Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: He Finally Stopped Waiting for Me

One entire month passed.

The crisp autumn air turned into a bitter, freezing chill. The campus trees dropped the last of their brown leaves. Midterms came and went.

For the girls in the apartment, it was the longest, most miserable month of their entire lives.

Zoya stood in the long line at the campus coffee shop. The loud hiss of the espresso machines and the constant chatter of students gave her a massive headache. She was entirely exhausted. She had scored perfectly on her exams, but the victory felt completely empty.

"One black coffee," the barista called out.

Zoya stepped forward. She grabbed the warm paper cup. She turned around to walk toward the exit.

She stopped completely dead in her tracks.

Jackson was sitting at a small table near the large glass windows. He was wearing his heavy varsity jacket.

He was not alone.

A pretty girl with long blonde hair was sitting directly across from him. She was wearing a cheerleading jacket. She was leaning entirely too close to the table. She said something quiet, and Jackson laughed. It was that rich, loud, golden retriever laugh that Zoya used to find incredibly annoying.

The blonde girl reached across the small table. She rested her hand gently on Jackson’s broad forearm.

Jackson did not pull away. He did not look uncomfortable. He just smiled at her.

Zoya felt a sudden, sharp pain in her chest. It felt like she had swallowed a handful of crushed glass.

She stood frozen in the middle of the busy coffee shop. She could not force her feet to move.

Suddenly, Jackson looked up.

His dark eyes swept across the room and locked directly onto Zoya.

Zoya held her breath. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs. A tiny, desperate part of her wanted him to pull his arm away from the cheerleader. She wanted him to look guilty. She wanted him to stand up and walk over to her.

Jackson did not move.

His expression went completely flat. He stared at Zoya for exactly two seconds. His eyes were entirely indifferent. There was no anger, no hurt, and absolutely no lingering affection.

He simply broke eye contact. He turned his attention back to the blonde girl, completely ignoring Zoya’s existence.

Zoya gripped her hot coffee cup so tightly the cardboard almost completely buckled. The cold reality washed over her. She had pushed him away, and he had finally done exactly what she asked. He moved on.

She lowered her head, pushed through the heavy glass doors, and walked out into the freezing wind. Her perfect, logical world was completely shattering.

---

Across campus, Chloe was walking out of the economics building.

The wind whipped her dark hair violently across her face. She pulled her leather jacket tighter around her chest. She was tired. She had barely slept in four weeks.

She walked down the wide concrete stairs. She reached into her bag to grab her phone, but her cold fingers fumbled. Her heavy textbook slipped out of her open backpack.

It hit the concrete with a loud smack. Papers and loose pens scattered everywhere across the stairs.

"Great," Chloe muttered bitterly.

She dropped to her knees on the cold concrete. She started gathering her messy papers.

Heavy footsteps walked up the stairs.

Chloe looked up.

Leo was walking directly toward her. He was wearing his gray team sweatpants and a dark hoodie. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets.

Chloe stopped breathing. Her heart did a massive, painful jump.

It had been an entire month. Thirty days of total silence. He had not texted her once. He had not waited by her locker. He had not looked at her in the cafeteria. He had given her exactly the space she demanded.

She stared at him. She desperately wanted him to stop. Old Leo would have dropped to his knees instantly. He would have gathered her papers, made a stupid joke to make her smile, and carried her heavy bag all the way back to her apartment.

Leo stopped walking. He looked down at her sitting on the concrete stairs surrounded by her messy papers.

He looked at her for a long, quiet moment. His dark eyes were not angry, but they were incredibly guarded. He was keeping a strict, respectful boundary.

He did not bend down to help her. He did not reach out his hand.

Leo simply stepped to the side, giving her a very wide berth.

"Excuse me," Leo said quietly. His voice was polite, distant, and completely formal.

He walked right past her and continued up the stairs.

Chloe kneeled on the freezing concrete. She stared at the spot where he had just been. A hot, devastating tear spilled over her eyelashes and fell onto her scattered economics notes.

She wanted to scream his name. She wanted to yell at him to come back. But the words completely died in her throat. She had told him she did not need a bodyguard. She told him she did not need his help.

He was finally respecting her independence. And it was the most painful, isolating feeling she had ever experienced.

---

The journalism office was completely quiet.

