Chapter 9

MASON

“Is it actually the cops?” Lily asks, turning in her seat to see that it really is a police car pulled up behind us. She quickly pulls down her shirt and smooths out the wrinkles.

I try to make my face look less turned on as I begin to wind my window down. The cop walks up, shining his bright flashlight into the car.

“License and registration,” the old man snaps grumpily.

“Sure.” I nod and lean over to the glove compartment, grabbing what I need and handing it straight over.

I glance over at Lily, who looks like she’s having an internal freakout.

“What are you two doing out so late?” the policeman asks, leaning down and peering at her with his beady eyes, making her squirm in her seat.

“We just went for a drive after the football game before going to get some food,” I explain calmly, noticing Lily’s hands are shaking.

“Uh-huh,” the cop replies before clearing his throat. “And why are you stopped here?” he questions.

Before I can open my mouth, Lily starts talking unnaturally fast. “Because I started crying because I’m probably not getting onto the volleyball team because I probably suck now because last year, I was in a car accident and nearly died all because my mom yelled at me for quitting cheer. I only quit because she practically abandoned me to travel with my dad, who turns out isn’t even—”

“Okay. Okay,” the man cuts Lily off, his small eyes widening before looking back to me. “Well, it’s not safe to park here, so best you be going,” he says, clearing his throat. “Drive safe.” He nods before disappearing back toward his car.

“Holy shit,” she breathes out. “That was so scary.”

Her reaction makes me laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that nervous before,” I say as I start driving again.

“I thought we were going to get arrested!” she exclaims, placing her hand on her chest.

“Arrested for being parked on the side of the road?” I laugh.

“I’ve never been pulled over! How the hell were you so calm?”

“Not the first time I’ve dealt with the police, Princess,” I reply casually.

“What?”

“Callum wasn’t the best of drivers. He was always getting pulled over,” I feel my smile slowly disappearing from my face. “Then every time he tried to kill himself, they’d come around.”

She grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it reassuringly.

I continue, “And the neighbors called them a lot when Mom was having one of her drunken yelling sessions, or one of her boyfriends got too violent.”

“Were you ever hurt?” Lily asks quietly, making me freeze. I haven’t thought of my childhood since—well, I was a child.

“Not seriously. They stopped once I got big enough to fight back,” I mutter, deciding to tell her the truth.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” she whispers, squeezing my hand. “What about Gemma and Tayla? Are they safe?”

“They’re safe. Mom is old now and only dates rich men,” I explain. But now I’m not sure. She hasn’t partied all night and brought randoms over in a long time, and it’s starting to happen again. “Her money is drying up, though. She’ll have a new man soon,” I add, frowning, hoping it won’t be a drunk or a druggie.

I clear my throat. “I’ll keep checking on them and be there if they need me. That’s why this scholarship and going pro are so important to me. I don’t want to turn out like her or whoever my dad is. Hell, even like Callum. I need to have a better life and protect them.”

***

The weekend goes by way too fast. I wish we had three-day weekends. Having school and work on Mondays should be illegal.

I hate waking up in my bed alone. It feels cold.

I groan, really not wanting to get out of bed. Have I mentioned how much I hate Mondays? After waking up with Lily for two nights in a row, it’s even harder to wake up without her next to me.

The weather is cooling off, and I really don’t want to get out of bed, especially to go lift weights.

But I do.

The whole workout, the guys from the team—minus Jeff—are congratulating me on the game and asking where I was afterward. All of them promise to buy me a beer next weekend, like we actually have to pay for it.

I spot Stan, one of the guards, as the lift session is nearing its end. I notice that Jeff hasn’t shown up.

“Where’s Jeff?” I ask as Stan pushes the bar up.

“Heard he’s pissed about the game. Also heard that he wants to whip your ass.” He smirks.

“Sure.” I roll my eyes at him.

“Nah, he loves you. It’s actually ridiculous,” Stan grunts as he slowly lowers the bar to his chest. “But he better watch out. You played better than him, and the coach knows it.”

“I’m not gunning for his spot,” I reply. Not this year, anyway. Next year, I’m going to be the starter.

“I’m just saying. If he keeps playing like shit, you’ll be the starter by Thanksgiving,” Stan states matter-of-factly as I help him rerack the bar.

“I’m serious, dude. You’re that good, and quite frankly, I’d happily have you as my quarterback.”

“Sure.” I snort. I played half of one game. How can he be so sure already?

“You took charge out there. You made us listen to you, and look how well we all played,” he says, standing up and towering over me. “I think most of the team would prefer to have you. No cap.”

I let Stan’s words sink in, and a feeling I don’t feel very often comes over me—I feel proud of myself.

***

I’ve come to realize that I hate college classes. They’re so long and boring. The rooms are always cold and have a weird smell to them. By the time one class is finished, I’m starving.

Lately, I’ve been running from class to the café to grab Lily and me a coffee and muffin before the one and only class we share.

The second the professor dismisses us, I’m out of my seat and heading straight to the café. But someone calls my name, stopping me.

“Hey,” Mandy breathes out once she’s caught up to me. “How are you? We didn’t get a chance to talk.” She smiles up at me, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, lots going on.” I nod and start walking toward the café.

