Author Ava Sutton continues her Walker University Stallions series this week with a best friends to lovers, fake dating, friends with benefits, football romance, and I have a sneak peek for you.
Excerpt
I feel like I inhaled my dinner tonight. Noelle seemed fine with everyone at dinner, although she didn’t eat much. But that’s not uncommon when something’s on her mind.
Walking into my room after stopping in the bathroom to brush my teeth, I see her lying on my bed, propped against the headboard. Long legs, arms crossed over her chest, and her fingers playing with her full lower lip—a thing she does when she’s overthinking … which she does a lot. She’s been in my bed like this more times than I can count. Like she owns the place—and part of me—and doesn’t even know it. But now that I know Trey is out of the picture, this is like a goddamn fantasy. The amount of control I have right now? I should get a fucking medal for not physically showing off how my body reacts to the sight of her.
“What’re we watching, pretty girl?” I walk over to the bed and drop onto my back.
Her laugh is light, but there’s also a bit of nervousness to it. “Uh, I don’t really care what we watch, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I knew it. “Okay, yeah. What’s going on? You okay?” I reach over and take her hand. There’s a slight tremble to it, so I run my thumb over the top, trying to calm her.
“Yes.” She shrugs.
“Okay … you gonna tell me?” I smile at her.
She takes a deep breath in. “Before you completely freak out, let me tell you everything first, okay?”
Well, fuck. That doesn’t sound good. And I swear to God, if she’s about to tell me she’s getting back with Trey … I’m gonna have to walk out of the room. Instead of answering with words, I just nod.
“So, I ran into Trey recently. You know I’d blocked him after everything happened, and he wouldn’t stop calling and texting, so I hadn’t talked to him since that day we shall not discuss.” She pauses and looks at my expression, which I’m keeping neutral. She continues, “I knew, coming back to campus, there would be times I might run into him, but not one-on-one, right?” She starts moving her hands, twisting her fingers around each other.
I nod. “Okay, and?”
“Well, he must have found out or figured out my schedule because, the last few days, he’s been waiting outside my classes and following me around. He brought me flowers.” She holds up her hand. “Which I didn’t accept.”
I’m a pretty calm guy by nature, but this guy makes me want to crash out. My jaw is clenched, to the point that I wouldn’t be surprised if I cracked a tooth. And I can’t lie and say we’ve never had a confrontation. Noelle just doesn’t know about it.
She pauses, eyes roaming over my face. “I had it under control … until today. He told me he loved me and that everything was behind us. He told me to get over it and started spouting off about how I was his, and just in general, he was being an asshole. Why on earth I stayed with him, I have no idea.” She looks down and shakes her head.
I mean, I know why she stayed with him. The guy’s a narcissist and played into her emotions, but that’s not what she needs to hear right now. She needs me to listen, so that’s what I’ll do.
“So, how did you get him to walk away?”
“Funny enough, Silas walked up to us. He must have recognized me from moving day and stopped. There was no hiding the fact that Trey and I were fighting, and I think he wanted to make sure I was okay.” She tries to smile, and she reaches out and sets her other hand on top of mine.
I clear my throat. “And the bruise is from him?” I’m trying to stay calm, but I’m about to fucking lose it.
“Yes, He squeezed my arm pretty tight.” I start to shift, but she squeezes my hand, trying to keep me in place. “Case, I’m fine. Honestly. I pissed him off, and that was his reaction. I just spoke before I thought about it.”
“Noelle, no man should ever, for any reason, lay a hand on you. Do you hear me? Ever. You understand he needs to pay for this, right?” I shake my head back and forth.
“I know, and I agree. I’m not making excuses for him anymore, like I did when we were together.” She tries to bring my attention back to her.
“I know of one other time he did something like this to you. Are you telling me it happened more than that?” I roll my lips over my teeth to keep from saying anything more. Like what I did to him when I found out about it for the first time.
“I mean, no. But honestly, Casey, I’m trying to tell you more about why he did it. Because it involves you. Something I said about you.” She closes her eyes and tilts her head up. “Please don’t be upset.”
I sit up now because I can’t imagine what would make me upset with her, aside from wishing she’d kicked him in the balls. “Tell me.”
She lowers her head, opens her eyes, and looks at me. I can see pink tinting her cheeks, and she’s holding her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m not sure I can look at you when I tell you this.”
