dragged me to my feet. For such a little thing, she was freakishly strong.
We didn’t speak as we made our way to the tunnel, where, amazingly, there was no one around to stop us. She halted outside of double doors marked with the school’s mascot. “You go. I’ll stay here and distract anyone who happens along.”
“Distract how?”
She grinned wickedly. “Oh, I have all kinds of ideas.”
I didn’t even want to know.
Could I really do this? Then I thought of Leo’s smile when he blew me the kiss and knew I could. For him.
Pushing open the door, I was surprised at how bright the room was. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all white, except for a maroon stripe along the middle of the walls and cubbies. And there were enough canned lights to make a vampire want to crawl inside the nearest coffin.
I’d only made it a few steps inside when a voice called, “Hey. You can’t be in here.” The guy who spoke was probably in his late twenties and wore a team polo. I didn’t think he was a coach. A trainer, maybe?
I plastered what I hoped resembled a charming smile on my face. “I need to see Leo.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”
Well, shit. He probably had heard that before. I was going to have to step up my game. And, unfortunately, I only had one idea for how to accomplish that.
I yanked my ponytail over my shoulder and took a deep breath. Oh, god. I couldn’t believe I was going to do this. I turned around so he could get a good look at the back of my shirt. “We’re dating.” Or doing something close enough to dating that it wasn’t an outright lie.
“How do I know that isn’t some desperate attempt to get his attention?”
I spun back around and lifted my eyebrows. “Do I look like I need any help getting male attention?” Yes, that sounded conceited. But I wasn’t clueless. I knew guys thought I was hot.
“Point made.” He gestured to a closed door behind him. “You never saw me. And no screwing in the locker room. Sharpe is already in enough trouble as it is. The last thing we need is him getting kicked off the team.”
“Not a problem.” Because, gross. On the deck of Tristin’s boat was one thing. In a locker room that stank of sweaty boys was another.
Besides, Leo and I weren’t having sex. At least, not yet.
Unsure whether I should knock, I finally decided to open the door slowly. Leo sat on a raised padded bench that was clearly supposed to pass for a bed. His head was lowered, and he didn’t look up at my entrance.
Defeat emanated from him, though it was nowhere near the level I’d seen the day I’d drawn him as a lion. “Leo?”
His head snapped up, his expression dazed. “Thea? What are you doing in here?”
“I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine. The only bruises are to my ego.”
I walked toward him but stopped a few feet away. He still wore his football uniform, but his hair was wet, as though he’d dunked it in water, and his face was clean. “Do you want to tell me what happened out there?”
He dropped his head again. “Not really.”
“Will you, anyway?”
“That fucker said something...inappropriate about you.” He peeked at me through his lashes. “And I didn’t react well.”
“Wait. This is all because of me?” I hadn’t seen that coming. How would anyone on the opposing team have even known about me?
Oh, right. Because I’d drawn all kinds of attention to myself by sitting in the front row wearing Leo’s number on my boobs.
“No, it’s because of me. Because I couldn’t control my fucking temper.”
I moved forward and placed a hand on his knee. “Leo—”
“No, don’t try to make me feel better. I deserve to feel like a jackass right now.” Aquamarine eyes bore into mine. “This isn’t who I want to be. It’s who I’m trying not to be.”
“It was one fight. A mistake, yes, but not an irreparable one.” I hadn’t intended that to be a dig at his previous mistakes—“the” mistake, in particular—but his slight flinch told me his thoughts went there of their own accord.
“Do you think people can ever really change?” His forehead wrinkled, and I wanted to reach out and smooth it with my fingertips. “Do you think it’s possible for me to quit screwing up?”