84

Piper

That Was Your Second Chance

From the petting zoo to lunch with our whole group, the rodeo was hot and fun and pretty funny with the perfect cowboy walking alongside me.

We had to break apart while the football players wove hands at the bull riding competition and I had my shift at the mock saloon to run the blackjack table. There were mock Marrs chips for people to gamble with and exchange fun college gear. The actual saloon itself was cute as could be, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bummed that I had to step away from everybody else.

It's going to be worth it .

Volunteering for more RA work was crucial to my Roman Hall application. If they saw how dedicated I was, maybe I could actually get into the place that only accepted graduate students.

I hurried back to our little sitting area and took a swig from my water bottle, slipping my phone out of my pocket.

hunk of meat: i miss you

I could only imagine when Adam had grabbed my phone to change his name again. Smiling hard, I stuck out my tongue at the screen. I was halfway to kicking my feet and giggling to myself, and not even caring about it.

Adam had things to check off on his schedule, but I could torture him just a little.

Piper Fontaine: Come hang out with me then

It was just teasing. He couldn't get out of his duties for the day.

hunk of meat: be there in 10

The smile flew off my face, and I smacked my hand against my mouth. Oh my god. He couldn't be serious, right? Adam was just messing around with me, as per usual.

Piper Fontaine: I'm KIDDING Adam

Piper Fontaine: I'll see you tonight

hunk of meat: im not kidding

hunk of meat: im running out of here be there in 10

The most ridiculous man in the entire world who couldn't possibly get out of everything. There was no way he'd get out of his duties. He had all of these big aspirations but I had no doubt Cleo would pull him back to Earth. Regardless, it was so sweet. Another blush touched my cheeks, the new regular for me.

"Piper?" one of the volunteers called to me. "Back to your station! You have a customer!"

I sighed and stood up, dusting off my skirt for the day. I had to get back to handing out cards and dark blue chips. Just before I left, I typed up two more messages.

Piper Fontaine: I know you're busy

Piper Fontaine: don't worry about it! I'll see you tonight!!!

We had plans that involved ice cream and hanging around the rodeo while the evening lights lit up. It'd be the perfect ending to a perfect day. Or…almost perfect ending. There was a brand new box of condoms in Adam's room that needed to be used up. That would make it a perfect day.

I bit back another smile and returned to my table. The saloon image ended with the cowboy hats. The table itself had one of the shuffle machines and I said a quick hello to the only person who decided to take a stab at blackjack and shuffled the cards back into the machine.

"Okay, do you know how to play blackjack?" I asked, picking up the stack of cards, and glanced up at my new customer.

Thomas .

The cards tumbled from my hand and scattered across the table. There was no way. This was some kind of messed up dream or heat stroke that had caught up with me. Because my football player ex sat in the only occupied chair at the blackjack table with a hard look in his eyes.

I tried to pick up the cards but my hands were shaking. Either way, I avoided the scowl.

"Piper."

My fingers dug down into the folds of the cards. What? Why? He wasn't here for the free popcorn or a game of poker, I knew that much.

Thomas dropped his voice. "Do you know how embarrassing this has been?"

I forced my breathing to slow.

"What are you doing, Piper?" Thomas demanded. "That's the same fucking guy who was in the bleacher bunny photo. How the fuck could you forget that? How are you going to bitch at me about it and go off to work for him?! What—you're doing this to make me look like an asshole? Showing him off? The Marrs Manwhore? It's fucking embarrassing. That's what it is."

It'd been so long since I'd even thought about that photo.

Gazing down at the cards, I couldn't even remember the last time. Because that's all it was. A picture.

And my time at KYU had been ruined but was it really because of that photo?

What if Thomas cheated again without Adam around?

The same thing would've happened. Nothing would've changed.

It was just a photo. It couldn't hurt me anymore. I wouldn't let it.

I slipped the cards back into the machine and cleared my throat. "I—I think you should leave."

"What did you just say?" Thomas snorted. "You think I should leave? "

"I—I don't care what you're doing at the rodeo, but I don't want to see you," I said quietly.

Thomas stared at me, his mouth hanging open. "What the fuck has gotten into you?"

It was kind of amazing to think about. Every time my phone used to buzz, it put me in a foul mood for the rest of the day. It would literally ruin an afternoon for me. But now when a text popped up, I wasn't worried. It was my programming study group or my RA group chat or the new friends I'd made off the football team or Adam, Adam, Adam.

