Page 30 of Necessary Roughness
“What?” I asked. “You don’t look like you agree.”
“It’s not that I disagree,” he said carefully. “I just want you to be careful. This is a crazy thing to agree to at the beginning of the semester. Especially so soon after you and Troy broke up.”
“I thought it’s theperfectthing after Troy,” I countered. “This is like a pre-approved rebound situation, but without any pesky expectations. It’s just sex. Like a lifeboat to keep me afloat after the SS Troy hit an iceberg. And once it’s all out of my system, I can think about finding anactualrelationship again.”
Bryson made another face.
“You still don’t agree?” I asked.
“You’re definitely the buzzkill twin,” Jayden muttered.
Bryson slowly cocked his head. “Do you remember Janet?”
“That girl from sophomore year?”
“She and I had a fuck-buddy situation,” Bryson explained. “Very casual. Only sex. It was great. We would meet up, bang it out, then not speak at all until we wanted to hook up again.”
“So you’re allowed to talk about all the hetero sex you’ve had,” Jayden complained, “but I can’t say that I want to get Eiffel Tower’d by a pair of swoony football players?”
“That situation sounds great,” I pointed out to Bryson. “That’s exactly what I want.”
“Except eventually, it wasn’t great,” Bryson went on. “Janet started hanging out longer, before and after sex. She startedblowing up my phone all day, every day. It was clear she wanted something more than sex, but I didn’t. We had a fight about it, and it ended badly.”
“Okay, so what?” I asked. “If it ends badly, then I’ll forget about it and move on. Unless you’re saying I’ll be the one to develop feelings and get hurt.”
“I do have concerns about that, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make,” Bryson replied. “Janet was just another student. She shit-talked me to all of her friends, but otherwise there weren’t any long-lasting consequences. But Knox and Logan? They’re campus celebrities. What if everyone finds out about your arrangement?”
“I don’t see how—”
“People watch what they do,” Bryson insisted. “The Deltas have an entire network of gossipers who know which athletes are single, and who is dating whom. They’re basically Littlefinger from Game of Thrones, with eyes and ears everywhere on campus. Are you prepared for that kind of scrutiny? How would you react if the entire student body thought you were a slut?”
“Hey!” I protested.
Bryson held up his palms. “I don’t like using that word. And it’s not how I feel about the situation. But it’s absolutely what other people might think. If one of the sororities finds out you’re banging two of their coveted football players, they willdestroyyour reputation.”
Jayden grimaced, but nodded. “He’s right. There are alotof catty bitches at this school.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Ironic hearing you say that.”
“Yes!” he exclaimed. “Iama catty bitch! That’s how I know there are so many like me in a three-mile radius!”
I shrugged. “I think you’re overestimating how much attention this would generate. I share a class with both of them, so we can always claim we’re studying.”
“Sloane…” Bryson said gently.
“This isn’t high school,” I insisted. “It’s college. We’re all adults here. We can be mature about things. Nobody cares about who is sleeping with whom.”
“Honey,” Jayden said, “that’s the most naïve thing you’ve ever said.”
A knock came at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Jayden said, popping up from the couch. “I want to see if your roommate flips out aboutmedelivering her food. Then I vote we make some popcorn and watch a comfort movie. I’m done studying for tonight.”
I felt myself perk up. “I’m down for that!”
“A comedy,” Bryson said. “Nothing dumb.”
“Aromanticcomedy,” Jayden countered.
