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10

Piper

Watching Him Like A Sicko

Sitting in one of the plush couches in the lobby, tapping my turtle slippers against the floor, I counted down the minutes.

I couldn't risk Adam hearing me shift around. I wouldn't be the reason he made it to practice on time. Coach Lawson had promised me over and over again that if Adam messed up, our agreement was over. No linebacker. Done.

Football practice was at six in the morning. If Adam was late and I snapped a photo, my shackles were gone. I could get back to my classic college experience, the one I'd missed out on.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket.

Seriously. This early?

To Be Blocked: smug bitch

I couldn't just sit alone with my thoughts and the awful messages in the empty lobby. I needed something to do. I'd already read through the required chapters for my computer science classes. So I needed something else. Something to keep my hands busy.

With a yawn, I pushed up from my chair and walked back to the desk assistant area. There was a copy of my presentation stashed away in my cubby. I pulled out the well-worn paper and smoothed it against my thigh.

It was time to stop thinking about Adam Russell. It was time to push past him.

Push past his stupid muscles and the way his grin made my stomach twist into knots or how he ended every sentence with a tantalizing question that made my pulse race. Yep. This was where the Adam train stopped. He made his bed, he had his consequences, and I wouldn't feel bad about it. No matter how horrible it felt.

The elevator doors opened, and a soft voice carried through. "Ryan, it's a class off-campus. They let you go at your own pace. I think you'll really like it. And Cleo won't have to confiscate your phone anymore."

"The website said I was the millionth visitor," a gruff voice answered her. "How I was supposed to know that's a virus?"

Oh no.

Every time I needed to run or duck under something, I somehow became glued to the floor of Roman Villa. The desk assistant snapped up from her nap at the sounds too. Both of us were caught. Desperately, I held up my class plan a little higher, hoping it'd hide me from the faces of Ryan Cross and Kassie Ragar.

"Hey, Piper."

"Hi," I squeaked, yanking down my papers.

I can't do anything right.

Both Ryan and Kassie were dressed and ready to go. Of course. They had to make it to practice too. Why didn't I think of that? The other football players would start rolling down. I had to find a better hiding spot.

Kassie gave me a tired smile. "We're heading to Gianna's for some coffee."

"I don't drink coffee," Ryan said automatically.

"He doesn't drink coffee." Kassie grinned and reached up to pat his stomach. "You're getting an orange juice or something though. They've got the freshly squeezed stuff."

He nodded, content. "Alright."

Watching their back-and-forth comfortableness with each other, the way he had his arm slung over her shoulder, the way she leaned against him when they stopped walking, made my heart squeeze.

Why can't I have that?

Thomas had never been like that with me. He'd been silent and annoyed with anything I did, anything I tried. I could still hear the comments about how I didn't need to say hi to everybody on campus and how much it embarrassed him.

And…it had just been him.

I think I would've been fine with everything that happened at KYU if I had someone else - a friend to get coffee with or tease about not drinking coffee. But Thomas and I had started going out in the first few weeks of high school and he pointed out that all my friends were too immature. It made sense at the time. But when he and I broke up…I didn't have anybody.

Kassie gazed at me expectantly and I realized we were still in the conversation.

"It's good to see you two," I blurted out.

"You're going to practice, right?"

Ryan nodded. "It's at six."

"We know it's at six, babe." Kassie rolled her eyes with a smile and turned back to me. "Are you waiting for Adam? Is he already up? I mean, if you're just waiting for him, you can come with us. Coffee's on the school."

They want me to come to coffee?

Was she serious? The quarterback and his social media famous girlfriend wanted me to go to coffee with them?

Squeezing my papers for a moment, I glanced off towards the elevator bank. Maybe this could be my opportunity to finally get the classic college experience I missed out on. Even though I loved my coworkers, Zariah was busy with her brother's hockey stuff, and none of the others could remember my name.

"Yes—he's—uh—" I stumbled with my words. Lying is not my strong suit. But I needed a way to shuffle the explanation around. "Adam's upstairs and…we'll meet you there!"

Kassie beamed. "Great."

Ryan stopped by me and gazed down for a long moment. The man towered over me, it wasn't hard for him to do, then gave a firm nod.

"We appreciate what you're doing. Adam's like a brother to me and we appreciate you taking the time. Anything you need, just let me know." He gave something that was supposed to be a smile, but just ended up being intimidating. "It's no problem."

Trying not to shrink back, I quickly nodded and Ryan settled back with Kassie.

I could hear her chuckling down the hallway. "She's not a teammate, Mr. Intense. Relax."

I walked by the desk assistant's desk and drummed my fingers against the wood. Okay. Alright. We had a coffee outing at Gianna's and Adam was upstairs, nowhere to be seen. My mind whirled. What was the possibility that he would actually hear me if I banged on his door?

Negative hundred percent?

I made my decision. I was going to that coffee, even if I had to drag Adam by the sneakers to do it.

All RA keys are locked in the electronic box, accessible only with fingerprints. I punched in my codes, one after another, and found the key that worked for every room on my floor. Even better, I searched through the cubbies until I found my boss's air horn for the pancake breakfasts.

Bingo .

Upstairs, I changed as quickly as I could and stood in front of Adam's door. The only plain one in sight. No door decoration. Not even the replacement one that I'd made just for him. He must've thrown that away too.

I held up my fist against the door and paused.

Is this the right thing to do?

Hesitation wasn't an option. If I hesitated, I'd chicken out, and where would that land me? With a resident who I kicked off the football team. A miserable neighbor. A failure on my part. Didn't I say I wasn't giving up on him?

You know what low expectations get you? Low results.

I shoved the key in the door and slammed it open. Adam's place was still a mess from the Birchwood Bowl party and that was about what I expected. Plastic cups littered the sticky floor. I practically picked up my shoes every time I stepped. No hesitation. None. I gripped the air horn and pushed through to the back bedroom, the same layout as my dorm.

The door flew open, and I scanned the bedroom, ready to unleash the air horn. A huge bed sat in the middle of the room, with dark blue blankets. Light flooded in from the hallway and I finally saw him and—

Oh.

Blankets curled around his midriff to his calves. He was tangled up in them, but everything else was bare. I stood there, motionless. His thick arms…I could see every line, every muscle. His chest rose softly in his sleep, his legs…goodness. My heart thudded in my chest, watching him.

Watching him like a sicko .

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded under my breath and pushed myself away from the door, fixating on the couch. Stare at the couch, don't look at him and his beautiful body.

My hand tightened its grip on the air horn for a very different reason. I needed something tangible to bring me to Earth.

Like the earsplitting screech of an air horn.

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