Adam with a selfie, waiting outside my class for me, Adam telling me he missed me, Adam with the updates about his grades that I never asked for that he never failed to send off every Monday. Or, Adam, sending me a picture of the box of condoms this morning with heart eyes attached.

My phone had become a little window into everything I worked for at Marrs and a direct line to the one man in my life who worked hard to let me know every day that he was thinking about me. I didn't want Thomas to pollute that. And I didn't want him in front of me either.

"How the hell do you think this is making me feel?" Thomas hissed. "Adam ruined everything. But it's gone far enough. And if he threatens me again, I swear to fucking god I am hitting him with a lawsuit."

My heart thudded in my chest.

Words flew out of my mouth. "You can't."

"I can't? "

"No. Please." I tried to steady my voice, like panic wasn't creeping in. That was the mistake that could cost Adam his place on the team. "Just leave. I promise, no more phone calls. Nothing else will happen."

Because even if it meant the harsh messages would return and my days would be ruined every time my phone vibrated again, that was better than the alternative. Adam couldn't get kicked off the team.

I wouldn't let that happen.

Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck and my eyes flickered to the rotating doors of the saloon.

Adam .

Still in his cowboy gear, Adam froze by the entrance, a stuffed animal in his hand, a bright green turtle.

I spotted him too late. Adam had already seen Thomas. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, the way his body stiffened. Adam could be a lot of things, but I'd never seen him so angry. His expression darkened, clouds over a usually sunny day.

No, no, no.

In a straight line to the blackjack table, Adam was a flash across the floor, faster than I'd ever seen him walk off the field, while Thomas kept up the low threats under his breath, unaware of what stalked from behind. He must've seen the look on my face because he glanced over his shoulder.

Not fast enough.

The linebacker grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and my heart leaped to my throat. This wasn't a toe out of line. This was bad. This was career-ending bad.

"Adam!" I bumped into the table trying to get to them and the chips went flying. "Wait, wait! "

"What the fuck are you doing here, KYU?" Adam snarled.

The saloon wasn't as full as it'd been earlier, but it was still busy enough for heads to turn and cards to be dropped. Chairs scraped across the floor. Everybody wanted a good look at what exactly was going down.

"Marrs—fucking—Manwhore," Thomas said, enunciating with disgust. "You asshole. I thought we were friends. What happened to the code?"

"What—the bro code?" Adam demanded, hoisting him up. "Here's a new one. If you don't get off my campus in five seconds, we'll see how fast you regret it."

People jumped up from their chairs and whipped out their phones, ready to get a sight of the next event of the day. This was bad. This was worse than bad - these were all people from campus. If this got back to Cleo or Coach Lawson or Ryan, there'd be consequences I didn't even want to think about.

"Adam!" I shouted.

His dark eyes flickered over to me.

"Adam," I tried again, softer. I shook my head. "Don't do it. Don't get in trouble. No toe out of line, remember?"

"Do it," Thomas egged him on. "Punch me. What are you—pussy?"

Adam tightened his grip on Thomas's shirt and my blood ran cold.

"He's goading you, Adam," I raised my voice. "Adam, please . You're better than this."

His eyes went to mine again, staying there.

I mouthed only one word. Please.

I couldn't lie, part of me wanted to see Thomas get what was coming to him, but that wouldn't come at the expense of Adam's good track record for this semester. Nothing was going to jeopardize it. Especially not something as stupid as Thomas Sullender.

"Okay, ice princess," Adam muttered loosening his grip on Thomas's shirt.

It took real effort for him to unclench his jaw. Finally, Adam took a step back and everyone in the room seemed to release a breath.

"I've been learning a lot," Adam acknowledged, taking a deep breath. "Thomas. Sorry about that."

My ex stared at him, dumbfounded.

Adam's eyes flickered back to me. "Everybody deserves another chance."

Oh .

Something inside of me softened. I couldn't be more proud of him if I tried.

Something new dawned on Thomas's face and jerked back and forth between us. I knew what he was looking for. My fingers fumbled with the card shuffler, and I tried to duck my head, but the damage was done.

"Holy shit ." Thomas sucked in a breath. "I see what this is. Wow." He turned back to Adam. "So—Piper—you're sucking his dick now? Bleacher bunny does what a bleacher bunny does, I guess. Slut it out for the next athlete." A hard laugh erupted out of him. "Enjoy my leftovers, Adam."

"That was your second chance, asshole," Adam retorted before a crack rang in the air as he slammed his fist into Thomas's jaw.