Campus King | 18+

Chapter Thirty-Nine

All I knew was that I was nowhere near done with her. She was still the only woman on my mind — the only one I got hard for. I was pretty sure I was obsessed with her and her fucking hot body. I was also determined to learn and taste every inch of it... even if some areas would take a little bit of convincing and multiple orgasms. So I'd use this last week to get my fill of Hannah. I'd make it so that both of us left satisfied, happy, and on good terms.

"I actually don't know when I'm leaving. That's just the deadline for my reply. I still have to sign a whole bunch of things and begin the transfer process. I also have to tell my parents..." she shrugged.

Suppressing the faint sense of relief and the dark satisfaction that flickered at the thought of her potentially staying longer, I knew it wouldn't change the inevitable outcome. We'd still have to part ways before I entered the drafts.

"Okay," I replied, relaxing my body and nodding.

She blinked, expecting more. "Okay? That's all you have to say?"

I could see my words had hurt her deeply, and that realization made me feel like the biggest asshole on the planet. I'm pretty sure the hardest tackle I'd taken hurt me less than the expression on Hannah's face. I liked her anger, not her sadness, but it seemed inevitable at this point.

"What else is there to say? Nothing's changed," I forced a smile, but the words tasted bitter as I said them. "You don't want a relationship, and I can't have one, so we agreed to keep this temporary, right?"

She looked away, her expression a mix of hurt and retreat. I despised myself in that moment more than I ever had before. I wanted to kiss her until she forgot all of this, until we were back to normal and I could take her back to the tent because, fuck, I craved her like a madman and I wanted my next fix. I wanted to leave my mark on her so that anyone wanting to learn her would need to know me first.

She quickly regained composure, offering a strained smile. "Right. That was the agreement. Nothing's changed," she stated, taking a deep breath before glancing back at the group. "Looks like the whole team's back — we should join them. They always need their Captain, after all."

With that, she walked away, never meeting my gaze as she rejoined the group, giving everyone a friendly smile and laughing at something Bailey said. She looked normal and happy. She looked like Hannah. But she felt different. That wall I fucking hated was back.

I raked a hand through my hair, my jaw clenching before following suit and returning to the group, avoiding looking in Hannah's direction at all costs. I resumed my usual demeanor, plastering on my signature grin and grabbing Alex in a chokehold, ruffling the luscious blonde hair he was so proud of. He struggled and laughed and tried to knock me to the ground. And then Ryan slapped Alex's ass so hard, we were all sure he'd broken skin as Alex howled.

After reprimanding Ryan and telling Alex to quit acting like a baby, I spoke to a couple of other guys, and one of the hockey team's players offered me a beer. I hesitated for a moment, looking at the bottle extended to me. This time, instead of turning down his offer like I usually would, I accepted it, opening the bottle and raising it to my lips.

I tried to push away memories of how the alcohol and bile in my mouth had tasted that night. The sensations of hands everywhere, my world spinning uncontrollably, and my body refusing to obey me. The grit of the ground as I struggled to crawl out of there without passing out.

I felt Tate's eyes land on me, and he quirked a brow. I knew what he was thinking. Tate was one of the few that knew what happened to me. After that incident, everyone in my life had advised me to keep it quiet, knowing it could severely impact my career if fans learned about it and associated me solely with that incident.