I can’t help but laugh because this girl is never shy with me. “Noelle, come on. Tell me what you said.”
She covers her face with her hands. “I told him you were my boyfriend now.”
My stomach drops, but not in a bad way. In a very fucking good way.
To make sure I heard her correctly, I pull her hands from her face and wait for her to open her eyes to look at me. “You told him I was your boyfriend?”
“And I might have alluded to us having sex. I believe my exact words were wild, crazy … raunchy.” She scrunches her eyes at the last word as if she’s embarrassed. One of her eyes opens to gauge my reaction.
I’m not really sure how to react here. Internally, I couldn’t fucking be happier. But I’m also not sure I want to show all my cards until I understand the situation fully.
“I’m sorry.” She winces. “It just slipped out. He was going on about how I was his and how him cheating was my fault,” she mutters. “I hope you’re not mad. It just literally spilled out of my mouth. I don’t want him thinking it’s okay for him to keep following me around.” Her head drops, and her hair covers her face, slightly hiding her from me.
“And I think I said you were my boyfriend because it was an easy answer and it was reactive because I knew our friendship always bothered him. Once I said it, I knew it was wrong because he’s going to expect us to be a couple.”
I don’t think I could stop the smile from forming on my face if I tried. “I accept.”
She laughs. “You accept?”
“You bet your ass I accept. You told him I’m your boyfriend because Trey is a manipulative motherfucker. Anything I can do to make him squirm, I’m game. What do you need from me then?”
“Casey, I thought you would be mad. Or feel weird about this.” She tilts her head in question.
“Why would I feel weird? Definitely not mad.” I laugh.
Her mouth is open in surprise. “I don’t know. I mean, we never really talk about your dating life, and I don’t want to cramp your style or anything. I saw you and Arbor when I came in tonight. If you’re interested in her or something, I don’t want to ruin that for you. She’s really pretty and so sweet.”
I bark out a laugh and jump off the bed now. “Arbor? Arbor, as in the girl Charlie and I grew up with and who I think of as a sister? Yeah, love the girl, but not a single thought about her goes in that direction.”
Noelle’s face turns pink again, and she gives me a crooked smile. “Oh, okay, well you never know. You’ve known me for years. Like a sister—”
“I definitely do not think of you as a sister. You and I are … different. And as far as other girls … don’t even think about it. For as long as you need me to be your boyfriend, I’m yours.” I sit back down on the bed and take her hands in mine. “But I feel like I need to do this all official-like, you know?”
A smile breaks across her face. “Official?”
“Yeah, I mean, we have to have our story straight, right?”
Am I gonna milk this for all I can? You bet your ass I am.
I drop down on my knees, open my arms, and make a big show of my proposal. “Noelle James, will you be my fake girlfriend?”
“Casey King, I would be honored to be your fake girlfriend.”
She giggles, then shoves me over with her foot. On my way down, I grab her by the hip and pull her on top of me, rolling her over beneath me. My hands run up her sides, and I start tickling her without mercy.
Her laugh—it’s the sweetest music I’ve ever heard.
When she showed up tonight, it was with a frown and that invisible wall she always keeps up. But now, in my arms, wriggling and squealing with laughter, she’s completely alive. Trying to escape yet loving every second of it. I admire the beauty beneath me, at the way I’m the one who put that smile on her face.
“Okay, so that went better than I’d expected it to,” she says as she catches her breath, her hair spilled across the carpet and her hand on her chest. “I thought you might be irritated that I threw that out like that.”
I roll my head to look at her. “Irritated? Yeah, no. Am I pissed that that fucker is following you around? Yep. Am I gonna do something about it? Also yep.” I huff a laugh.
“Casey, no. Leave it alone. You aren’t risking your position on the team for this.” She shakes her head.
“Nah, I won’t. I promise. But for the foreseeable future, I’ll be walking you to and from classes as much as I can. And if I can’t, I’ll make sure someone else can.”
“You don’t have to go above and beyond.”
I lift up on my elbow and peer down at her. “Hell yeah, I will. If you’re my girl, then you’re getting the full Casey King treatment.”
I mean, this is gonna be fun. I’m gonna ride it for as long as it takes to make her see that this can be real.
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Walker University Stallions - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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