Chapter Seven

Zach

"Can I help you?" I try to sound nice but I'm groaning on the inside because I already know why this girl is standing outside of my house, peering into my window.

Her shoulders tense when she hears my voice, making my name on the back of her shirt more obvious. This is why I really need to get that gate installed, and maybe a hidden entrance so I can avoid interactions like this.

It's not that I don't like the attention. Who wouldn't like the fact that they're admired by people because you get to do something you love, but having people come to my house feels a little like they're overstepping the mark.

The girl's blonde ponytail flicks as she turns on her heel, giving me a huge grin with eye black across her cheeks and a football cradled under her arm.

I'm stunned into silence because I knew she was going to be a fan girl, but this seems a little excessive.

"Hi." She pauses, taking me in. "Zach." Her voice goes a few octaves lower, and she licks her lips while staring at me. Wow.

"Can I help you? You're on my porch?"

She touches her forehead and lets out a cackle. "You're right. I'm sorry for bothering you, but I just wanted to check you weren't inside before leaving the football on the porch." She gestures to the football, and I curse ever signing the first one. Maybe if I was meaner with it, people wouldn't think this was appropriate.

"I should have known that you wouldn't be home yet. Your coaching session only ended an hour ago and you've probably got a lot to do on campus before you come back here."

"You know my schedule?"

She throws me a bemused smile. "Not your schedule, but I know the team schedule."

"Okay."

Stalker alert.

When she looks me up and down, my stomach drops because I've had enough thirsty girls look at me to know what she wants from me. Unlike the girls at South Point Prep who wanted to tick their daddys off. This girl wants a pie of my potential NFL pie. She slowly turns the ball in her hand, edging toward me, and I instinctively step back.

"I was just hoping you'd sign my ball." She lifts the ball, offering me a pleasant smile.

"Sure." I reach my hand out to take the football, assuming that the faster I sign this, the quicker she'll leave.

"Have you got a pen?"

"Oh yeah!" She rocks her hips forward, pulling what I can only assume to be a pen from her back pocket but doesn't miss the opportunity to emphasize her chest. She tosses the sharpie my way, and I quickly sign the ball before throwing it and the pen back to her.

She catches them with ease and takes a minute to look down at my signature, tracing the letters with her thumb. "Your handwriting is so manly," she giggles. "Do you sign all your balls like this, or am I special?"

I hold my lips in a flat line, stopping them from curling in disgust because the only person I want saying vague sexual innuendos to me is Honey. Preferably while she's kneeling on the floor, massaging said balls. Either way, any hope of getting rid of her quickly flew out the window with her comment because she's now watching me, expecting me to answer her.

"Thanks." I point to the door. "I've, uh, got to go inside and call my coach, so is there anything else you need?"

Her smile falters. Did she think I was going to invite her in? She catches herself quickly and plasters on a wide smile again. "No problem. I know you're a busy guy, but before I go, I did also just want to give you this."

She pulls out a card from her pocket and reaches her hand over to me. I take it reluctantly because it doesn't take a genius to guess that it's her number with her name scrawled on the back.

I offer her the card back. "Thank you for this, Jenn, but I'm not going to be able to use this. I'm in a committed relationship with my long-term girlfriend."

Honey hates me using her as an excuse like this, but it's the truth, and I'm tired of all these girls fawning all over me because they think I'm going to be their first wealthy husband.

I'm not that stupid.

I went to South Point Prep, after all. That scholarship had to be worth something.

Jenn shrugs, flicking my hand away, leaving the note in mine. "A lot of people are in committed relationships when they start here. That doesn't mean it will always be the case." She glances at the note in my hand. "Keep it for a rainy day."

Gritting my teeth, I squash the paper in my hand because it's the only way to stop myself from throwing it in her face.

Did she really think Honey was replaceable?

"See you around, Jenn," I say curtly before knocking her on the side as I open the door to my house.

One month into school here and it was already feeling like high school again. Only this time, having a girlfriend doesn't seem to stop the flirting, not that I'm tempted by any of them. Why settle for second best when you have something gold-plated at home?

As the door shuts, I stalk over to my kitchen and throw the card in the trash, not looking back. This is why I'm so hell bent on marrying Honey. I'm tired of people thinking we're just temporary. Once she has a ring on her finger, everyone will know she's mine,, and back the fuck off.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I clamp down on my teeth and frustration builds in my bones because if it's that girl again, I won't be able to hide my asshole side. Walking over to the door, I open it in a rush, fully expecting to tell Jenn to go home, but when I see who's standing there, I immediately calm.

"Honey? What are you doing here?" Am I smiling? I can't stop myself when she's around. I pull her into a hug and kiss her without thinking. When she doesn't return it, I realize that she's paler than usual. "Honey, is everything okay?"

I drop her down and she takes her time to look up at me but when her eyes connect with mine, they're darker than usual, and she looks scared. My body immediately goes on high alert ready to beat whoever made her this upset.

"It's my father. He father came to visit me."

My brows crinkle. "He did? When?"

Honey still looks dazed, but she does her best to keep talking. "Um, just now. He found me on campus."

"So, he really did need to speak to you, then?"

"Yeah." She laughs bitterly before moving around me and making her way to the sofa. I follow behind, letting her lead the conversation. "He offered me a job."

A job?

Why did that thought fill me with dread?

"Where's the job?" I ask, trying to mask the uncertainty in my voice.

Her hands fiddle on her lap, so I take them instinctively and pull them into my lap, drawing her attention to me.

"At his law firm."

