Would You Rather: A College Romance (Campus Games Book 3)

I love balls

“Your mom’s going to make me fat,” James groans, shoving a half-eaten sandwich in his mouth.

I glare down at him, spotting another two sandwiches on his plate. Where the hell does he put it all? “Then stop eating.”

He shakes his head, humming with his mouth full. “Can’t,” he mumbles. “Too good.”

Yeah, my mom’s an amazing cook. One of the things I missed most about home when I was living in New York, was my mom’s home-cooked meals. Since I’ve moved back, there isn’t a single Sunday that I don’t spend at my mom’s house for family dinner.

“She’s just worried about you,” I tell him. “Food is how she shows she cares.”

He sighs, gulping when he finishes off the sandwich. “I’m fine,” he says. “Don’t know how many times I have to tell you guys that.”

I hate when he does that. Acts like everything’s fine when it was one of the worst things that could happen to someone. “It wasn’t that long ago, James.” It’s only been a few months since the accident, and the funeral. It’s a lot to deal with.

He shrugs. “It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”

He lost his dad a few years ago, right around the time my dad passed away. I was a fucking mess when I lost my dad, so I can’t even begin to imagine how James must be feeling now that both of his parents are gone.

“You want to talk about it?” I ask him. He might not want to talk to therapists about it, but maybe he wants to talk to me about it.

He lets out a laugh, furrowing his brows at me. “Since when have we ever done that?”

We’re not the talking kind. More the ‘let’s forget about it and move on’, but maybe it’s not such a terrible idea. “We could start,” I tell him.

He scoffs. “I’d rather not. You get this ugly face when you cry.”

I nudge him on the shoulder. “Fuck you.”

He laughs, and everything is back to normal. He’s been my best friend for most of my life, and we’ve been through too much together. It sucks that this happened to him. But you’d never know he was unhappy with how he’s always smiling.

The door creaks open, and then a knock hits. My mom peeks in before opening the door and gives James a smile. “Hey, honey,” she says. James might as well be her other son at this point. She reaches over and fluffs the pillows behind his back. “How was the sandwich?” she asks.

He left the hospital last week and moved into my old bedroom, which is why I was a little late for the photoshoot. He was living alone, but after what happened, we all thought it would be best if he moved in with my mom. That way, he has someone taking care of him.

“Good, mama Silva.” He grins at her. He’s called her that ever since I’ve known him. It makes me laugh every time. “Was there bacon in there this time?”

My mom nods. “I picked it up for you this morning.”

“What about me?” I ask her, even though I’m not a big fan of bacon. “I’m hungry too.” I ate an hour ago, but I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling a little left out.

“Nossa,” she says in Portuguese. “Tem sopa na geladeira.” There’s soup in the fridge.

Well then. Guess we know who’s the favorite.

James grins. He loves receiving the attention from my mom. “Don’t know what she said, but she’s right.”

I scoff. “Asshole.” My mom shifts his legs, placing a blanket on them. I let out a sigh. “He’s fine, mom.” But she shakes her head.

She loves taking care of people. I guess she’s been doing it for so long it’s all she knows. “Are you comfortable? Do you need anything else?” she asks him.

“Yeah,” James says, grinning like an idiot. “Some good di—”

“Dinner,” I interrupt before he gives my mother a heart attack.

We’ve known James was gay since he announced he had a crush on Justin Timberlake one day when we were watching the Music Awards. But even though my mom might not have an issue with it, that doesn’t mean she can handle hearing the gory details.

“He was just saying he can’t wait to have your meatballs.”

“Yeah,” James scoffs. “I love balls.”

I wipe a hand down my face. I should have seen that coming. She smiles at him, completely oblivious. “Then I’ll go get dinner ready.” She fluffs the pillows once more before she heads out of the room.

“Dude,” I say, smacking him on the arm, once she leaves.

“What?” He laughs. “She asked.”

I shake my head, a laugh escaping me. “You’re going to get your ass whooped by her someday.”

A mischievous grin creeps on his face as he leans back on the bed. “You would know about tough women, huh? How’s it going with that girl… what’s her name?”

“Madeline.”

“That’s right. Madeline. So, are things better?”

I blow out a breath. “Define better.”

His chest shakes with laughter. “I guess not then. What happened at the photoshoot?”

A heavy sigh escapes me when I turn to face him. “Why do you always have to bring her up?” I ask him. I mean, come on. She’s already invaded my work life, but now my personal life too?

“Because it’s fun watching you trip over your words whenever you talk about her,” he admits, grinning down at me like an idiot.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, my brows knitting together. “I do not.”

His shoulder lifts in a shrug. “I haven’t seen you this interested in a girl before, that’s all.”

“I’m not interested in her,” I say, glaring at him. “I’m just around her. All the damn time.” It’s seriously impossible to get rid of her. She’s everywhere. At my work, on the internet, in my fucking head. Everywhere.

“And it’s driving you crazy,” he guesses.

I blow out a breath. “Insane.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “I don’t get why she affects you so much.”

