“Noel! What brings you by?”
Narrowing my eyes, I glowered. How dare he act nice to me after what he’d done to her? “You need to bring Dr. Kavanagh back. Today. She is the best damn teacher your department has ever had.” I let out a harsh laugh. “I mean, the woman actually taught me to appreciate literature. And I hate literature.”
Expression frosting with ire, he slid his gaze over me. Then his eyes widened as they paused on my tattoo. I flexed the muscles under it, fisting my hands at my sides.
So the dick finally realized who I was. Good for him.
Mouth puckering with distaste, he looked up at my face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gamble, but Dr. Kavanagh resigned. She wasn’t let go. I’m afraid we have no control over bringing her back.”
Resigned?
I blinked, thrown off by that piece of information. But something in Frenetti’s smirk let me know it hadn’t exactly been a voluntary resignation.
“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I think she left because you made her go. And if you think I’ll be okay with you chasing her off because of my involvement with her, then you seriously underestimate me, pal. Right now, I could kick your ass without a second’s regret.”
Frenetti jerked back in his chair. “Excuse me?”
“Bring. Her. Back.”
“Threats will not work with me, Mr.—”
“I’ll leave,” I said softly, stepping close. “I’ll leave this whole fucking university, let you all scramble to find a new quarterback next year. Are you prepared to give up a very real shot at the championships...just like that?”
Glaring back at me, Frenetti pushed to his feet and kept his voice just as ominously low. “You leave this school, and we’ll take it public, make sure every radio and television station in the country knows exactly why you and your little whore were kicked out of Ellamore. She’ll never find another job in education anywhere, and you’ll never get accepted into another university. Both of your lives will be over. So, just try it, Gamble. We have no problem destroying you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Choosing Simplicity
NOEL
And that’s how I lost the woman I loved.
After outplaying me and figuratively handing me my ass, Frenetti ordered me from his office. I hiked to Aspen’s house next. It was about two miles from campus. I’d made the trip a number of times before, but today, I couldn’t move fast enough, couldn’t reach her soon enough.
Her place was quiet and abandoned when I got there, her car gone and all the shades drawn. I pounded on the front door anyway without any success. I’d also texted and called her phone, but the line went straight to voice mail.
If it weren’t for the gaping hole in my chest, I might’ve been able to convince myself she’d never existed at all.
***
I skipped the rest of my classes that week. The semester was rapidly coming to a close; I knew I really shouldn’t have ruined all my forward progress. But I couldn’t function properly. I wanted Aspen back.
The guys at Forbidden rearranged our schedules so I didn’t have to work either. Hell, even my sister had stopped calling so much. I had hurt her a lot by the way I’d yelled at her after finding out about her baby. And no matter how many times I’d apologized for blowing up at her, I sensed we’d lost something vital in our relationship.
I probably should’ve called to check in with her, since she wasn’t updating me any longer. But I just couldn’t find the will. So, I did nothing but lie around, staring at my phone, waiting for Aspen to finally respond to one of my messages.
In the past two days, I’d toned my texts down to just quotes for her collection. I’d already said everything I could think to say about everything else. Now I just had to remind her I was still here. Waiting. Loving her.
When a knock fell on my apartment door Saturday evening, I leapt to my feet, breathless. I probably looked like shit. I hadn’t showered in at least three days, maybe four. And I’d worn the same sweatpants and shirt since...who knows when. Probably lost my razor for good. But if Aspen was here...
In my haste to reach her, I tripped over the messy coffee table, overflowing with energy drinks and snack food wrappers. After banging my knee against the corner, I limped forward and finally caught the front doorknob to yank it open.
But it wasn’t Aspen.
I squinted out at Pick, disappointment making my chest hurt. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He rolled his eyes. “Apparently I’m your babysitter. Zero and the virgin are worried shitless about you. They don’t think it’s safe for you to stay alone right now, and since they’re both working tonight, I got elected to watch your unstable ass.”