King of Campus

And I just can’t do that.

She’s the only girl I’ve ever wanted to be with. Ever loved. Loved enough to let her go when I thought that’s what was best for her.

“I have a couple of hours before I need to head back to my dad’s.” Her eyelids lower and something deep within me stirs at the sexy look she’s casting my way. Already I know that a couple of hours won’t be nearly enough to feed the need I have for her, but if that’s all I’m going to get, I’ll happily take it.

She squeals as I suddenly lift her into my arms before carrying her up to my apartment. I don’t bother letting her go until we’re locked inside my bedroom.

Hell… I’m never going to let her go again.

Epilogue

Was there anyone who doubted even for a moment that Roan King, Barnett’s very own King of Campus, wouldn’t turn pro this year? Nope… didn’t think so. The man is a total god… Barnett won’t be the same without him… Farewell, RK, we’ll still have Sunday afternoons during football season… KingOfCampus.com

June

My feet ache as I ride the elevator up to the twentieth floor. But I’m used to it now. The rehearsal schedule for the CBC is just as demanding as I imagined it would be. Every single muscle in my body has been completely worked over and the thought of soaking in a nice hot bath sounds like absolute bliss right about now.

I was hoping to make it home earlier tonight, so I could cook a nice dinner but practice ran longer than expected. We’re in the middle of learning new choreography, so this entire week has been grueling. I’ve been with the Cincinnati Ballet for more than six months now. Rehearsals are long. Expectations are a mile high. And perfection is the standard. If you can’t hack it, you can exit stage left.

That being said, I love every single gloriously punishing moment of it. Leaving school and moving to Cincinnati was the right decision to make. Sure, it took a month or so for me to get acclimated, but each and every day I’m here, I get to live my dream. Not many people can say that. So I know just how lucky I am to be doing it.

Pulling out my key, I turn the lock before pushing open the door. As soon as I’m standing inside the entryway, I throw my keys into the bowl Lexie gave me as a going away gift when I packed up all my stuff back in November. She figured I would probably need it a lot more than she did.

It’s just another reason why Lexie Abbott is, and always will be, my best friend. That girl knows me like no other.

Dropping my bag to the gray marble floor, I softly pad into our spacious apartment. “Hello?”

Turning away from the oven, a huge smile lights up Roan’s handsome face as our eyes collide. “Hey, babe.” He throws the pot holders down onto the black granite countertop before quickly eating up the distance between us. “Missed you today.”

He doesn’t say another word before taking me into his muscular arms and holding me close. For just a moment, I inhale a nice big breath of him. It feels so damn good to be home again. Because that’s exactly the way our apartment feels- like home.

And together, we made it happen. I’m just so thankful Roan and I were able to make our relationship work. The winter and spring were difficult with me in Cincinnati and Roan finishing up at Barnett but we called, texted, FaceTimed, and visited as often as our schedules would permit.

You name it, we did it.

And I’m not even going to talk about all the sexy phones calls that took place late at night… since we couldn’t see one another very often, you better believe there were a whole lot of those going on.

As soon as I left for Cincinnati, Roan spoke with his agent about making a push for the Cincinnati Bengals. Although anyone could draft him, that was the focus. Luckily for us, Roan went in the first round.

Drumroll please… to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Once Roan knew he was coming here, we started hunting for an apartment and were lucky enough to find this one after only a few weeks of looking. It has two spacious bedrooms and a huge gourmet kitchen and living room. But it was the massive wall of floor to ceiling windows that look out over the city that sold us on the place. And with Roan’s signing bonus, we were able to afford it. I moved in first and then, after finishing up in May, Roan followed.

We’ve been together in Cincinnati for over a month now.

Even though we’ve been a couple for more than nine months, we haven’t lived in the same city for most of it. I’m not going to lie, I was a little worried that once he got here and we were actually living together twenty-four seven, our relationship wouldn’t be as good as we thought it was. Maybe we wouldn’t get along as well as we used to. Or our feelings might have changed with all the distance…