Chapter 2

My teammates are great, my teammates are great. I won"t murder them because they are morons who like to play Superbass by Nicki Minaj at full volume to wake up. Nope, no murder for me. I'm too pretty for jail.

I wrench myself out of bed and head to the bathroom for a much needed piss, but as I open the door, I am faced with a cheerleader. And not one I might expect to see or the one I long to see in my bedroom. Naked, lubed up, and bent over.

Giovanni Russo has had a chokehold on me ever since that kiss at the frat party a few weeks ago. But no matter how much I flirt, he's just not interested. He certainly enjoyed the kiss, so why won't he flirt back? Ugh, people say men are easier than women when it comes to dating and flirting, but clearly, they have never met Gio.

He's fun and sexy but in a mean way.

And why the fuck does he not want me? Maybe I need to flex my muscles around him a bit more. Who doesn't love thicc thighs?

"Why is he just staring like that? Did he do that when you two hooked up? It's kind of creepy." Perry's voice breaks through my inner monologue.

Ryder sighs heavily. "We didn't hook up, shithead, I hooked up with his ex."

"Call me shithead again, and I will prove my nickname is a great one," Perry says pursing his lips.

"What is it?"

"Petty Perry."

"Yeah, that totally fits." Ryder nods before turning to look at me. "Oh look, there seems to be some light on behind those eyes. What were you thinking about?"

I ignore his question. "What are you to doing here? And together?" I add. Perry and Ryder are a weird pairing. I can see Ryder being friends with Bradley, Hudson, and Wyatt, but not really Perry. They look like they'd snark each other to death.

"Okay, so remember when I unknowingly helped your ex cheat on you and you were all mad?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"You can't punch me, Lexi would be sad." Ryder rushes out.

"I'm not going to hit you."

And I mean it. Ryder didn't know that my now ex-boyfriend, Henry, was in a relationship when they hooked up. Plus his boyfriend has become a really great friend of mine. A punch to the face would probably ruin that, so, I'm kind of stuck with Ryder in my life.

"Great, so let us get started with revenge. Luke has got his brother to order two gallons of body glitter from his supplier, and I have a seventy two pack of toilet paper on order from Amazon. Are you busy next Tuesday?" Perry says with a smile.

I look between the two of them, standing there waiting for my answer.

"What is happening right now?"

"I hate that I had a part in your ex cheating and Perry loves to be petty, so we figured we would join forces and help you get revenge on Henry in a non-illegal way."

"I guess it's kind of sweet that you both want to do this for me, but getting revenge on Henry is not something I need to do."

Ryder looks at me sadly. "Because you're still into him?"

"No, I'm really not." God, I mean that from the bottom of my soul. I can see now that Henry and I were a huge mistake. We both wanted different things. Honestly, my heart wasn't hurt by his cheating, my ego was though. Why not break up with me and then sleep with others? It stung that perhaps I wasn't enough.

Perry looks at me shrewdly. "You're into someone else."

"Who are you into? We can help."

"Ryder, you seriously do not need to help me." Considering how fucking clueless he was with Lexi being in love with him for nearly five years, I dread to think how he'd help me with Gio.

"Dude, did you have a threesome last night?" Charlie our quarterback says, opening his bedroom door opposite mine. "Because there was like, no sounds coming from your room. Did they not have a good time?"

Perry looks over his shoulder. "If I was involved in a threesome this whole fucking house would know about it." He turns back to look at me. "I guess I will use my petty powers elsewhere. But, if I think for even a second, you are still into Henry while you are pursuing who I think you are, I will use them with full force on you."

Well, shit. "That is terrifying."

"Don't fuck around, Tucker." He turns and heads down the stairs and out the door.

"I should go because I'm his ride and he scares me a little. Honestly, most of the male cheerleaders do… maybe not Luke." Ryder adds.

"You can go with a clear conscience. I do not need your help." I tell him firmly. He winks at me and leaves.

What the fuck does that mean?

I walk past Charlie, who is still standing there, looking down the hall after Ryder and Perry with a thoughtful look on his face, to the bathroom and finally relieve my bladder.

Heading back to my room, I quickly get dressed. We don't have a game this weekend, but there is no part of me that wants to hang out around the house. It's loud and dirty and I need a fucking break.

And snacks. I have a craving for Junior Mints, Airheads, and Pringles.

And maybe I need a plan to get Gio to go on a date with me before his friends try and help, and drive him away.

I head to my favorite grocery store about twenty minutes away and park my car. Before I get to the door, an older lady comes out of the store and how she can see where she's going, baffles me. She is carrying three brown paper bags full to the brim with groceries and only the tops of her eyebrows peek over the bags. As I think that, her bags start to topple over.

"Shoot, are you okay?" I ask her as I rush over and grab her bags.

"Thank you, I'm okay. I should have grabbed a cart." She rolls her eyes at herself.

"We're all guilty of doing that." I laugh. She looks up and squints her eyes at me.

"You look familiar."

"I play football at the local college,"

"Are you single?"

"I am," I say hesitantly. "I'm gay, though."

Her eyes light up. "Perfect. I have a son." She puts the bag she was holding down, picks up her purse, and starts rummaging through it before producing a pen and the back of an envelope. "Write your number down."

I do as she asks. Honestly, the woman may be tiny but her determination scares me a little.

"This is perfect. I will call my son, see when he is free, and you will come to dinner."

I just stand there as she loads the last bag into her car and drives off. I'm not really sure what just happened. She didn't even ask for my name.

This has been a weird fucking morning.