She left without another word.

* * *

The day turned out to be a hot one, so for lunch, Cass, Lexi, Ally, Jimmy-Don, and I decided to sit on the grass in the expansive grounds of the quad. It seemed like everyone else had that idea too; the place was packed.

“So Jimmy-Don, tell me about yourself,” I urged, as we lazed in a makeshift circle on the recently cut lawn. I loved the smell of cut grass. It reminded me of early summer mornings when I was young and I would wake to my father mowing our tiny patch of a garden. I smiled to myself. It was one of the few happy memories I had from my youth.

“Well, I’m a Texan from Houston and play offensive tackle for the Tide. I’m twenty-one, and when I graduate, with a degree in environmental sciences, I’ll go back to Houston and work on my daddy’s cattle ranch.”

“You don’t want to play football professionally too?”

“Would love to, but I won’t be drafted by the NFL, and that’s okay. I’ll get to go back home, get me some livestock, and hopefully this little filly will be around too,” he said as he cuddled into Cass, kissing her cheek.

Ally tapped my arm and when I looked up, Rome was heading our way dressed in jeans, brown boots, a red sleeveless T-shirt, and Ray-Ban mirrored aviator glasses. To his left was a tall, dark, heavily tattooed guy, dressed in black baggy clothes with chains hanging in large hoops from his studded belt—handsome if not a bit scary in his appearance. To his right, the polar opposite, an all-American boy with platinum blond hair, blue eyes, tanned skin—completely preppy. I scoured around and watched as girls openly checked out Rome as he walked by. He could certainly catch a girl’s eye.

“Hey, Bullet, Austin, Reece. What you doin’ over here with us?” Jimmy-Don asked as he looked up to Rome, slapping all the guys’ hands one by one in greeting.

Romeo fixed his eyes on me and smiled. “Just seein’ my girl.”

Everyone froze.

Rome stepped around to me and sat down, pulling me across his lap, and moved in for a kiss—not just a peck, a kiss that told the world I was his. He owned me with that kiss and I submitted whole-heartedly.

After thoroughly kissing me senseless. Romeo broke away, leaving his thumb to caress my bottom lip. “How are you today, baby?”

I struggled to catch my breath. “I’m good. Great, actually.”

“Well, I guess that answers my question of whether he likes you,” Cass said, pulling me from my Romeo-induced haze. “Yesterday at the cafeteria, I thought somethin’ wasn’t quite addin’ up. We all know Bullet don’t do relationships, so I thought he was just being weirdly nice. But the contact lenses, Molls going missing for hours… totally makes sense now!”

Romeo brushed a kiss across my forehead and answered, “This is different. We’re together, a couple, right, Shakespeare?” He cracked a small smirk my way. I guessed keeping us quiet was no longer an option according to my boyfriend, and he looked in no way repentant about his impromptu “outing” of our relationship.

“Yeah. We’re together,” I announced quietly. I shifted in his lap, sitting between his legs, and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I viewed our little group of friends who were all staring at the two of us, unsure if they were seeing things.

Rome pointed to his friends one by one. “Everyone, this is Austin and Reece.”

“Austin Carrilo, first-string wide receiver, and Reece Todd, second-string QB—no need for introductions, guys. Tide players’ reputations speak for themselves.” Cass beamed, getting a little excited by the new additions to our group.

Lexi, who’d been gawking at Austin, raised her pixie hand firmly in the air. “Erm… Not that I’m unhappy, but when the hell did this happen and why haven’t y’all said a damn word about it?” She glared at me angrily.

I grimaced at her pissed-off expression. “Over the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to keep it quiet for a while.”

“I can’t believe y’all are together! Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I just can’t believe it. Molly, the timid, super brain, with the Tide’s first-string QB—stranger things have happened, I s’pose!”

“Well, believe it. She’s all mine, includin’ her big brain,” Romeo stated proudly with a mirthful arch of his brows and a tap to my head, causing his teammates to shake their heads in shock at his odd behaviour.

“Hells yeah! I think its friggin’ awesome, honey!” Cass tooted.

“Thanks, Cass.”

Our little happy circle chatted for the better part of an hour, our friends growing accustomed to Rome and me as an honest-to-God couple.

Rome and I attempted to block out the stares and jibes from the rest of the student body as we sat wrapped in each other’s arms—Rome’s threatening glares and reputation keeping most of the snide comments clearly out of our earshot.

We’d successfully ignored the incessant murmurs from passers-by; at least we were succeeding, until a member of the basketball team walked by with his buddies, snickering at us together. Rome immediately tensed, bracing for confrontation.

The tall, lanky, brown-haired basketballer stopped before us, a closed fist to his mouth, stopping his laughter. “Fuck, Bullet, I don’t believe my f**kin’ eyes! You gave up all the pu**y on campus for that? Tell me, does she at least suck your c**k good?”

Before I’d even had a chance to feel offence at his slander, Romeo jumped to his feet and tackled the guy to the ground, our friends frantically rushing in his direction. Students hurried to where they were rolling on the ground, creating a loose circle around Romeo and the basketballer to watch the commotion up close.

Jimmy-Don, on seeing me launch to my feet, held tight onto my arm as I tried to run to Rome. “Leave ‘em to it, darlin’. Let him get it outta his system.”

I wrenched back my arm. “No! I don’t want him to fight. Stop him.” I turned to Austin and Reece. “Stop him!”

“You wanna be with Rome, darlin’, then get used to this.” Jimmy-Don gestured to the two of them scuffling. “It happens all the time.”

I stared at Jimmy-Don and Reece in astonishment. Austin had joined the growing crowd. “He’s your friend. STOP HIM before he gets hurt!”

Reece put his hand on my shoulder. “Bullet won’t be the one that’s hurt, Molly. It’s not like he hasn’t fought before. And no offense, but I’m not getting near Bullet when he’s like that. I like my head firmly on my shoulders, thanks!”