This Obsession of Mine (Raine Series #5) (4 page)

Joey

Walking back onto the campus of Texas University was a surreal feelin’. I glanced down at my schedule that I was holdin’ in my hand, and suddenly it was no longer my schedule but the infamous note that Diem had left for me when she ran away. Her words were so precise and though they were supposed to let me know all the harsh realities I had yet to face, she had still found a way to make those words comforting. It was amazing.
She
was amazing.

Her words replayed in my mind as I shook the devastating thought from my mind. I looked up to see where I was, and try to figure out where I needed to go. Just as I was about to walk into what I could only assume was the main building, a young brunette caught me by the elbow, stoppin’ me right where I stood.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but are you Joey Green?”

She was stunning, but I wasn’t quite sure how she knew me, and it was definitely throwin’ me off. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” I turned to face her and she backed up a bit while droppin’ her hand from my arm.

“I’m sorry. I’m Tessa. Dean Rodgers asked me to find you. Can you come with me please?”

I nodded as she turned and started makin’ her way back the way that I had just came. I was suddenly gettin’ extremely irritated with this girl, despite her good looks. I had literally just found my way to my first class, and she was already messin’ my day up. This should be fun.

“Stay here for one second, I’ll go grab Dean Rodgers.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she was gone in a flash. I glanced around the administrative office in disbelief that I was finally here to play ball, and that it was gettin’ me one step closer to my dream of playin’ in the NFL. There was a picture on the far wall that caught my attention, and I suddenly felt myself being drawn to it. When I stepped in front of the picture, I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. It was the football team picture of 1993, and there was my dad, right in the middle. Though college felt daunting, right now, in this moment, I couldn’t be more proud to follow in my dad’s footsteps.

“Mr. Green?” A loud booming voice came from behind me and I almost jumped out of my skin.

“Yes?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Dean Rodgers. Please, follow me to my office.”

I held my hand out to shake his, and then proceeded to follow him to his office. As soon as we entered, I quickly took a seat, makin’ myself comfortable. “It’s nice to meet you Dean Rodgers, but I guess I’m just wonderin’ why I’m being called into your office.” I laughed.

“Nothing to be alarmed about, son. I just wanted to meet the boy I’ve heard so much about. You know, your father raves about you, along with the entire town of Abernathy, not to mention the school. You’re quite the athlete.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Please, call me Sonny.”

“I don’t think I can do that, sir. My father taught me to always refer to my elders in a respectful manor, even if they ask otherwise.”

“I respect that, and your father is a smart man. I like it. Well Joey, I just wanted to introduce myself. We are thrilled to have a quarterback as talented as yourself back here, and we can’t wait to see you in action at our first game next week.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m extremely excited to be back, and can’t wait to get out on that field.” I glanced down at my watch, and realized that I was going to be late for my first class if I didn’t hightail it outta here, like now. “I’m sorry sir, but it looks like I’m gonna be late if I don’t get goin’.” I stood and held out my hand again. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Mr. Green. Have a great day.”

I wish I could’ve stayed and bullshitted with Dean Rodgers more, but I didn’t want to make a bad impression on my teachers this semester. Even though I was here to play ball and hopefully get noticed by some pro scouts, I still had to keep up my GPA or I would be out, and my dream of eventually playin’ pro would go out right along with it. I ran to my first class, and arrived just as the professor was gettin’ ready to close the door.

“Cutting it close, aren’t we?” The haggard old man in front of me muttered as I strolled in past him.

“Sorry.” I muttered in return.

I quickly grabbed the only open seat left, and took out my laptop to begin takin’ notes.

“Welcome to economics. I’m Professor Weaton, and this won’t be the easy class you think it will be. I know that most of you play football for our lovely school, and I would just like to set the record straight real quick. In this class, you are NOT a football player. You are NOT special, and I do NOT care if you
need
to pass this class in order to play. You WILL give this class your all, and if you don’t, that will reflect in your grade. Simply put…if you put forth the effort, I will recognize it. Now, that being said, my office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. Friday through Sunday, I’m sorry but you are shit out of luck.” I wanted to laugh at how forward this guy was, but after glancin’ around at everyone else’s stonewalled faces, I quickly changed my mind. “Alright, let’s begin.”

I walked out of economics an hour later wonderin’ what the hell I had gotten myself into. I knew college wasn’t goin’ to get easier, and I knew that not every teacher was goin’ to be the teacher I dreamed they would be, but Professor Weaton was in his own class. I’m sure he was used to athletes comin’ here thinkin’ they would just walk all over the teachers and the system, but to lump all of us together in a group like that wasn’t okay with me. I tucked my pen behind my ear and started makin’ my way to find my next class. Besides takin’ economics, I had a full load of classes. Next up…Biology.

The rest of my day went by at a glacial pace, and by the time 3:00 rolled around, I was done. Luckily I only had to go by Coach Decker’s office, and then I could head out. Of course it took me about twenty-five minutes to get to his office, but once I walked through that door, everything fell right into place.