"Didn't you turn down his offer to work there when you left college? Isn't that why you're living in that stupid dorm instead of the palace that I've no doubt they had planned for you?" or living with me I add in my head because there are only so many times you can mention it without your sanity being questioned.

Honey gulps and for the first time it looks like she's really looking at me instead of through me since she got in here.

"I did, and Jamie took my place. But this is a different offer. He wants Jamie out completely to get majority share of the company. He wants me to not only take Jamie's place but also keep mine."

I laugh bitterly. "But why would he think you'd want to help him after everything he's done?" She pauses but doesn't answer me and that's when I go on high alert. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"His, uh, offer. It's something I can't refuse."

"Like what? Money? Did he offer you money?" Anxiety builds in my bones because I always knew this could become an issue with us. Honey was so rich that she never thought about it until she got here. I want to give her the world and I know I'll be able to do it, it's just not quite yet. I need to figure out the issue with Tiff first. "Is that what this is all about? Money? Because I can give you that. Granted, nowhere near the amount that your parents have right now, but I'm working on it."

She squeezes my hand, pulling me out of my head for just a second. "No. The money he's offering has nothing to do with it."

"Then what?"

"Tiff."

Her name makes my blood run cold because I should have known her father would manipulate her like this.

Honey swallows before continuing. "My dad said he'd get the lawsuit dropped against Tiff and sole custody signed over to her if I agree to sign a five-year contract with the company."

"No. That's not happening, "I say on instinct, standing but then Honey's warm hand stops me. "I'm not letting you get sucked back into your family drama to help mine."

"Zach." Although her voice is soothing, it doesn't change my stance on this. "I don't want to shoot it down. I need to think it through."

"No, Honey. It's not happening. You're not taking a job at a company you hate just for them to drop the lawsuit."

"Why not? If I do it, then Tiff and Ella can move here immediately instead of waiting for a judge to rule that Ella's allowed to leave state."

"We'll find another solution. You being anywhere near your father isn't a good thing. He's manipulative and mean, and besides, wouldn't you have to move back to Connecticut?" She shakes her head. "Nope. They would fund my degree, and I'd just have to go there for the Summer and work there full time for one year after I graduate. Then I can go to law school after."

Her eyes. They're glinting and there's this tiny smile on her face. "You're talking like this is something you want."

"I-I don't know."

Fuck. Is this her dream? Honey's never been overly open about what she wants to do after college, and hell, I'm more than happy for her to stay home and get manicures all day if that makes her happy, but I've never seen her smile like that.

"Do you want to be a lawyer?"

"I'm not sure, but working at one of the biggest law firms in the country would be a good start to that."

I don't know what to say because I don't want to squash her dream if that's what she wants to do. I was lucky, I had parents that always supported my dreams growing up. Honey didn't have that, so she deserves all the support she can get from me now.

Kneeling in front of Honey, I take her hands in mine and look at her seriously. "Honeycomb. I want you to be happy, and if this opportunity excites you, then I don't want to be the one holding you back."

"But…"

"But I've seen the way your family is, and I don't want you getting sucked into any more of their drama."

I pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head. "You're amazing, and you can do anything you want. However, I don't want you going back to your parents because you think it can help my family."

"I understand that, but what if I want to?"

I shut my mouth immediately, studying my girlfriend and knowing that this is her decision to make, not mine.

Sighing, I say, "Then do it, but don't do it for Tiff. I'm working on another way to help her."

There's no arguing with Honey when she wants something. She'll go after it and I never want to be the person to squash her dreams, even if I don't think that's what's best for her.

"I'm going to think about it," she says.

"Okay," I quip, doing my best to hide my emotion.

Honey lifts my chin and pulls me up off the floor so I'm sitting next to her. Then without another word, she links into my lap and kisses me on the jaw. "I want you to know that I don't want to leave you or us behind."

"You sure about that?" I try to smile so she doesn't see how much the prospect of her leaving makes me. Honey's building her own life and I'm increasingly feeling like I might not fit in it anymore.

She kisses me on the lips, and hand clutching at my shirt as she begs me not to move.

"I'm so sure about that," She whispers against my lips before shuffling around so She's straddling me. I wince at her movement, feeling my dick rubbing against her and knowing I'm going to get an erection over it. "So sure, that after this semester, I want to move in with you."

It takes a minute for my tiny brain to comprehend what she just said, and I look up at her shocked. "Wait. Are you serious? You're not joking with me, are you? Because if you are, I don't think it's something I can recover from."

Her shoulders drop and she raises a brow. "Come on, Z. You and I both know that I wouldn't joke about something as important as that."

I'm still watching her skeptically when she cups my cheeks and plants her lips n mine. Her tongue pushes into my mouth, and the longer we kiss, the longer I feel like she's not joking. Like this is where she should be.

Her hips roll against mine, and before we get too carried away, I pull back, looking her in the eyes one more time.

"Are you sure you want this? I'll get that fence put up tomorrow if you do. I'll even do all I can to get those fan sites shut down."

"Don't do that. You deserve all the admiration you get. We'll be giving together so it's not like our relationship can get any more concrete than that?"

I nibble at her neck as I push her against me and lift her up because this kind of news deserves celebrating in our bed.

"Oh, I can think of a couple of other things that would make our relationship more concrete."

She groans and I squeeze her side as I take her up the stairs.

"Come back to me in five years." She squeezes my shoulder right before I toss her onto the bed, taking in my girlfriend and my soon-to-be roommate.

Towering over her, I place my palm on her chest before kissing her slowly. My chest fills with a warm heat because I know that we're going to be together no matter what life throws at us.

It's me and Honey.

The way it's always supposed to be.

TO BE CONTINUED….