Chapter 53: This boy - Monet

The football cafeteria is packed, with all the players returning from practice, and I feel like an absolute outcast because I'm the only girl there apart from some of the staff.

Cole gets a table and looks at me with those burning eyes and I immediately scoot into a booth as if he ordered me to do so with his voice. What the hell has he done to me? I've known him for almost fifteen years, and he never had this effect on me. I'm going to have to start talking soon, though.

I watch his back retreating as he goes to get food, and his neighbor, Antoine, slides into the seat opposite me.

"Monet, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?"

I can't help but smile. I spoke to him a little bit at camp, and I thnk he's fun to hang around with. "I was summoned by the quarterback."

He clutches his chest comically. "He was making sure we are flattered by your beauty."

I throw my head back and laugh. "Flattery will definitely get you everywhere, Antoine. I'm not even sure I'm allowed to be in here."

"I'm sure we can make an exception for a fine lady like yourself once in a while." He smiles and winks at me. "So, I was thinking we could hang out some time you know, I'm single in case you were wondering. Are you still dating Damon Jones, though, because it's gonna be hard to compete against that guy."

I shake my head, the smile still on my face. "How the hell do you even know I'm dating Damon?"

"A guy like him and a girl like you?" He shrugs. "News gets around."

"Why the hell would anyone even be interested in my damn love life and who I'm dating?" I ask in disbelief. First with James and now with Damon. "Girls go on dates every single day, I go and it's campus news?"

Antoine looks at me like I've grown two heads, before he smirks. "You must be the most humble girl I've ever had the pleasure of speaking to. Would you marry me, please?"

"Only when I'm dead and buried." Cole's voice doesn't sound too friendly where he stands at tge edge of the table.

"Relax!" My guest slides out of the booth. "See you around, Monet!"

Cole shakes his head and puts his plate down before putting a bottle of water in front of me. "I swear that boy is trying to get killed."

"Antoine is harmless." I feel myself blushing, because the guy sitting opposite me right now, has gone from harmless to the most dangerous in my life. And it didn't start Saturday night. No, it started the night I saw him as something other than a brother.

I blame Stacey. If she wasn't over at their dorm that night, I would have never seen Cole naked looking like he might choke you and fuck you at the same time. Now, that's the only way he looks at me, and I might not survive it, or find any other guy incompatible.

Damon was a nice guy, cute and a gentleman, passionate about his sport and where his future is headed. After Saturday night, I just don't see us going anywhere, even though he says he would still like to see me down the line.

"Antoine is anything but harmless." His voice returns to that tone he used in the parking lot. He picks up a piece of asparagus with his fork and holds it our for me, knowing how much I love the vegetable.

"Do you really never eat junk anymore?" I scrunch my nose as I take the vegetable off the fork. "You used to love hamburgers."

He smiles, cutting his salmon. "I can always eat hamburgers when I'm done playing, or maybe a few times in the off-season."

"That sounds very boring." I bite into the asparagus, and I must admit it's perfectly seasoned and grilled. Maybe he doesn't even miss the junk food. "But this tastes like a high quality meal."

"This is one of the best programs in the country, they take very good care of their athletes."

I'm yet again reminded this isn't just college for these guys here. They didn't just come to get a degree and get a good job, start a family and have the white picket fence. They want to make history, get their names written next to the greats.

So far, Cole has been handling himself quite well, even though I had my concerns. That means he has grown even more than what I thought, and I'm really proud of him for that.

We don't talk after that, the silence between us getting heavy as I watch him eat his very healthy meal while he glances at me. One thing is for certain, we completely ruined our relationship from before. We were never awkward around each other like this.

I should've ran when I had the chance.

I breathe a sigh of relief when he finishes eating and gets up from the table to dispose of his plate, coming back with energy bars, holding one out for me.

"Trying to turn me into an athlete too?" I grab the bar and follow him out of the cafeteria.

"You might need it to break up the fight." He raises those thick, slanted eyebrows at me. Why did Cole have to be so damn perfect looking? I hate that for me.

The dorm sounds surprisingly quiet when we enter, and I wonder what the hell Amy and Luke are doing behind his closed bedroom door, but my thoughts evaporate when Cole closes the front door and he pulls me into his hard body.

I open my mouth to ask him what he's doing, and that our friends could come out at any time and see what we're doing, but he twists my ponytail in his fist and pulls my head back, those damn eyes focusing on my mouth.

"Now, what part of you do you want me to say hi to first?"