“Joey Green, holy hell son. Glad to have ya back.”

“Thanks Coach Decker.” I smiled as I shook his hand.

After our meeting, I said good-bye to Coach Decker and started makin’ my way out to my truck. I hadn’t known my dorm room information until today so unfortunately I was stuck stayin’ at a hotel last night. I pulled up in front of the hotel a short while later, and put the truck in park. I knew I needed to gather up my stuff and make my way over to the dorms, but I suddenly found myself obsessing over the note…again.

I pulled the crumpled up piece of paper out of my glove box, and read over it for the thousandth time. I wasn’t sure why I continued to torture myself, but I did. Every time I read over it, it was as though I found a new hidden meaning behind every word that she wrote. I wanted to call her. I needed to hear her voice, and know that she was okay, because I knew I was far from it.

After twenty minutes of starin’ at that stark white paper, I finally shoved it back into the glove box and made my way to my room. At some point I was goin’ to have to come to the realization that things with Diem were over, and there was no way she was comin’ back. I was going to have to start livin’ my life for me, and concentrating on football and school. There was no time to sabotage myself, the NFL was callin’ my name…loudly.

Diem

I wish I could say that my first few months at school were amazing and fun, but I would be lying. Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely grateful to be in the States, going to an amazing school, but something was missing. As much as I loved the house that my father bought for me, I would be lying if I said I didn’t wish it was a house in a certain Texas town, or even a dormitory. I guess I just felt as though I was missing out on the best part of being away at school.

After my father left, I made a huge effort to be on campus as much as possible. I wanted to make my presence known, and this was the only way to do it. And…it actually worked. My first week of classes, I met a brilliant gal named Troy. I thought her name was quite odd given that she wasn’t a boy, but I just figured it was an American thing. She was spunky, and down right a blast to be around. She was in almost every one of my classes as well, and that just made our friendship that much easier. Needless to say, we took an instant liking to one another and have been practically inseparable ever since.

I was running across campus in a frenzy trying to get to the administration building early when I came to an abrupt halt. My mouth hung open in shock as I carefully watched him walk across campus, merely feet away from me. I stood there frantically shaking my head, and squeezing my eyes tightly shut as I tried to force the hallucination from my mind. It wasn’t humanly possible for him to be here, in front of me, at my school. When I finally opened my eyes, he had all but vanished into thin air. A small girly giggle escaped my throat as I realized just how infantile I was being. I was only meters away from the door to the building when I heard an all to familiar voice shouting my name.

“Diem, are you deaf or what?” Troy’s voice echoed off of every tree in our vicinity.

“Maybe I was
choosing
to ignore you.” I laughed as she came bounding up to me.

“Aren’t you funny.” She joked.

“What are you doing here so early? We don’t have class for another forty-five minutes, or did you set your alarm for the wrong time again?”

“Ha ha.” She shrugged, “I could ask you the same thing.”

I smiled, “I suppose you could. I was just heading into the administrative building to see about adding another class to my schedule.”

“You’re insane. Are you serious right now? Girl, you are already taking a full class load. If I didn’t know any better, I would say this is a ploy to keep your mind off of a certain somebody.

We both knew it was the latter, but she also knew that I would never admit to it. I was trying to clear my mind of all things Joey Green, and even though it had yet to work, I was bound and determined to follow through.

“Well, I’m thinking a night out is in order. It is Friday, which means we are free for the weekend. What do you say?”

I could tell by the look on her gorgeous face that there was no possible way she was taking no for an answer. It wasn’t fair having to go out with Troy. While I was your typical looking Brit with blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, Troy was something else entirely. She had model looks, with her long thick brown hair, emerald green eyes, and olive skin. Oh and she was
maybe
a size two. There was never a shortage of guys when we went out together, and I was pretty sure that the only reason that they ever spoke to me was to get to her.

“Okay…I say yes!”

Complete shock took over her expression, “OH.MY.GOD. Are you serious right now? And I didn’t even have to beg this time.” She smiled widely. “Kay, I’ll pick you up around nine.” She started to make her way to class when she stopped and turned back towards me. “OH, AND WHERE SOMETHING CUTE!” She shouted, and I nodded.

As soon as our last class was over, Troy and I took off as fast as our legs would allow us. Surprisingly, I was actually very excited to get out of the house and have some fun. When I spoke to my father the other day he had made me promise to be young and have fun, and now I could honestly tell him that I was doing just as he asked. I sat on the edge of my bed staring aimlessly at my wardrobe, just hoping that something would jump out at me, but nothing was working.

After about thirty minutes, I was coming to the realization that I was going to have to actually get off my arse and look through my closet for something. I began rummaging through all the delicate fabrics that made up my clothing when I finally came across the most perfect dress. It was tight, short, and black. Troy would most definitely approve. I tugged the dress on, and made my way into the bathroom to start working on my makeup and hair. As I stood in front of the vanity I made a snap decision. I ran into my kitchen to fetch my sheers, and then stood back in front of the vanity again.

