or nothing.”
Parker swallowed hard, his Adams apple bobbing. “Okay.”
Uncertain, Chloe bit her lips as she studied him; he didn’t look very certain and that wasn’t exactly reassuring. Was it a great idea to get involved with a guy who’d never had a relationship before? Did he even understand what a committed relationship entailed, or was she just setting herself up for heart break?
Chapter Ten
That night, as Parker lay in bed, he recalled the events of that evening. At the time, he hadn’t realized what he was saying, the words had just poured out, but he didn’t regret any of it. Only a few weeks ago, the mere idea of a relationship that he’d have to put valuable time and effort into would have sent him running, yet now it felt right. Still scary as hell though.
Laying on his back, he glanced over at Jet, who was just a lump beneath the covers. He didn’t even know if his roommate was awake to hear him, but the words needed to be said. “I asked Chloe out.”
“What?” Immediately, Jet’s head popped up. “Really? Did she say yes?”
“You think I’d be here if she’d said no? I’d be out gettin’ wasted.”
“True,” Jet agreed, sitting up and pushing away the sheets. He hesitated for a second, but then said, “All the time I’ve known you, you’ve never dated anyone. What’s so different about her?”
Parker honestly didn’t know why Chloe was so different, she just was. All his life, he’d been surrounded by his own parents’ toxic relationship; he’d spent his childhood watching his mom and dad break up and make-up again. They’d cheated, fought and generally made each other miserable since before he could remember. For whatever reason, their parents’ relationship hadn’t seemed to effect his three older brothers, but Parker wasn’t stupid enough to deny that it had damaged him. Why else would he be scared to have a real relationship? He’d always claimed that he didn’t want to date, because he wanted to focus all of his attention on football, but that wasn’t entirely true…
Glancing over at Jet, he shrugged. “She’s not like any other girl I know…” he hesitated as he tried to figure out the answer in his own head, “she’s… too good for me.”
Jet looked confused, but he didn’t say anything as Parker lay back down, returning his gaze to the ceiling.
He smiled, content now that he understood himself better. Usually, he didn’t go for good girls – he wasn’t a total bastard, he went for girls who knew what they were getting into, not girls who thought sex meant love. But he’d made a play for Chloe any way because he couldn’t not. And she’d said no. No girl had ever said no to him before, not since his growth spurt at the age of fifteen anyway. But the point was, Chloe was a different class of girl to the ones he was used to, he couldn’t imagine her ever lowering herself to pulling the kind of shit his mom got away with and he’d never hurt her by being like his dad.
The next day, he practically sprang out of bed and ran to practice. Today felt like a good day, the sun was beating down on him and it smelt like cut grass. Practice went as it always did; laps, various other drills and a few games, the team teasing and ribbing each other while Coach yelled at them to stop screwing around. Once it was over and he’d showered, he headed off towards the café.
“Hey, where are you running off to?” Dawson called after him as he yanked a t-shirt over his head and hurried towards the door.
“Getting coffee,” he yelled back as he left, not waiting to hear his friends’ response.
Jogging across campus, he got to the café and waited in line, shifting impatiently from foot-to-foot. At least he didn’t have to wait long, since most of the campus were still in bed this early, and within minutes he was leaving with a Styrofoam cup in each hand.
Stopping to put one cup down on a bench, he pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to
Parker swallowed hard, his Adams apple bobbing. “Okay.”
Uncertain, Chloe bit her lips as she studied him; he didn’t look very certain and that wasn’t exactly reassuring. Was it a great idea to get involved with a guy who’d never had a relationship before? Did he even understand what a committed relationship entailed, or was she just setting herself up for heart break?
Chapter Ten
That night, as Parker lay in bed, he recalled the events of that evening. At the time, he hadn’t realized what he was saying, the words had just poured out, but he didn’t regret any of it. Only a few weeks ago, the mere idea of a relationship that he’d have to put valuable time and effort into would have sent him running, yet now it felt right. Still scary as hell though.
Laying on his back, he glanced over at Jet, who was just a lump beneath the covers. He didn’t even know if his roommate was awake to hear him, but the words needed to be said. “I asked Chloe out.”
“What?” Immediately, Jet’s head popped up. “Really? Did she say yes?”
“You think I’d be here if she’d said no? I’d be out gettin’ wasted.”
“True,” Jet agreed, sitting up and pushing away the sheets. He hesitated for a second, but then said, “All the time I’ve known you, you’ve never dated anyone. What’s so different about her?”
Parker honestly didn’t know why Chloe was so different, she just was. All his life, he’d been surrounded by his own parents’ toxic relationship; he’d spent his childhood watching his mom and dad break up and make-up again. They’d cheated, fought and generally made each other miserable since before he could remember. For whatever reason, their parents’ relationship hadn’t seemed to effect his three older brothers, but Parker wasn’t stupid enough to deny that it had damaged him. Why else would he be scared to have a real relationship? He’d always claimed that he didn’t want to date, because he wanted to focus all of his attention on football, but that wasn’t entirely true…
Glancing over at Jet, he shrugged. “She’s not like any other girl I know…” he hesitated as he tried to figure out the answer in his own head, “she’s… too good for me.”
Jet looked confused, but he didn’t say anything as Parker lay back down, returning his gaze to the ceiling.
He smiled, content now that he understood himself better. Usually, he didn’t go for good girls – he wasn’t a total bastard, he went for girls who knew what they were getting into, not girls who thought sex meant love. But he’d made a play for Chloe any way because he couldn’t not. And she’d said no. No girl had ever said no to him before, not since his growth spurt at the age of fifteen anyway. But the point was, Chloe was a different class of girl to the ones he was used to, he couldn’t imagine her ever lowering herself to pulling the kind of shit his mom got away with and he’d never hurt her by being like his dad.
The next day, he practically sprang out of bed and ran to practice. Today felt like a good day, the sun was beating down on him and it smelt like cut grass. Practice went as it always did; laps, various other drills and a few games, the team teasing and ribbing each other while Coach yelled at them to stop screwing around. Once it was over and he’d showered, he headed off towards the café.
“Hey, where are you running off to?” Dawson called after him as he yanked a t-shirt over his head and hurried towards the door.
“Getting coffee,” he yelled back as he left, not waiting to hear his friends’ response.
Jogging across campus, he got to the café and waited in line, shifting impatiently from foot-to-foot. At least he didn’t have to wait long, since most of the campus were still in bed this early, and within minutes he was leaving with a Styrofoam cup in each hand.
Stopping to put one cup down on a bench, he pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to
Similar Books