I don’t fucking know either. I shrug, wiping a hand down my face. “Since I met her she has made it very fucking clear that she doesn’t like me, and there’s nothing I can do to change that,” I admit, my shoulders slumping.

I don’t even know why I care. It’s not like I like her either, but I just don’t get her. Every girl I’ve met has always been interested in me, whether it’s in sleeping with me, or for fame, they’ve wanted something from me. But this girl… “She just knows how to irritate me,” I say. “It’s a fucking gift.”

He’s quiet for a while but then he hums. “You two looked pretty cozy in the pictures together.”

Yeah, we fucking do. I don’t even know how it happens, but every single picture we’ve taken together looks like we’re about to rip each other’s clothes off. Those photographers are good at their jobs because the truth couldn’t be any more different.

“I was just doing my job. And so was she. She’s an actress,” I remind him.

He snickers. “She can’t be that good of an actress.”

I rub my chin, my beard rubbing against my fingers. “Trust me, she is.” Those pictures have everyone fooled, me included. When it comes down to it, she lets herself melt, looking at me in a way that’s so intoxicating I seem to forget there’s anyone around. Those brown eyes burn into mine, her plump lips parting as she looks up at me. She’s like a completely different person when the cameras are on us. But once they go away, and it’s just the two of us, the spell breaks, and she does everything to remind me that none of it is real.

The door opens again, but this time my sister comes in. She’s so tall and looks just like my dad. Long brown hair, tanned skin, big, hazel eyes. “Hey froggy,” I say, amusement crossing my face when she narrows her eyes at the term. She might hate it, but it’s stuck ever since she freaked out from a frog on her head when she was six. It was the funniest shit me and James had seen.

“I saw your girlfriend,” she says.

God damn it. I let out an aggravated sigh. “What did I tell you about looking at that stuff?” She’s too damn young, and the internet is ruthless. I don’t want her seeing those damn headlines about all the different girls in my bed. My family knows it’s not true, but that doesn’t mean I want her exposed to that shit.

“You told me not to look,” she explains, which tells me she’s just a little shit who does everything I tell her not to.

“And you did anyway?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

She drops down on the edge of the bed and lifts her shoulder. “It was different this time. Those pictures weren’t like the other ones.”

No, they weren’t. Madeline is completely different from all those other girls Ana hired. But I know where Adrianna is going with this, and I have to shut it down. “It’s not different,” I remind her. “She’s just some girl my agent hired, froggy.”

Her brows furrow. “So you’re not dating her?” she asks with a frown.

“No, Adri.”

Her expression deflates a little. “She was pretty though,” she says, peering up at me. “Even Mom said so.”

Yeah, I’ve heard it myself. My mom told me how beautiful she thinks Madeline is whenever she sees the pictures of us together.

“Yeah,” James says, nodding with a grin. “She was.”

I turn my attention to him and narrow my eyes. “Need I remind you, you like boys?”

“Men,” he corrects. “Besides, I can still see beauty. And she’s pretty.”

“Like really pretty,” Adriana emphasizes, her eyes widening.

I flick her on her forehead. “Then you date her.”

She pulls back, rubbing her forehead, but then she narrows her eyes at me. “You don’t agree?” she asks. “You don’t think she’s pretty?”

She’s fucking gorgeous.

I wipe a hand down my mouth, thinking back to the photoshoot. She had that red lipstick on again, matching her long, floor-length dress. And that fucking perfume. It’s been a week and I can still smell it everywhere I go. It’s ingrained in my mind and I hate it. Hate that she smells so sweet when she’s anything but.

“Doesn’t matter what I think. It’s not real, froggy. Don’t get your hopes up again.”

“You mean like with Leila?” she asks.

Exactly like that. Leila has been one of my best friends since I started modeling, and while she’s beautiful, she’s more like my sister than anything else. But Adriana fell in love with Leila. She looked up to her and wanted to be like her, and when she got bullied in school for being bigger than other girls, she turned to Leila knowing she had the same experience.

I’m so grateful for everything Leila has done for my sister, and for being one of my best friends. But Froggy, here, was already planning our marriage in her head, thinking that we’d eventually date, and when that didn’t happen, she was very upset.

“If her boyfriend ever heard about you wanting us together, he’d break my legs.” Dude is tall as fuck. I’m a tall guy, but he has to be at least 6’5”. Not to mention he’s buff, and would undoubtedly kick my ass if he even thought I had an inkling of interest in Leila.

I get it though. I’d be jealous too if my girlfriend was best friends with some other guy. I don’t blame him for being possessive over her.

“Hmm,” she says, her eyes shining with mischief. “Maybe I’ll tell him then.”

Little shit. I breathe out a laugh. “You’ve been spending too much time with Leila.”

She sticks her tongue out at me before she walks out of the room.

“Jesus,” James says with a laugh. “You’re surrounded by hard-headed women. Wouldn’t want to be you,” he says.

I shrug, a smile playing on my lips. “I don’t mind it.”