Steeling Her: A Romance Novel

Nick

I’m walking to my first class of the semester alone, listening to my music. I swing the door open to the room I’m scheduled to attend the lecture in and take my earphones out, looking around at the crowd walking around, getting to their own classes. The air conditioner blasts my face hard with cold air. I tuck my earphones inside my pocket and get a few greetings from my teammates and girls I’ve never even met before. Or have I?

People’s sneakers squeak across the old tiled floor running from one end to another. Some of the girls’ heels click on the floor, gaining guys attention. I get the lust filled stares from them, with their welcoming eyes trying to lure me in to them, with their low cut tops with bright bras peeping out of them and short shorts or mini skirts leaving little to the imagination. Some nerdy girls in jeans and a jumper were running around with blocky folders in their hands, trying to get a seat in the front rows of their classes. College gives you such a wide range of personalities and types.

Opening the door up for my class, I sit near the back rows. I see Reggie already in a seat and keep walking to sit next to him. His head is down, scrolling through his brightly lit phone. Hearing my approach, his head snaps up to meet my face. Sending me a warm smile, he lifts his hand for me to take so we can greet each other.

“Hey, man! I didn’t know you were in this class.” We both sit down in our seats and I place my bag on the floor.

“Yeah! I didn’t think you were in this class either! Good to know I know someone else here!” Reggie is smart, so we can study together for this class when assignments and exams begin.

I’m not stupid by any means. My mom drilled studying into me and Haley from a young age. My mom was a pharmacist, and she was smart one too. She gave it up to look after us but did night courses and online courses to get different degrees. She has loads of them, and always tells us that we need a solid degree in whatever we choose to do. The rule was, we had to get one.

“Yeah! Bro, we can be study buddies!” He laughs as he takes out his notepad from his bag, and I do the same. I click my pen, readying myself for the class as I see a ton of people walking through the doors. I catch a few of them in the eyes as they walk in. Some sit close to me and Reggie, but I pay no attention to them. Listening to Reggie scroll through his Twitter feed, I stare at the board, hoping the lecturer will enter anytime soon. Time is just ticking by slowly; this will be a long class.

“Is this seat taken?” My head turns to see a busty brunette standing beside me, pointing down to the seat next to me. I shake my head no, allowing her to sit down with her friends. I glance around at all of the free seats in the lecture hall. Typical.

“I’m Amelia.” She holds out her hand for me to shake, and I do.

“I’m Nick.” I send her a polite smile and look at her eyes. She’s hot, but I’m not interested. I clench my jaw at the realization that I thought that.

You have a busty brunette practically sitting on your damn lap and cozying up to you, and you’re not interested?

“It’s hot outside, right?” I shift my eyes back to her and see her leaning on her elbow, giving me an eyeful of her goods.

I resist and turn to face the front once more. “Yeah, a little,” I tell her, trying my best to keep my thoughts locked inside my brain.

“You play football for the college right? First string quarterback?” she keeps the conversation going with me, but I’m praying for class to start soon. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I barely got any sleep last night since my mind was racing so much. I’m tired, cranky, and in dire need of coffee.

“Yup.” I pop my ‘p’ at the end and she stays silent for a few moments, almost thinking of something else to talk about.

“So there’s a pool party at my sorority house this weekend, you guys want to come?” she asks and it immediately catches Reggie’s attention. Diverging his time between her and his phone, he smiles at her with a nod.

I reply with, “I already got the invite, but thanks.” She starts to scribble down something on my notebook and once she’s finished, I see it’s her number with a winky face and her name next to it. I send her a tight smile and lean back on the uncomfortable wooden chair linked to the ones either side of me. I feel the loose screws protruding through my clothing and into my back. This building is old, but it’ll get renovated soon with hi-tech equipment for ‘productive learning’ as the faculty like to call it.

“Alright class, we’re going to start now. Apologies for being late! It won’t happen again. Although, if you’re so much as five minutes late for my class, you can forget about coming altogether! You won’t be allowed in.” Our professor starts the class off with warnings and the syllabus for the semester, showing a breakdown of the assignments and the exams that will help us pass.

He’s kind of scary for a guy who has an outrageous beer belly spilling over his brown leather belt that isn’t doing its job. The blue collared shirt shows small sweat stains underneath his arms, and it’s all paired with brown slacks that are a little too long for him. Salt and pepper hair matches with his moustache. This guy would almost scare you into joining a gym. He’s one hamburger away from a heart attack.

