Page 2 of #PhiThetaForever

"She's not my hotfriend. She's my hotgirlfriend."

Bo's eyes widen, and he looks from me and back to Lena, his smile widening. "This is the famous Lena? Well, she is every bit of sexy I pictured her as. Your boyfriend talks about you alot."

Lena blushes a little but never takes her eyes off Bo's face, which kind of pisses me off. "Nice to meet you, Bo." Her voice is pleasant but guarded. I know Lena better than she knows herself, and my anger turns to protectiveness. Lena is pin straight in her seat, her hands twisted together in her lap.

She's not staring at Bo because she thinks he's attractive. It's because he makes her uncomfortable.

I give Bo my best grin and slide my hand over to Lena's thigh. His eyes follow my hand for a moment before he looks from Lena back to me. "See you on the field,brother." He stands and takes a few steps before turning back around. "Oh, I ran into Jackson yesterday. Welcoming party, Sunday night at my Frat. Be there. Bring Lena. I'm sure the team would love to finally meet her."

Once Bo disappears to the back of the room, Lena lets out a loud breath. "He's one of your teammates?"

I gently squeeze her thigh and run my other hand through my hair. "Yeah. I know what you're thinking, Lena. He's harmless. Just a bit crazy and a flirt. He doesn't mean anything by it."

Her face softens, and she leans over to put a gentle kiss on my lips. When she pulls back, I can't take my eyes off her face. She really is my entire life. Once college and football are gone, I'll still have her. I'll always have Lena. Reaching up, I cup the side of her face and skim my thumb across her cheek. "I love you."

"Everyone quiet down," an older man in a dress shirt and slacks says as he sets a thick leather briefcase on the desk at the front of the room. "Let's begin."

As I move to turn right in my seat, Lean reaches over and rubs her hand down my thigh, dangerously close to the crotch of my jeans, making me freeze. I turn to look at her, and my breath catches at the smirk on her face. "I love you too, Declan."

Lord . . . please help me have control with her this year. Please.

2 Lena

Who knew three classes could make a person so exhausted. Declan and I walk out of our last course at 3:45 pm, and I'm exhausted. We packed our schedules, leaving no time for lunch in between. We want to be able to have nights for each other and sports. Once the sports seasons are over, we'll have more time for each other, but tonight is a rare occurrence that we're both free. Plus, I've got therapy via video chat once a week. While Declan was recovering, he made a good case for why I needed to continue treatment, and I'd agreed. It helps me more than I like admitting out loud.

It's been almost two years since the shooting, and I'm finally at a good place. Declan has been a huge reason for that. Almost losing him last year also put life into perspective in a whole new way for me. I don't intend to waste a second the Lord's given me on this Earth. Not with my dreams and goals and not with Declan. If anyone knows how quickly life can change and how quickly the things that matter most can be taken away, it's me.

"Baby, you hungry?" Declan slips his hand into mine, and all the tension from today's classes melts away. I'm going to get to see him a lot for lessons which I love. This semester, we've got Intro to Biology together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; Calculus on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and Principles of Chemistry on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Today, I also got to have Intro to English Composition with Darcy and Candice while Declan enjoyed his break. He reserved a study area in the library for the semester, which I didn't even know was possible, but apparently, it is.

My stomach growls, and I laugh. "That would be a yes."

"Okay, Let's go drop our books off and then go get dinner. What are you in the mood for? Pizza, Chinese, Italian?"

I tilt my head back and forth. Declan and I haven't been able to go out to dinner together in what feels like ages. "Is Italian okay tonight?" I look up at him hopefully. Declan grew a bit over the summer, which I didn't even think possible. Now, he's almost 6'4,'' and I really have to tilt my head to look at him. I like it, though.

"I'm okay with whatever you want." He smiles at me as we approach my dorm building. "I'm going to run and drop my stuff off. I'll come get you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." I go to grab the door, but his hand darts out, and he opens it for me. I look over at him, and he takes his free hand and cups my face, bending to bring his lips to mine. I never get tired of kissing Declan. It's number one on my list of favorite things to do—more than soccer. His lips make me feel alive and safe at the same time.

"See you in a few minutes," he whispers against my lips before standing.

I walk quietly through the lobby of my dorm and head for our room. We got lucky and have a three-person room on the first floor. We're all the way at the back of the hall, but it's awesome being on the same floor as the laundry, cafe, lounge, and library. It's not a huge library, just a small one for late-night study sessions. Darcy is lying across her bed, stretched out with the Xbox One controller on her stomach. She's binge-watching some vampire show on Netflix. The same one she's been watching for the last two weeks. I tried to watch an episode with her, but I can't get into it.

"Hey, lovely lady," Candice chirps, coming out of the bathroom already wearing her pajamas.

I give her a confused look. "You know it's only four in the afternoon, right?"

She looks down at her clothes and then back at me with a bright smile on her face. "Yep. Jackson is doing homework in his room, so Darcy and I are going to binge-watch our show and hit the books. Want to join?"

I sling my book bag and purse onto my bed and giggle. "Declan is taking me to dinner. When I get back, I’ll join in the studying, but I will not subject myself to that crap you call a show."

"Ugh, you have no idea what you're missing. Seriously, Damon is so sexy," Darcy says, practically drooling at the television.

"Who?" I turn to pull my wallet out of my purse, almost getting knocked off balance by a pillow to the back of my head. "What in the hell, Darcy?" Picking up the pillow, I smile as I throw it back at her.

"Lena, please, just please tell me that you understand the concept of hot bad boys?" Darcy sits up on her knees with her hands in the prayer position. "I know you're all in love with my brother and the goodie-two-shoes that he is, but come one! Bad boys are just . . . yum."

I stare at Darcy, unsure whether to laugh or gag. "Ew, Darcy. Just ew. And I happen to like your goodie-two-shoes of a brother and the fact I don't have to worry about him drinking or getting high and trying to bang everything with a vagina."