I glanced in the mirror behind me at my long blonde tendrils, and without a second thought began cutting. Twenty minutes later, my hair sat just above my shoulders. It was drastic and dramatic, but I felt like it suited me far better than the long straight and boring look I had before. It was time to come out of my shell and be the girl Joey always knew I could be. It just took me a bit longer to see what he always saw. Looking at myself in the mirror, I knew he would approve.

I did a quick curl job on my hair, and dramatized my makeup just enough that I didn’t look like a hooker in some seventies movie where she eventually meets her end. I was polishing off my second glass of wine when the bell rang. I shuffled my bare feet across the floor as I made my way over to the door. When I pulled it back, Troy’s high-pitched squeal echoed throughout the house.

“What did you do?” She spun me around in circles to look over my handy work, but I had to stop her mid spin due to the queasiness rumbling in my belly.

“I’ve been drinking, no more spinning.”

“Where’s my glass?”

I motioned for her to follow me into the kitchen where an empty glass sat waiting for her on the counter. “So…what do you think?” I fluffed my hair for emphasis.

“Honestly? I absolutely LOVE it.” She fingered the short curls hanging down. “You look like an entirely different person. It suits your personality far better than your old do.”

“Thanks love. I figured it was time for a change. Right, well I just need to grab my clutch and then we can go.” I headed in the direction of my purse closet across from the front door when Troy’s voice caught me off guard.

“Um, hun…you might want to grab some shoes while you’re at it.”

I glanced down at my bare feet, and began hysterically laughing. Apparently the wine was affecting me far more than I had anticipated. “I suppose that would help, huh?”

“Probably,” she laughed.

I scurried up the stairs to find my black and white heels, but as I was down on all fours looking under my bed for them, I came across a photograph. My brows pulled together in confusion. I couldn’t recollect going through my picture box since moving in, but it was entirely possible that it could’ve fallen out when I was moving in. I pushed my arm as far as my bed frame would allow, and I was finally able to pinch the edge of the glossy paper and retrieve it. I pulled the small paper onto my lap, and a stray tear instantly fell down my cheek.

Though I was overcome with poignancy, I couldn’t help but smile. We both looked so unbelievably gleeful, and I remembered that day with such fondness. It was the third day that Joey and I had met up. We were in front of Buckingham Palace, and just like every other cheeky American, he was determined to make the guards laugh. Needless to say, he failed miserably at it, but it was so much fun watching him make an arse out of himself. Afterwards, I was laughing so hard and he leaned in to kiss me, and that’s when he snapped the photo. It was the most perfectly imperfect photo.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been up here going down memory lane, so I gently placed the picture against my lamp on my nightstand, and grabbed my shoes as I hightailed it down the stairs. I could hear Troy on the phone as I reached the bottom step, and instead of interrupting her, I grabbed my clutch and made sure I had everything I would need for the night. I was about to head back into the kitchen, but Troy was already making her way in my direction.

“So it looks like we’re Ubering it tonight, that okay with you?”

Uber was something entirely new to me, and though it was just like taking a taxi, I was still a bit uncomfortable with it. At this point though, it was a far better idea than driving. “Sounds good. Let’s go!”

We pulled up to Club Deuce about fifteen minutes later, and I’m positive our Uber driver had literally been counting down the minutes until he dropped us off. A drunk Brit slurring her already hard to understand accent didn’t make for an easy conversation. As soon as we stepped out of the car, I immediately praised myself for going along with Troy’s plans to come out. There was a vast array of fine specimens waiting to get in, and I could only imagine what the ones inside looked like.

We were making our way to the back of the line when we heard Troy’s name being called. Knowing it was most likely some bloke just trying to hit on her, we both turned at the same time, but instead of some bloke, it was our friend and classmate Alex standing at the door. “How are my lovely ladies doing tonight?”

“When did you start working here?” I asked as I leaned over the velvet rope that separated us, to give him a hug.

“I’ve been working here since school started. Diem, I barely even recognized you. You look amazing.”

“Thanks, love. I switched it up a bit.”

“Well it suits you well. It’s all spunky and shit, just like you, doll.”

I could feel the blush flood my face. Alex had always been a sweetheart, and Troy swore he had a crush on me, but I never believed her…until now. Alex was looking at me in a peculiar way, and I wasn’t sure how to react to it. The three of us have two classes together, and ever since we met, we had been close. Without these two people, I’m not quite sure I would even still be in California. Whenever I doubted my decision or myself, they reminded me why I was here. But this changed things, and I didn’t want things changing right now.

“Well, come on in.” Alex lifted the rope, and held it up so we could walk under it and inside. “I’ll find you ladies when I’m done out here. Save me a dance, Diem?”

“Su…sure.” I smiled, but kept walking with my arm looped through Troy’s. “Well that was odd.” I shouted over the music.

“Sure was.” She laughed as we headed out onto to the dance floor, getting lost in the music.