If my mom heard my thoughts, she would smack me so hard.

Listening tentatively to the lecture, I scribble down some notes on the page in front of me. Listening to him was proving difficult thanks to the gossip queens sitting next to me. Next time, I’ll come in on time so the people who are late won’t be allowed in and I can sit away from these girls. I won’t be able to hear anything if I sit next to them.

They’re not so subtle when I can hear them calling me hot. I roll my eyes at their words but continue to listen as much as I can. If I fail a class, Coach will be on my back constantly reminding me people on scholarships lose them if they fail a semester. Failing a semester means you have to fail some classes, meaning you fail one class, you might fail another. My mom also would kill me, so I need her off my back. I’m more terrified of my mom beating me to a pulp than I am of Coach. I think he’d agree too. He’s met mama Jackson before, and she wiped him on the floor in a disagreement. She’s a force to be reckoned with.

I let my eyes wander around the room to look at the types of people in this class. I find it amazing that people from different backgrounds come to the same class as me. I’m not one for stereotyping, but it’s interesting to know that me, a football player, would have something in common with a goth girl or a nerdy guy who sits at the front of the class with a million pens lined up for him. I know, I’m deep. Not really, but I find it cool to see people who have different interests from me can wind up in the same course as me, with the same investment as I have for it.

Looking at the clock above the door, I see his time is up and I’ve to get to my next class in the same building. “Alrighty, so I will be handing out your first assignment this Friday. It’s due for next Friday, so you have exactly one week. I will be giving you another one every Friday due for the following Friday. It’ll help you study for the exams and also give you some percentage going into it to ease the pressure!” he yells at us just as we pack all our stuff into our bags as we’re ready to leave.

“Call me, Nick!” Amelia bites on her lip as I stand up. I part ways with Reggie and those annoying girls and jog down the hallway, trying to take my phone out of my pocket. Taking my eyes off the floor in front of me to see it’s caught in my pocket.

“Oomph.” I collide with a small body and I immediately react, taking hold of them before they could fall. I look down to see her staring up at me, her blue eyes almost cutting me in half through the thick black rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. The strong pulse in her eyes as they dilate. I hear my phone meeting the tiled floor but I don’t move to pick it up. My arm is wrapped around her waist instinctively pulling her closer to me. She feels so good with her body pressed against mine.

Carter.

“I-I, um, sorry! I wasn’t looking w-where I was going,” she stutters out nervously, pushing her glasses up so the settle better on her face. She’s so cute. Glasses look so cute on her.

No!

Stop that.

I shake my head and release her, feeling the coldness on my body and arm. “No, it’s cool! It was my fault. I, um, I shouldn’t have been rushing and not looking. Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” I realize my embarrassment hits me square in the face. I sound like a girl. Feeling my hand rubbing the back of my neck, I feel my body pumping adrenaline through me.

Her head starts to shake from side to side rapidly, making her hair whisp around in the air. Smelling a hint of berry diffusing from her hair, I instantly take in a breath to savour the smell.

God, I sound like such a creep.

“No, no. I’m so clumsy anyway. I’m pretty sure I walked into you. I’m sorry . . . But I’ve got to get to my class . . .” She points behind me and I snap myself out of my daze, turning my body around to see where she’s pointing to. Once I do, I see Maya strutting up the hallway with her friends like she’s on a mission. I whip myself back around hoping she doesn’t see me. More like pleading.

“Oh, sorry, sure! I’ve got class this way.” I point behind her and she sends me a tight smile, walking around me and I blurt out, “Carter?” She turns back around on the heels of her Vans to face me. I can see Maya in the distance staring at me but I focus back on Carter, taking her figure in. Damn, she looks good today. All without even trying. “Haley, TJ, and I have lunch at one if you’re free?” I bend down to pick up my phone off the floor. I see her eyes widen at my phone as her shoes squeak, stepping closer to examine what’s in my hand.

“Shit! Did I break your phone? I’m so sorry!” She awkwardly looks down at it and I flip to see the screen with no scratches on it. Seeing relief wash over her face, I smile at her making her eyes widen for a second. She clears her throat.