Audrey sat at her desk. She was typing a boring article about the campus tennis team. She looked exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes. The oversized green sweater she wore swallowed her small frame entirely.

It had been four weeks since she sent that final text message to Florida.

Mason had not replied. He had completely stopped calling. He had finally listened to her.

"This is absolutely insane."

Ben’s loud voice shattered the silence in the office.

Audrey jumped. She looked over at his desk. Ben was staring at his computer monitor with wide eyes. Daisy was standing behind his chair, looking at the screen with a deep frown.

"What is it?" Audrey asked tiredly.

"The Florida Academy just posted their final roster updates for the month," Ben announced. He spun his chair around to face her. "Calloway is officially the top prospect in the entire country. The scouts from the European leagues are actively fighting over his contract right now."

Audrey felt a strange, bittersweet ache in her chest.

He did it. He stopped worrying about her, he focused entirely on the game, and he secured his lifelong dream. She had successfully protected his career.

"That is great news," Audrey said quietly. She forced a small, entirely fake smile. "He worked really hard for that."

"Yeah, but look at this," Ben said. He clicked his mouse rapidly. "One of the other players down there just posted a bunch of photos from their off-day in Miami. It is completely blowing up online."

Audrey froze. "Photos?"

"Come look," Ben urged.

Audrey stood up. Her legs felt incredibly weak. She walked over to Ben’s desk. Daisy gave Audrey a worried, highly sympathetic look and stepped out of the way.

Audrey looked at the bright computer monitor.

It was an album of photos taken at a beachside restaurant in Miami. The players were sitting around a massive table, eating and laughing. The Florida sun was bright and golden.

Audrey stared directly at the second photo.

Mason was sitting at the table. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt. He looked incredibly tanned, relaxed, and impossibly handsome. The heavy stress from the first week of camp was completely gone from his face. He was smiling his brilliant, golden retriever smile.

But he was not alone.

A gorgeous girl with long, dark hair was sitting directly next to him. She was wearing a bright red summer dress. She was leaning entirely into Mason’s personal space.

The girl had her hand resting flat against Mason’s broad chest. She was laughing at something he said.

Mason was looking down at her. He was not pulling away. He was not looking uncomfortable. He looked entirely engaged in whatever she was saying. He looked exactly like the campus heartbreaker Audrey had met on the very first day.

Audrey stopped breathing. The air completely left her lungs.

"Wow," Ben muttered, totally oblivious to the heavy tension. "The captain really does not waste any time, does he? I guess the long-distance thing with you did not work out."

Daisy immediately kicked Ben hard under the desk.

"Ouch!" Ben yelped. "What was that for?!"

"Shut up, Ben," Daisy hissed angrily.

Audrey did not hear them. She just stared at the glowing screen. She stared at the girl’s hand resting perfectly on Mason’s chest.

The physical pain that hit Audrey was completely blinding. It felt like a heavy metal weight had just dropped directly onto her heart.

She had pushed him away on purpose. She had told him to focus on the camp. She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew his reputation. She knew he dated girls for a few weeks and moved on easily when things got boring.

But seeing the actual proof staring right back at her was entirely different.

He had not just focused on his football camp. He had completely moved on with his life. He found someone new. Someone who was not hiding under a baseball cap. Someone who was not carrying massive baggage from a terrible ex-boyfriend. Someone who was actually fun and easy to be around.

"Audrey?" Daisy asked softly. She reached out and gently touched Audrey’s arm. "Are you okay?"

Audrey tore her eyes away from the monitor. She looked at Daisy. Her vision blurred heavily with thick, hot tears.

"I am fine," Audrey whispered. Her voice cracked terribly. "I am completely fine."

She turned around and grabbed her backpack from her desk. Her hands were shaking so violently she could barely zip the bag shut.

"I have to go," Audrey rushed out. "I have a class."

She did not wait for them to answer. She practically ran out of the journalism office. She pushed through the heavy wooden doors and hit the quiet academic hallway.

She walked as fast as she could. She kept her head down. The tears finally spilled over her eyelashes, rolling hot and fast down her pale cheeks.

She got exactly what she asked for. She protected his dream. She saved his career.

But walking entirely alone down the empty hallway, Audrey realized she had completely broken her own heart in the process.