Chapter 24

Bella

Marissa slams the door as she walks into our dorm room, startling me from my staring contest with the ceiling. She’s on her phone and hasn’t noticed me cowering under my bed sheets. I grumble and cover my ears with a pillow to protest her coming in so loudly. Doesn’t she know that I’m trying to wallow in my own misery over here?

“I know. I can’t believe it, either. I heard that she’s going to transfer with him.”

Transfer? I groan because I know exactly who she’s talking about now, and I don’t want to hear it. That’s why I’ve been holed up in our dorm room for the last two days, because the only thing anyone on campus can talk about is Drew.

She either ignores my incoherent grumbles or talks so loudly on her phone that she doesn’t hear me. “Do you really think she can stay here after that video? Come on. Her reputation is tarnished. I mean, who does that?”

I really wanted to ignore her, but it’s clear she’s talking about Brianna, and I think eavesdropping on her potential mistakes might make me feel better about this whole thing.

Marissa barks out a laugh. “I know. It’s so gross and unsanitary. I will never look at a workout bench the same again. I mean, who gives a blow job while lying naked on one? I’ve heard toilet seats are more sanitary than a public gym.”

My eyes blink open in just enough time to see her shiver in disgust.

Did she say blow job and gym? Why does that sound awfully familiar and so unlike Brianna?

“Who are you talking about?” I lift out of my bed, pushing the pillows away, so I make sure I can hear her correctly.

Marissa jumps out of her skin and winces. “Sorry, I’ve got to go. Yeah, we’ll talk about this later. Okay. Bye.”

She flips off her phone, and I stare at her with eager eyes. “I found out why Drew’s leaving. Really thought you would be the one to find out before me since you’re in with the football players, but I guess hiding in your bed isn’t exactly the place to get all the gossip.”

My heart gallops in my chest because she has confirmed nothing, but I know exactly where this is going to go, and I feel faint.

Her eyes wiggle in amusement. “Drew was caught in a very compromising position in one of the football weight rooms.”

“What position exactly?” I know the answer, but I need to know how much Marissa knows, because then I’ll know how much has gotten out.

She cringes as though she suddenly realizes this might hurt to hear. “Do you really want to know? I mean, I know you and Drew had something going on recently, and I wouldn’t want to hear about my ex’s past, no matter how much I hate him.”

“Tell me,” I spit it out with my eyes closed, fully expecting the worst.

“A sixty niner.” I want to melt into a puddle and be tipped down the drain like that ice cream I accidentally nuked earlier. Marissa’s right. I’m never going to recover from the humiliation. “Honestly. Who would do that in a public gym? That’s so nasty. Do they not care about germs?”

Wait a minute. She’s not chastising me personally, and if she knew it was me, I would be getting a completely different set of questions.

“Who’s the girl?” I look her in the eyes to see if that gives anything away.

Pushing her lips from side to side, she says, “I don’t think you’re going to like this.” That’s an understatement if I’d ever heard one. “Brianna.”

Wait. What?

Brianna?

Has Drew invited other girls to the gym because he looked awfully surprised when I showed up naked?

“Brianna?” I repeat, and she shrugs sheepishly. “How did you find out?”

“It’s all over the internet. Someone uploaded a video on the school messenger app, and now Drew’s scholarship is on the line. If they don’t rein the story in, his school transfer probably won’t go through either.”

My blood runs cold when she gets her phone out and shows me the grainy, repeating clip of video that shows Drew’s back as he lies on top of me. The film is grainy enough that you can only really make out the number on his jersey. Nothing else whatsoever would suggest it’s him except maybe his impeccable ass cheeks.

I shiver. The memory of just how good Drew’s tongue felt while his dick was down my throat does not make this moment feel any better.

“How many people have seen this?”

“Well, if it’s gotten to me, then you can guarantee that it’s a lot of people. Granted, this isn’t readily available. The clip comes with all kinds of health hazards and warnings about potential expulsions if they find out you’ve shared it.”

“How did you get it?”

“Do you remember Trevor?”

“The guy who liked to call you at midnight just to see if you were awake?”

“I don’t know why you got so annoyed by that. I thought it was cute.”

“That’s because you weren’t the one being woken up by it.”

“But anyway, he used to volunteer as a campus security attendant. You know, he’d help walk girls home late at night to make sure no one would bother them. That kind of thing. Well, apparently, one of the employees took a little clip and sent it to their private messenger group. Then it went from there.” She clicks her fingers. “Drew’s chances of ever being St. Michael’s number one quarterback were gone just like that.”

And yet, my dreams stay intact?

“What about Brianna?”

“Rumor is she hasn’t left her dorm since the video came out.” That’s a lie because she was at Drew’s. “But how do you move forward from that? She’s got another two years here, and everyone now knows she’s into gym sex. Bets aren’t on if she’ll transfer but when and if she’ll go with Drew.”

Gulping back the guilt, my fingers itch to pick up the phone. I can’t leave everyone thinking it’s Brianna in the video, can I? Her reputation has been ruined because of something I did, but even if I wanted to, I don’t know how I’d fix it without ruining my life.

But that doesn’t make it fair.

I need to do something, and the first thing I need to do is speak to Drew. I have no idea how long he’s known about this, but since he’s pretty much confirmed he’s transferring schools, it would have been enough time to call me and give me a heads-up.

“I gotta go,” I say hastily as I push the bedsheets off my legs. My hair’s a wreck, but I only have time to shove on a pair of leggings and Drew’s sweatshirt before I open the door.

“Where are you going?” Marissa asks.

“To figure some stuff out.”

Once I’m out of the room and have found a quiet place outside the building, I text Drew, hoping he’ll answer.

Bella: I’ve just heard about why you’re transferring. Obviously, we need to talk about it.

It’s a blunt text because it still hurts knowing Brianna was at his house when he was at his worst. I get that she was probably there because everyone thinks it’s her, but why wouldn’t Drew even give me a heads-up on it? It would have been nice to know that my dick-sucking had been caught on camera instead of finding out through my disapproving roommate.

My phone buzzes quicker than I expect, with Drew’s name lighting up the screen.

Drew: You’re right. We do. Meet me in fishing cabin five in Montreal Park. I’m here all afternoon.

That’s one place to go when you’re hiding out, I guess. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I make my way to my car to finally clear the air with Drew.