I shake the phone nonchalantly. “No, it’s good. I dropped it while I was trying to get it out of my pocket before I bumped into you.” She sends me a genuine smile that knocks the wind right out of me. She starts to walk towards the room I had just come out of and puts her hand on the handle.

“I’m not free at one today. Sorry! Another day?” She turns her head towards me but her body’s facing the door. Opening it, she sends me another tight smile like she did that night. I bob my head just as she walks inside. I turn around to avoid Maya.

I race to my next class so I’m not late. I get there with two minutes to spare, once again making my way to the back of the hall. I sit down next to a group of my teammates and some of them sit next to me. No annoying girls to sit next to me this class. Here I was, thinking I could focus.

Nope.

All I could think about was her—Carter. The blue-eyed nerdy girl who owns the damsel in distress physique. Remembering her in her short shorts and baggy baseball top with navy vans, she looked so effortlessly striking.

I can’t shake the feeling of when I was holding her. I can still feel her body on me, and I’m afraid of move in case that feeling subsides. She’s the reason why I couldn’t sleep last night. The memory of her in that red dress is engraved in my mind and I cannot get it out. I mentally curse at myself for being so weak. What is it about her? She’s constantly on my mind.

I need to stay focused. Especially for football. Maybe I need to stay away from her until I can control these thoughts. I nod to myself and start to try listen to the professor. I glance around the room and catch a girl’s eyes. She’s wearing a purple top. She winks at me, and I send her a polite smile, focusing back on the material being covered in class.

Stay focused, I keep chanting to myself.

What is up with the girls in this college? They’re getting so desperate these days. Even though I’m used to the attention they give me, it can be a lot some days.

Once the lecture is over, I throw up my hoody so nobody sees me walk out of the room, but not before I take a quick glance through a slit of a window in the door where Carter’s class is going on. Seeing her in the second row, I groan out loud and force myself to walk away from the door, continuing my way to my next class. Leave it alone, Nick. One more and then lunch to meet with TJ.

Leaving my last boring lecture of the morning, I make my way towards where TJ and I meet up for lunch and see my sister’s blonde hair when I enter High Point Coffee shop just off campus. Feeling the cold air hit me once more as well as the smell of fresh coffee beans wafting to my nose. I relish the smell with a long drag of a breath. I see TJ sitting across from her with food on the table. He knows my order. Whoever is here first gets the food and the other pays them back. Saves us a lot of time. Although, we do have two hours to kill.

“Hey.” I slip into the next seat in the booth beside TJ and immediately start eating. I’m so hungry today.

“What’s up, man! You look like shit.” I throw down my hood and send him a deadpan look while I chew slower.

“Thanks, TJ, you always had a way with words,” I reply, the sarcasm leaving my mouth heavily. I continue to eat the food and slip him a ten dollar bill and thank him for buying me my food.

“How was your first lecture, sis?” Haley’s head snaps up with a smile on her face. Who is she texting? She puts her phone down but I see the group messages popping up on her screen, grabbing my attention.

“It was good. Boring, but good. I like the professor, and I made a few new friends.” Her attention goes back to her phone and she starts to giggle uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?” I ask her, covering my mouth. My mom also drilled table manners into my sister and I. If we were rude at the table, we would get her heel up our asses. I’m also a mama’s boy. I love my mom and I have major respect for her.

“Carter . . .” She laughs out loud, but it causes a surge to make its way through my body. Just from hearing her name, I’m immediately intrigued.

“What about her?” I push to get more about the girl who shares a dorm with my sister. The hot girl who has taken my attention.

“You know, for such a quiet and shy girl, she’s probably one of the funniest people I know!” She starts to laugh again as she reads the screen. Well, that’s not much to go by.

“Am I not the funniest person you know?” TJ fakes being hurt by her comment and her eyes snap up to roll her eyes at him.

“Not even close, TJ.” She sticks her tongue out, playfully smiling at him.

He lets a fake gasp escape his mouth and puts his hand over his heart and playfully says, “That cuts deep, Haley. But I know you secretly love me anyway.” The way he teases her makes her roll her eyes once more before turning them back down to the device in her hand. She’s glued to that thing.

“How is she?” Haley’s face snaps up to meet my gaze with a puzzled look written all over it. I know I saw her earlier today. I was going to talk with her but she seemed to be in a rush to get to her next class. “After Saturday night? You know . . . after that whole thing? Who was it, by the way?” I ask trying to sound like I’m not too bothered by it. By the look on her face she’s not buying it.

