The Forbidden Freshman: A College Sports Romance (Nolan U Hockey Book 1)

I spent my weekend trying to be a good sorority sister. I didn’t complain about the two-hour mani-pedi we had to sit through. I refused to go for pink nails and am now sporting navy blue, which I actually quite like. Painted nails are kind of fun, but I can never be bothered sitting around to let the paint dry.

While we were stuck with unusable hands, we were quizzed on the rules of the sorority house, and then Aimee did a presentation on what influential women wear.

“You can be both elegant and powerful.” Her eyes darted my way several times throughout the presentation as if she was speaking specifically to me.

I tried not to let it rile me, but I was in a pretty foul mood by Sunday afternoon. I was so over “sisterhood” and missing Rachel with an ache that was physically painful.

She’s the only girl I’ve ever truly connected with, and I was grateful for her texts and GIFs throughout the weekend. She keeps me going, although it doesn’t help with the whole pining-for-California thing.

Rolling over in my bed with a soft groan, I can feel the day beginning to dawn. My brain slowly drags itself into thinking mode, and I’m just figuring out that it’s Monday when an airhorn blasts outside my door.

I bolt upright, my heart taking off as I pant and try to regulate my fuzzy brain.

“Let’s go! Let’s go, ladies! Quiz time!”

Are you fucking kidding me?

Flopping back down with a thump, I muffle my scream under the bedsheets just as Fiona pops open my door.

“Get up, Mikayla! Breakfast!”

How anyone can eat at this ungodly hour, I have no idea. With a groan, I roll over and check the time. Six frickin’ thirty. Do these people have no concept of how good sleep is for the body?

“Let’s go!” someone shouts into my closet room, and I jerk my eyes open in time to see the megaphone. “Get your ass up!”

I’m so tempted to grab that thing and smash it on the floor, but then I’m reminded of my mother and tuition and what I want out of my life. So I sit up, feeling like a prisoner as I shove my hair into a ponytail and shuffle out to the kitchen.

The other two freshmen are already in there, happily making French toast. I sniff the coffee and try to imbibe some caffeine before being yanked toward a frying pan.

“Don’t let anything burn!” Louisa fusses around me, all frenetic as she tries to prove just how much she deserves a permanent place in this sorority.

She obviously doesn’t realize how perfect she already is. When they listed off the qualities of a Sig Be sister the other night, it was like reading from the Louisa Hartman study guide.

I flip the toast, not bothering to cover my yawn as I blink and try to shake some of the sludge from my brain. Mornings have never been my strong suit.

“Okay.” Aimee swans into the kitchen, clapping her hands. “Why don’t we sing the sorority song while you’re preparing breakfast for everyone.”

She starts us off, and the other girls join with enthusiasm while I sing about sisterhood glory through gritted teeth. You know Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s song? Yeah, this one is worse than that. Some bubblegum tune that was probably composed by…

Actually, I should know this.

My slow brain struggles to hunt down the fact, but as I lay a new piece of toast into the pan, Clarita May Holbrook pops into my head. “1958,” I murmur.

“Well done.” Teah grins at me, collecting the plate of already-cooked toast and heading for the dining room.

I stay by that frying pan for what feels like ages before following Louisa and Trinity into the dining room and then having to endure a pop quiz on the history of Sigma Beta Mu.

I get three out of ten right, which makes me the loser of the morning comp and puts me on kitchen detail. I rush through the cleanup, worried I might be late for my first class. I have to sprint through campus, dodging clumps of students and hauling my ass in the door just as Professor Malcom starts talking.

The lecture is relatively interesting, although trying to concentrate with zero caffeine is a major effort on my part. I try to take a myriad of notes that I’ll have to dissect later, although whether I’ll be able to decipher my drivel is another story. He also lumps us with our first major assignment, which I’ll have to find some secret place to work on, because the sorority house is way too distracting.

Glancing at my watch, I figure I’ll head to the library right now. I may as well get an early start. I want to ace this paper and⁠—

“There you are.” Teah grins, standing in my path while another sister, Bella, flanks my right side.

“Hey, guys.” I look between them, alarm bells starting to clang. Bella’s smile is freaking me out. “What’s up?”

“Well, we didn’t get a chance for a progress report this morning.”

“Progress report?”

Teah leans in with a conspiratorial whisper. “On your special assignment.”

“Special assign—oh. That.”

She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and her smile would probably be cute if she was talking about anything else.

“Now, you’ve made first contact with Ethan, but we noticed no action throughout the weekend. Have you been in touch with him again? Sought him out? Do you have a plan for when you’ll next interact with him?” Bella’s thumbs are poised over her phone as if she’s about to take detailed notes.

I tip my head, clamping my lips against telling them how stupidly ridiculous this entire thing is.

Don’t be a smartass. If you don’t play ball, you’ll embarrass Mom and could ultimately lose your funding.

I clear my throat and try to look as though I’ve given Ethan more than a fleeting thought this weekend.

Actually, that’s true. I gave him lots of thought this weekend, but every time he came to mind, I quickly shut the images down. And not once did I think about how I’m supposed to woo him.

“Well, I… should probably…” I leave the sentence hanging, hoping Teah will bail me out with a solution.

Which she does.

“Go on a date with him or something.”

“Yeah, totally. That’s what I was gonna say,” I rush out the lie and force a smile.

Teah tucks a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and looks to Bella, who is typing up notes.

Seriously? Why?

“So, how are you going to do that?” Her expectant look makes my stomach writhe, and I’m about to shrug when Teah saves my ass again.

“She’s going to casually approach him as though she hasn’t been hunting the campus for him and ask him out for coffee. She’ll charm him over a cup of joe and then ask for his number. Right?”

Coffee! My body starts humming for its caffeine kick.

“Yeah.” I nod. “That’s the plan.”

“Great. So, you’re doing that today, right? Because time is ticking by, and we don’t want you to run out of it.” Teah steps forward, pulling the tie out of my hair and obviously trying to give my fine brown locks more body. She fluffs them around my shoulders, then frowns and starts combing her fingers over the front to create this side part that I’m not used to before stepping back and nodding. “Wait. Take those studs out of your ears.”

I frown at her, reluctantly doing what I’m told, while she hands me her hoop earrings and then extracts a tube of gloss from her bag. She fusses over my face, and I just have to stand there not complaining while Bella gathers up my loose T-shirt and ties it into a knot near my left hip.

“That’s better,” she mumbles.

They both stand back and peruse their handiwork with satisfied nods.

“Vast improvement.”

I bob my head, forcing my tight lips to stretch into a smile, resisting the urge to tell them how freaking insulting this all is. They’re basically telling me I’m not good enough the way I am. The way I’m most comfortable with.

Smacking my lips together, I choke out a thank-you and am about to head to the library when Bella grabs my arm with a gasp.

“Timing,” she singsongs.

My stomach dips as I follow her line of sight and notice Ethan loping along the path. He’s thirty seconds away from doing a walk-by. Thankfully, he’s texting and hasn’t even spotted me yet. I nearly tell the girls that I have this plan to catch him later, but I get no chance because they shove me onto the path, and once again I’m tripping near his feet.

His hand shoots out to steady my arm. “Whoa, careful,” he murmurs, glancing up and then back to his phone.

He obviously hasn’t recognized me yet, and this would be the perfect moment to slip away, but I can feel two laser beam stares between my shoulder blades, so I stand there until he looks up again and realizes it’s me.

I flash him an alluring smile. At least that’s what I try to do.

The move makes his head jerk back with a confused frown until I huff and roll my eyes.

As soon as I do that, his hazel gaze starts to twinkle with a grin… and here we go again.