Free Win Big: A Bad Boy Sports Romance by Bella Love-Wins

me.
    Lust and loathing.
    Desire and dislike.
    A craving ache and animosity.
    Hunger and hatred.
    What the hell was I supposed to do to get over this war going on in my head and all through my body within an hour or meeting him?
    So, that was how he did it. The stuff Kristy said about him had me thinking all evening, trying to understand just how he managed to be so successful with the ladies if he had such a terrible reputation with them. Now that I understood what I was dealing with, I needed a game plan if I wanted to survive the next five or six weeks. My approach had to be on point for both of us to come out at the other end without ripping each other’s head off.
    Or each other’s clothes.
    I stood up, pushing myself away from the wall, and found a hairband in my purse. Wrapping my hair in a bun, I clipped it back, to throw some cold water on the back of my neck and the insides of my wrists. It was an old trick to fool the body into feeling cooler and more comfortable. After a few minutes, my pulse settled down and the flush of my skin evened out.
    This reaction was just crazy. It was as though I’d never been around men before, which was not the case at all. I worked with athletes all the time. They just never had this kind of effect on me. I’d assumed for a long time that I was not that interested in anyone sexually, which was how I’d made it to almost twenty-one years of age without losing my virginity. That reasoning was the only thing that made any sense. I was definitely into guys, but no one had really stood out.
    Until now.
    Except why did it have to be him?
    I paced around the in front of the sinks, trying to find an upside to all of this. I needed some kind of silver lining to make this whole crap deal feel less like my life was over. And fast too, as one of my lectures was starting in half-hour. The first thought that popped into my head was what Dr. Jeffries had mentioned. I’d have some options. My versatility could get me on another team too, I imagined, not only football. I let out a short giggle when I thought of the other upside. I could thank Evan for putting those fears of becoming a frigid twenty-first century spinster in training to rest. At the same time, with this awareness, it was crucial that he didn’t know. A guy like that would use it to have the upper hand. If he thought I was into him, it would be game over. He wouldn’t let me live it down, and there’d be no chance of even a hint professionalism.
    Once I was sufficiently cooled off, I headed to my Advanced Kinesiology class. I had a degree to complete and a career to kick off right after that, so I put the whole Evan situation out of my mind.

    * * *
    A fter my lectures , I dared to check the faculty lounge to see if Dr. Jeffries was around. I needed to apologize to the man. Even if he was a dick for forcing this assignment on me, I was way out of line, and a bit embarrassed for throwing that hissy fit, to be honest. To think, I usually strode these halls with confidence, and now I was skulking about like a thief. I didn’t see him, and he wasn’t in his office, so I hurried out to my car to get back to Evan’s place.
    I got to the front of his frat house and my eyes went wide. Evan was sitting on a bench outside.
    What the hell did he not understand about bed rest?
    If he was planning on being that kind of patient, my job would be twice as hard.
    I passed the house to find a parking spot up the street and walked back to give him hell. He hadn’t seen me, so I got a few extra seconds to check him out. This guy had the profile of a Roman god, and the dark hair and olive skin to match. Jesus Jones, if I kept up this line of thinking it was going to be the end of me.
    I folded my arms when I got closer. “What are you doing, Evan?”
    He looked up at me from his spot on the bench. “Oh, it’s you. I’m just resting.”
    “Does this look like a bed?”
    “I can’t lie around all day like that.”
    “Well, you’ll have to