“I was, um. I was thinking we could get together at lunch or tonight and work on our project,” she says, sounding nervous.

“I’ve got training tonight,” I say, my eyes scanning the quad, hoping to see Lily.

“What about a lunch session? In my dorm?” Mandy asks as my eyes land on Lily, who is standing next to Liam. He sees me and nudges her. I hear Mandy say something, but I don’t pay attention to her because my princess is running toward me with a huge smile.

I wait until she’s a few paces away before I take a couple of big steps and scoop her into my arms.

“I did it!” she exclaims, squeezing me tightly.

“What did you do?” I ask, pulling back to look at her.

“I made the team!” she squeals excitedly.

I can feel my smile grow as big as hers. “Congratulations!” I say before she smashes her lips against mine.

“I fucking did it!” she smiles the moment she pulls back.

“I knew you would,” I say before pulling her face back to mine. I’m so fucking proud of her. I knew there was no way she wouldn’t make the team. Even after the accident, she’s the best damn volleyball player I’ve ever seen.

“You. Are. Amazing,” I tell her between kisses.

“All right, all right, you two. Break it up.” Liam’s voice breaks us apart.

“I fucking did it!” Lily squeals, shaking his shoulders. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this excited. It’s actually really cute.

“I so don’t want to go to class now.” She sighs, pouting slightly before her smile overtakes her face again. “We’ve got to go out tonight,” she demands.

“Of course.” I nod.

“Um, what about our project?” Mandy’s voice interrupts.

“That can wait.” I brush her off. In all honesty, I couldn’t give two shits about the project. In fact, I forgot Mandy was still here. I grab hold of Lily’s hand and thread our fingers together.

“See you later.” Liam smiles, looking down at his phone before he’s running off.

“Okay, so you can only train at half-strength tonight, okay?” Lily says as we begin walking toward our class. “Because there’s no way you’re falling asleep while we’re out.”

She shakes her head.

“Princess, I’ll stay up all night for you if you need me to,” I say, smiling down at her.

“Mason,” she coos, sticking her bottom lip out slightly. “You really are a big softie.” Her smile makes me want to drag her out of the room and straight to my bed.

“Just with you.” I wink, following her down the row of seats to our usual spot. Cameron is already sitting there.

“What’s this?” he asks, jutting his chin toward Lily’s and my linked hands.

“I made the volleyball team,” Lily announces proudly as she takes her seat.

“Really? That’s awesome!” he exclaims, opening his arms and giving her an awkward hug. I suddenly want to punch his face in again—a feeling I haven’t had in a few weeks.

“Whoa, careful there, Cooper. Armstrong might steal your girl like he stole her from me,” the most annoying voice in the entire world says, making Cameron pull away. For the first and most likely the only time, I’m pleased to hear fucking Kingsley speak because at least it stopped Cameron’s weird hug.

“What are you talking about, Olly?” Cameron laughs as they share a fist bump. Of course, the dickhead would be friends with the even bigger dickhead.

“Lily was my girl until Cooper stole her from me,” Oliver says.

I squeeze my fist hard, trying to hold in the rage. I remember Coach’s rule about no fighting. Shouldn’t there be an exception for someone as fucking annoying as Kingsley?

“You mean he actually treated me like a decent person after you cheated on me with my best friend?” Lily snaps, sending him a death glare.

“It wasn’t like that,” the fucker says, trying to defend himself.

“Get lost,” Lily snaps before turning away from both of the dicks and looking at me with a smile.

The first half of the class is Samuel’s droning on and on, boring me out of my mind. I’m more focused on the little pictures I’m drawing on my papers and watching Lily. All her attention is on the lecture. Her notes are ridiculously organized and color-coded. I might need to borrow them this weekend.

A few times, I catch Cameron looking over at her with a look that pisses me off. But when I see his eyes dropping to her boobs, it takes every single bit of strength I have not to gouge his eyes out. Instead, I just picture myself doing it over and over.

I’m broken out of my thoughts by Lily shaking my shoulder.

“Huh?” I question, looking around and noticing everyone getting into groups.

“Project time,” she says, flipping through her notebook before stopping on another perfectly written page. “What have you two done so far?” she asks, looking between me and Mandy, who I didn’t realize was sitting on my other side.

“Not a lot,” I reply sheepishly.

“Actually, I’ve done most of it,” Mandy says, turning her laptop around and showing her work.

“Whoa,” I mutter, starting to feel bad I haven’t been pulling my weight.

“And you?” Lily asks Cameron, who looks as guilty as I feel.

“Right. Well, you two suck.” Lily sighs.

“We should really get together and work on this,” Mandy says before placing her hand on my shoulder, which instantly makes me feel like I’m being suffocated. I shrug it off.

She doesn’t take the hint, saying, “We can go to my dorm after class.” She pouts her lips out like a duck.

“I’ve got another class,” I say, shaking my head, really not wanting to be alone with her.

“How about all four of us work together, and I’ll make a shared document,” Lily suggests, narrowing her eyes the slightest amount.

“You really are the smartest person I’ve met,” Cameron says to her, making her smile and playfully roll her eyes.

I feel like he’s going to become a bigger problem than I originally thought.