“Oh no you don’t, Nick! Stay away from her! You’re not ruining another one of my friendships! Nick, I’m serious. I like her!” I can see the panic set in her eyes.

“Relax, sis, I’m only checking to see if she’s alright. She just looked a bit shaken the other night, that’s all.” I hope she buys it. Please buy it. Please.

“Aaron Stevens,” TJ comments and I tense immediately. Out of all the guys, I should’ve guessed it would’ve been him.

“Stevens? Are you shitting me?” I grit out, putting down my burger that was being squished in my hands. I face TJ, who leans back with his hands on the back of the booth. With just one nod, I feel the anger bursting through my veins. That little asshole. When I see him, his face will be stuck in the wall, and I will see him. Coach won’t be happy with the outcome, but I most certainly will.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I handled it then and there. He won’t go near her again.” Haley’s head nods with TJ. I’m glad he didn’t go near Haley, but I most certainly am not happy about him going after Carter like that.

“What an asshole,” I mumble out while they just stare at me. I don’t feel my anger go away. I kind of want to see Carter and ask her if she’s alright, but I know Haley will annoy me about it. So I choose not to do that. Maybe I’ll bring it up the next time I see her, subtly.

As the hour flew by, Haley was off back to her second to the last lecture for the day. I waved her off along with TJ. I sigh to myself, sitting back in the comfort of the booth that surrounded us. I decided to sit where Haley was so I could sit across from my best friend.

“So . . . Carter, huh?” My eyes snap up to him. They widen a fraction but I relax, telling myself he’s got nothing.

I shrug my shoulders. “I was just worried about her. She looked upset that night and I was making sure she was okay—”

“When have you ever worried about a girl, Jackson?” He chuckles at me. I know what he’s getting at. I need to get that seed planted in his brain out before it grows any further.

“Look, I would’ve done the same if it was . . . Shit, what’s the other girl’s name again?” I squint my eye, trying to badger my mind of her name.

“Danielle,” he says while he tut-tuts at me.

“Right! Danielle! I would’ve done the same if it was her—”

“Would you?” Seeing his smirk on his face, he knows I wouldn’t have done the same for her. I huff out a “Yes” to let him drop it, but he doesn’t. This guys knows me like a brother. He knows my reactions, expressions, and when I’m lying.

“Look, she’s hot, I get it. But you’re treading in dangerous water with her being Haley’s roommate—”

“TJ, I don’t like her like that. I’m just looking out for her. She’s shy, and apparently naïve, so I figured she needs someone to . . . help her.” I choose my words very carefully with him. He would twist them into something that’s not. Or worse, something that is.

Taking in a deep breath, he sinks further into the booth and says, “If you say so. All I’m going to say is, to you, she’ll be just another girl. But to her, you might not just be another guy. You following me?” I nod, and he leaves it at that. I know what he’s saying.

She’s shy, and I would ruin her if I got with her, in more ways than one. He’s right. I just fuck girls and leave. I don’t think she’s mentally at that part in her life. Honestly, I don’t think she’ll ever get to that stage. She’s young, but I can’t do that to her or my sister.

“Chin up man, there’s plenty of hot girls around the campus for you to bang,” he reassures me.

“I wasn’t sulking, TJ.” That just makes him scoff. He’s right; I was sulking a bit. Thinking of her; why I can’t have her; why I shouldn’t want her so much. There’s something about that blue-eyed beauty that I can’t put my finger on. She’s such a mystery, one that I want to figure out so badly.

“You totally were, Nick,” he teases me. He stands up to order us coffee and I sit back to wait for it to arrive. I look out the window at the surrounding people passing by me, and I start to feel myself comparing the girls walking by to her. The differences that are evidently there because it’s not her. The ones who see me looking at them try to act differently to keep my attention, something that Carter does the opposite of. She’s the girl who completely runs away from me and acts so nervous around me. I’ve never experienced a girl like that in all my years.

“Shit!” I whisper to myself for sounding like such a girl. I run my hands across my cheeks in frustration at why she’s doing this to me. Then, I start to play with the packets of sugar in the pots on the table as I wait. One sugar will do for me. I hadn’t noticed that TJ sat down until he cleared his throat for the second time. My mind just started to wander. Again.

