Page 18 of Anatomy of a Player

“Those guys haven’t won a game all season, and they’re definitely not league championships like we are.”

“So you think you should get special treatment for winning the NCAA playoffs last year?”

“Hell yeah,” I said. A triumphant smile curved her lips, and I felt like I’d walked into a trap. No matter. I could tell by the way she couldn’t stop staring that she was attracted, and that was all I needed to seal the deal eventually. “I’ve got to get to my study session, but I’ll catch you later. Whitney.”

I’d really wanted to call herReporter Girland show her that I could play her little game better any day, but then I’d undo what progress I hoped I’d made.

She spun around and headed over to the girl with verbal diarrhea. Despite the stuffy clothes, Whitney had a hell of a sassy sway to her hips, which proved I was right about there being a hot, feisty girl underneath.

Oh, yeah. Unleashing her was going to be fun. In fact, our heated interaction might just be enough to get me through the next few hours.

Chapter Thirteen

Whitney

Two hours in, and I’d had a dozen students slow down long enough to answer my questions. I’d thought the study-minded would care about the perks athletes received, but it was more like most of them were oblivious that sports were even being played.

Three people told me they were big fans, one of football, one hockey, and one said “all the sports.” She even bragged about our hockey team winning the NCAA playoffs last year.

Four thought that athletes—especially the hockey and football players—probably received special treatment, but few cared passionately about it. No one had been as passionate as Anna, the girl with the pixie haircut. I’d been terrified she’d blow my cover, and my entire article would be at risk once Hudson knew what I’d been asking, but part of me wished he’d known her scathing remarks had been about athletes—maybe that’d give him the dose of humility he needed.

Probably not, though.

Enthusiasm was hard to keep up, especially when the next three people I waved down refused to stop long enough to answer my questions. My energy waned, and I set up under a tree and pulled out the stack of newspapers Lyla had given me. The sun broke through the clouds, and a gentle breeze rattled the dried leaves overhead, shaking a few loose.

A bright yellow one drifted down, and I picked it up and spun the stem between my fingers as I started reading through sports articles. One blurred into another, goals and stats and recaps and quotes. It helped me see the voice aspect, though, as well as ways to lengthen my next column. Then I got distracted and started reading an article about how politics were holding women’s health hostage. I mean, how could I not read on? It was the kind of story I wanted to write someday.

After I finished it, I wanted to sort through the other papers and find more columns written by the woman—she had the voice I wanted for my exposé. But several people had passed by, and I should try to get a few more opinions. Especially of the male variety, even if they ended up being all go-team, sportsting is the best! After all, I wanted a fair cross-section in order to make the results more conclusive.

The first guy I smiled at ducked his head and rushed on, giving me wide berth.Nope, that’s not bad on the self-esteem at all. Thanks, buddy.

I’d never had so much trouble attracting male attention, and I couldn’t help but wonder if more would’ve stopped if I were dressed in my usual clothes.

Another guy started down the sidewalk that would lead him past me, and I decided if he answered, I’d call it a successful-enough day and head home. Which meant it was time to pull out all the stops. I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt—so sue me. I still looked like a school teacher.

This time, in addition to the smile, I didn’t just let my southern accent loose but amped it up, coating my words with sugar, the way Mama coached me to do for the pageant judges. “Pardon me. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

He did a double take, and after running his gaze over me, he slowly approached. I raised my notebook, recited my questions, and then lifted my pen to jot down his answers.

He didn’t speak for a moment, and I looked up to see a disgruntled scrunch to his eyebrows and his lips set in a puckered line. “Everyone tells you that when you graduate high school, it’ll be different, but it’s not. College is just high school on a bigger scale. But eventually, most of the athletes will still end up has-beens who mop the floor for companies like the one I’m going to run.”

The gleam that entered his eye could only be described as vengeful. “That’s when it will finally be different.”

Yikes.Not that I thought it was exactly fair they got better grades for doing less work—if that was the case, something I still needed to prove—but wishing for guys like Hudson to be mopping floors…?

Something didn’t sit right with that image, and I worried it was because I had too much sympathy for hot guys in general, which was what landed me broken heart after broken heart.

The guy blinked at me, like he was waiting for me to agree. Then he leaned in, his gaze locked onto mine like we were in a staring contest, and I repressed a shudder. I couldn’t pinpoint what set off my flee instincts, just that they screamed loud and clear to get away from him.

I took a small step back and dropped the accent. “Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Now if you’ll excuse me, I didn’t realize how late it was and I really should get going. ”

He still hadn’t blinked, and the hinted dismissal didn’t land, either, only adding to the creeper vibe radiating off him. “Where do you live?” he asked, scratching at his arm. “I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh, I live off campus.”

“I can drive you.”

My heart began palpitating, the irregular rhythm pushing the panicky sensation further through my body. “Um, thanks so much, but my car’s parked in the garage.” Then, realizing he’d probably offer to accompany me there, too, I quickly said, “But actually, I need to go into the library. Thanks again for answering my questions!”

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