer acting like an asshole to me, he and I don’t mesh well together. We’re from different worlds. He’s a jock who enjoys extreme sports; I’m a nerd who gets excited by pretending to be a magical being on the weekends. There’s nothing wrong with our life choices, but we have nothing in common.

  I’m on my way home to shower and get ready for tonight when Fred texts me.

  Hey, it seems my place is double-booked. My roommate planned a special evening with his lady, and he’s begging me to postpone game night.

  Crap on toast. I call him right away. “Hey, so what are you thinking? I was looking forward to tonight.”

  “Me too. Do you think we can go to your house instead? It’s big enough.”

  I groan. “I don’t know. I was hoping to avoid my roommate.”

  “Oh shit. Is he still super mad about the chicken incident?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” I lie.

  I can’t tell Fred the reason I’m avoidin
g Troy is because we kissed. Fred has a big mouth, and he’d tell everyone he knows.

  “Ah, don’t worry, Charlie. We’ll be there to defend you in case he decides to be a prick.”

  “I don’t think he will. Let me check with him first, and then I’ll get back to you.”

  “Okeydokey.”

  Damn it. There goes my plan to avoid Troy for one more day.

  I wait until I get to the house to text him. His reply comes a minute later. He doesn’t mind. I didn’t think he would even though I was kind of hoping for a negative answer.

  An hour later, Fred and Blake are at my door, carrying all the food for tonight’s sustenance. It’s only Tuesday, and while the board games we play usually run for hours, none of us have classes in the morning, so it works perfectly. It’s the only day of the week we can make it happen since we’re usually too busy on the weekends.

  We’re just about to start when someone rings the doorbell.

  “Are you expecting anyone else?” Blake asks.

  “Nope.”

  I hope it’s not Brooke paying another surprise visit. When I open the door, I do find a girl standing in front of it, holding a box with a pie if I were to guess, but it’s not Brooke.

  Great, another member of Troy’s fan club.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Hi, you must be Charlie. I’m Jane, Troy’s sister. Is he home?”

  My ill attitude changes in an instant and shame takes over. I was already consumed by ugly thoughts. Jealousy is a monster.

  “Not yet. Come on in. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

  I open the door wider and let her pass. She freezes for a second when she notices Blake and Fred on the couch.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you had guests.”

  I chuckle. “I wouldn’t call them guests. Those are Blake and Fred, my partners in crime.”

  “Hello.” Blake waves.

  Fred jumps from the couch and reaches the poor girl in three long strides. “Hi, I’m Fred.”

  “Nice to meet you, Fred.” Jane smiles shyly while he stares at her with a goofy grin.