“You alright, man? Your coffee is going cold.” He pushes the styrofoam cup in front of me. I groan out in frustration, making him laugh.

“I’m just tired today . . . I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I mumble sipping the brown liquid occupying the cup. Thanks to Carter.

“Something on your mind? Or someone?” He starts to tease me and I flip him the bird to show him I’m pissed. He starts to choke on his drink and laughs, throwing his head back along the booth.

“Holy shit, dude! You actually do like her?” TJ can’t stop his belly aching laugh. He does this a lot to emphasize that it’s hilarious. His eyes tell me he can’t believe what he figured out. But do I like her? I don’t like girls, I get with them and dispose them. I can’t like her. Can I?

“Shut the fuck up, TJ. I’m not in the mood today,” I grit out, showing him I’m not messing around. When a girl interrupts my sleep pattern, that’s when you know I’m in trouble. It’s never happened before, so it’s scaring me a little.

“Well, get in the mood, because here she comes.” I sit up straighter and whip my head around to see her and a guy entering the cafe to get in line. I check the time to see it’s ten minutes to the hour. Either she’s getting a quick coffee or is on her lunch. Who is this douchebag? He looks like he’s part of a fucking boy band. He’s got clean cut blond hair and is dressed like he’s about to break out into song for her. Jesus, is that what she’s into?

“Yo, Carter!” I’m literally about to drown my best friend in the pond for drawing attention to us. I turn to face an amused TJ waving over at her. I don’t look to see if she’s waving back. I’m just glaring at him, the traitor I call my best friend.

Hearing light footsteps nearing our table, I see her standing and hovering over the two of us, without the guy from earlier. Holding a notepad in her hands, she adjusts the strap from her handbag. Her hair is tucked back, allowing me to see her face.

“Hey, TJ, Nick.”

I immediately raise my eyes up to see hers as she smiles down to the two of us. Her voice was so soft, I barely heard her over the chatter in the cafe. We both respond, “Hey.” Catching those blue eyes, I grip my cup with a little more strength than necessary.

“You want to join us?” TJ asks, breaking the small tension between us. Watching her eyes fall over her shoulder to the guy now making his way over to us. Who the fuck is he?

“Oh, no we’ve got class now. We just came to grab a quick coffee, well hot chocolate for me. Rain check, maybe?” She takes her cup from him and thanks him. I watch him very closely. Both me and TJ nod and watch her leave. She waves at us and we wave back, with a tight smile on my face. This girl.

Seeing him hold the door open for her and note that his eyes drop down low as she walks out. Did he just check her out? What the fuck! I stand to walk over to him but TJ grabs me back down and pushes me back to the position I was sitting in. We watch them walking along the pathway back to a building and I see his hand slide onto the small of her back.

I feel the burning sensation surround me. I’m going to kill that guy by hanging him off the main building.. Lets see how many girls he checks out then, little pervert.

“Dude, stop acting like a jealous ex!” He clicks his fingers in my face to get my attention.

Well it worked, because I glare at him once again and state angrily at him, “I’m not jealous! Jesus, he was perving on her and feeling her up!”

“Nick, you do way worse than what he just did. You need to seriously chill out, man.” TJ had a point. I do way worse to girls than what that guy just did to Carter. But it doesn’t give him the right to feel her up. He’s not hers.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I lay my head back against the wooden frame of the booth, hearing the squeak of the rubber while I move. “You’re right. I’m just a little . . . protective of them . . . After what happened on Saturday, her face is burned in my mind and I felt bad for her. I guess I just don’t want to see it happen again . . .” I don’t know who I’m trying to convince, TJ or myself.

I’ve never felt this way before about a girl. So over protective, it’s out of character for me. It’s unfamiliar and scary. I don’t like it, but at the same time, I do. Realizing that, I think I do like her. I mean she’s hot, but this feels different. I feel different.

“Fuck!” I face my friend, who is staring at me like a deer in headlights. “I gotta hit the gym, man. I’ll see you after my last class? You finish at four, right?” I can see his head nod as he stares at me in a daze.

I see a smile creep onto his face, snapping himself out of his stupor and focusing back to me. “Yeah, See you at four,” he replies.

Standing up, I throw my cup in the trash as I push the door open, holding it for a couple of people. I’m so caught up in my own thoughts.