“—later tonight, after the game. I expect to be climbing him like a jungle gym.” One of the gigglers behind me was talking a big game about some meathead, no doubt.
“Jericho? Do you know him?” another asked.
I stiffened.
“Yeah, we have a class together. I talked to him yesterday, in fact. He didn’t ask me out. Not yet anyway. But I’m going to get a taste, girls. Just wait and see.” She cackled.
I finally broke my gaze from number 12 and turned around to give the bitches behind me the harshest death stare I could manage.
“What the fuck is your problem?” one asked. She was the ringleader, a long-haired brunette who was wearing a top so low cut I swore I saw areola even from my lower position.
“Renna, sweetheart, what’s the matter with you?” Mom asked and put an arm around me, pulling me so I was facing forward again. She was covered in head to toe with team attire.
I wanted to push her arm off, climb over the seats, and do my best to start a brawl. And then I knew I had lost my mind altogether. The girls behind me snickered so loudly I could hear them over the rising tide of sound as the players lined up for the initial kickoff.
“Renna, is it Jericho?” Mom whispered in my ear.
She knew. Somehow, my mom knew things about me before I ever did.
I nodded. She squeezed me into her side. “I’ll fight you for him.”
Another round of cackles rang out behind us.
My mom turned around. “If you girls don’t shut the hell up, I’ll have security escort you out. Try me, girls.” She used her teacher tone, usually only reserved for the worst of her high school students. She meant business.
Holy shit.
Dad gave me a look as Mom turned back around. After a small amount of grumbling, the girls quieted down.
I laughed, my earlier tension fading away as Mom snuggled me into her side.
“You’re sort of scary, Mom.”
“Thanks, honey. I don’t like anyone trying to move in on one of our men. What’s ours is ours.”
I could have fallen over. My mom, the possessive bruiser. Who would have thought it? I shook my head and focused on the game.
I kept my eye on Jericho as the ball sailed into our possession during the kickoff. I watched every play, every pass, every moment he stood on the sidelines or talked to Todd or the coach. Every so often I would know he was watching me, too. My skin warmed even in the blustery air.
He was still my HardcoreDom, and I wanted nothing more than to be his just right Goldilocks.
CHAPTER NINE
Jericho
I walked into the suite and flicked the lights on. Todd jumped off the couch though Garrett didn’t move. His dick was out and there was a big grin on his face.
“Too much, guys.” I shielded my eyes as I walked to Renna’s door.
“Garrett, I told you we should go to my room.” Todd dragged Garrett up and shooed him out of the common area. Todd gave me a little salute and a wicked smile before shutting his door.
In the days since our blow-up, the sibling rivalry between Renna and Todd had eventually calmed down to a steady truce. I’d stayed away, despite my burning need to see Renna. She’d made it clear that she needed space, so I gave it to her.
The team had won our opening game, Todd and I falling into the easy rhythm that made us such a good pair. The offensive line had been a well-oiled machine, and I knew we would dominate our schedule and make the playoffs. Renna had been there, but far away in the stands. I could feel her watching me, her gaze like another man on the field helping us move on toward victory.
Classes were going well, even though I had to give the brush off to one particularly eager brunette in my Spanish class. Everything had gotten back to normal as the weather cooled and the semester resumed its full swing.
The only piece missing was Renna – and she was a huge fucking piece. I didn’t ask Todd about her. I didn’t want to reopen the wound. The whole misunderstanding was still an invisible divide between Todd and me, though the distance it created was closing with time.
Renna took up all of my thoughts, all of my waking moments. I masturbated to her, dreamed of her, and instead of listening during my classes, thought about her. I was afraid she would move on, that she would find someone new. If that ever happened, I would track down her new lover and put a hurting on him the likes of which he’d never seen. I didn’t give two shits if it would get me kicked off the team or worse. I may have been giving her the requested space, but she was still mine and mine alone.