He lifts a brow. “Why so glum? Did you blow your load too fast because of the celibacy thing? Or was it just bad sex in general?” He frowns. “That’s surprising, ’cause she looked like she’d be a lot of fun.” As he lifts and lowers the barbell, all the muscles in his arms bulge and flex.
“She is fun. And the sex was great,” I say roughly.
“Then why do you look so pissed?”
I gaze down at him unhappily. “Because I broke my vow.”
“Fuck the vow.”
“I wanted to stick by it,” I say in a tired voice. “You weren’t here last year. My partying is the reason we didn’t beat Harvard.”
Conor rolls his eyes. “If you truly believe that, then you’re an arrogant prick. One player doesn’t make a team.”
“It wasn’t one player, it was two. Our captain was out, too. Nate and I were the top two players on the team.”
“Well, shit happens. Some teams lose their top three, four, five, to injuries. It’s just bad luck.”
“I guess.” I’m still unconvinced. I release another sigh. “I just wanted to be a good captain this year.”
“Dude, you are a good captain. I mean, look at the shit you tolerate. Bucky and Jesse wanted a pig, and you made yourself look like a complete idiot in front of Coach to make it happen for them. Cut yourself some slack.”
“You’re just saying that because you cut everybody slack. You’re a surfer dude—your whole life is slack.”
He laughs, which trips up his even breathing for a second. He inhales deeply and resumes lifting. When he’s done with his set, I put the bar back in place and give him a second to catch his breath.
“I’m just worried it’ll fuck us over,” I confess. “I’m worried we’ll go on a losing streak now.”
“You really need to chill, dude.” Con’s tone grows serious. “Look, Demi’s cool. I like her.”
I narrow my eyes.
That gets me another laugh. “I don’t like her like that. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if you weren’t in the picture, I’d be all about her. But—one, you are in the picture. And two, I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“I was in the picture last night too,” I say darkly.
Con looks like he’s trying not to roll his eyes again. “Do you honestly think I’d mack on your girl?”
“You did mack on my girl.”
“Yeah, to light a fire under your ass, you idiot.”
I falter. “What do you mean?”
“I was never going to go through with it. Neither was she.” Conor is chuckling as he stretches out on the bench and gestures for me to spot him again. “I’m surprised you let it go as far as you did. She and I figured there’d be some flirting and nothing more. Didn’t realize I’d need to stick my tongue down her throat for you to get the memo.”
“You guys planned it?” I feel outraged, but at the same time, I’m also…touched? Yeah, I think I’m actually touched. But I guess that makes sense after what happened with Summer and Fitzy. I told Fitz I was into Summer and he made a move anyway. It’s kind of a relief to know Conor wouldn’t do that to me.
“Like I said, Demi’s really cool,” he tells me. “Women like that don’t come along often, so trust me when I say you need to lock it down, ASAP. If you don’t make an effort to keep her, you’ll lose her. She’ll have a boyfriend again in no time, and then you’ll look back on it and realize what a total dumbass you were for letting her go.”
I last about six hours before I cave and shoot a text to Demi.
ME: Want to hang out tonight?
To my relief, she answers immediately.
DEMI: Come over?
ME: Be there in 20.
It’s difficult not to break every traffic law on my way to campus. I force myself to stick to the speed limit, which means I’m twitching with impatience by the time I reach the Theta house. The sorority president, Josie, lets me in. She doesn’t look surprised to see me. The Thetas are used to me being around, thanks to mine and Demi’s psych project.
When I walk into Demi’s room, I find her on the bed, sitting in front of a mountain of schoolwork. The mattress is covered with textbooks, papers, notes, binders, and highlighters.
“Did you rob a school supplies store?” I ask pleasantly.
“Studying for my bio exam,” she moans. She peers up at me with big brown eyes. “I