Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: His Freedom or Her Future

The Friday night air was absolutely freezing.

Chloe shivered, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her black leather jacket. She walked down the concrete campus path, bumping her shoulder against Leo’s arm.

"You promised me cheese fries," Chloe complained. "We went to the diner, I ordered cheese fries, and you ate exactly half of them."

"I am a growing athlete," Leo defended smoothly. He reached out and grabbed her hand, linking his thick fingers with hers to keep her warm. "I burn four thousand calories a day on the pitch. I need cheese."

"You are a thief," Chloe corrected. She squeezed his hand anyway.

"I will buy you ten orders of fries tomorrow," Leo smiled, looking down at her. "Are you still cold?"

"Yes. My jacket looks great, but it has zero insulation."

"We are right next to the athletic dorms," Leo said, pointing to the brick building ahead of them. "Let’s go to my room. You can steal another one of my gray hoodies. I know that is your ultimate goal anyway."

Chloe smirked. "You caught me. It was a master plan from the start."

They walked into the dorm building and headed up the stairs.

"Is Jackson going to be there?" Chloe asked. "Because if he starts talking about his fantasy football rankings again, I am going to throw his console out the window."

"Jackson is not home," Leo promised. He pulled his room key out of his pocket. "He texted me earlier. He said he had a very important ’off-campus appointment.’ He has been acting super weird lately, but whatever. The room is empty."

Leo unlocked the heavy wooden door. He pushed it open and stepped inside, pulling Chloe in behind him.

The dorm room was pitch black.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Leo muttered. He reached over and slapped the wall switch.

The bright overhead fluorescent lights snapped on.

Chloe blinked against the harsh light. She looked toward Jackson’s bed.

She completely froze.

Leo dropped his room keys. They hit the floor with a loud, metallic clatter.

The room was not empty.

Jackson was lying on his bed, completely shirtless. Zoya was lying right next to him. Her neat, perfect white button-down shirt was completely unbuttoned, and she was hastily pulling the thick duvet up to her chin.

Total, absolute silence crashed down over the dorm room.

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.

Leo stared at his best friend. He stared at the girl with the glasses. His mouth opened, but absolutely no sound came out.

Jackson closed his eyes and let out a long, heavy, incredibly frustrated groan. He dropped his head back against the headboard. "Leo. I literally texted you to stay out until midnight."

"Zoya?!" Chloe shrieked. Her voice echoed off the walls. She pointed a shaking finger at the bed. "Zoya?! Are you kidding me?!"

Zoya pushed her dark-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. Even caught half-naked in a football player’s bed, she did not look panicked. She just looked incredibly annoyed.

"This is a gross violation of privacy," Zoya stated flatly, clutching the duvet tighter.

"A violation of privacy?!" Chloe yelled. She marched one step closer, looking like she was going to faint. "You are in a dorm room! With Jackson! You literally told me yesterday that he was an inefficient, chaotic distraction!"

"He is," Zoya said clinically. She did not look at Jackson. "But we reached a mutual agreement of terms. It is a strictly physical arrangement. Tuesdays and Fridays."

Leo finally found his voice. He looked at Jackson in pure horror.

"You signed a contract?" Leo asked. "For hooking up?"

"She made me read three pages of rules, Leo!" Jackson defended loudly, throwing his hands in the air. "What was I supposed to do?! Say no?!"

"Yes!" Chloe screamed. "You guys have absolutely nothing in common! Zoya, you hate sports!"

"We do not talk about sports," Zoya corrected smoothly. "Rule number three clearly states we do not discuss personal interests or feelings. Now, if you do not mind, we reserved this space until 11:00 PM. Please leave."

Chloe looked like her brain was completely short-circuiting. She looked at Zoya’s messy hair. She looked at Jackson’s flushed chest.

"I am going to be sick," Chloe announced.

Leo quickly grabbed Chloe’s arm. He was still staring at Jackson with massive, betrayed eyes.

"We are leaving," Leo said quickly. "We are leaving right now. Put a shirt on, Jackson. My eyes are burning."

"Close the door!" Jackson shouted back.

Leo pulled Chloe out into the hallway and slammed the heavy door shut behind them.

They stood in the quiet hallway. Chloe leaned her back against the brick wall. She stared blankly ahead.

"My study-obsessed, perfectly logical roommate is sleeping with the loudest guy in the football team," Chloe whispered.

"My best friend signed a legal document to get laid," Leo muttered.

They looked at each other.

"They are going to destroy each other," Chloe decided.

"Absolute disaster," Leo agreed immediately. He grabbed her hand again. "Come on. Let’s go buy those fries. I need greasy food to erase that image from my brain."

The Miami hotel VIP lounge was dripping with wealth.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Waiters in white gloves carried trays of expensive champagne. The London scouts from the WFA were expected to arrive for dinner in exactly twenty minutes.

Elena stood near the massive glass windows overlooking the city. She wore a stunning, backless red dress. Her dark hair was pinned up flawlessly.

The heavy oak doors of the lounge opened.

Elena turned around, a perfect smile already forming on her lips.

Her smile completely vanished.

Mason walked into the lounge. He was not wearing the tailored black suit she had sent to his room. He was wearing his faded gray sweatpants, a plain white t-shirt, and a dark jacket. He had his heavy black duffel bag slung over his broad shoulder.

He did not look like a guy getting ready to walk a red carpet. He looked like a guy going to the airport.

"What are you wearing?" Elena demanded. She took a quick step forward, her eyes flashing with anger. "The photographers are setting up downstairs. Go back to your room and change right now."

Mason stopped in the middle of the empty lounge. He dropped his heavy duffel bag onto the carpet.

"I am not changing," Mason stated coldly. "And I am not going to the dinner."

Elena let out a short, harsh laugh. "Excuse me? Are you forgetting the deal, Mason? If you do not walk out there with me and smile, my father will pull your name from the academy recommendation list. You will never speak to a WFA scout again."

"Your father does not own the WFA," Mason said. His voice was completely steady. "He only controls the academy pipeline."

Elena frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means I bypassed your father entirely," Mason explained calmly. "I flew an independent agent down here this morning. I had a private, off-the-books meeting with Mr. Sterling from London. We signed a direct pre-contract an hour ago."

Elena completely froze. The color drained from her perfectly made-up face.

"You signed a direct contract," Elena repeated. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I did," Mason confirmed. He looked at her with absolutely zero sympathy. "Your father cannot touch my career anymore. You have absolutely no leverage left, Elena. The fake relationship is over. We are done."

Mason reached down to grab his duffel bag. He felt a massive wave of victory. He was free. He could finally fly back to campus and tell Audrey everything.

"You think you are so smart," Elena said softly.

Mason stopped. He looked back up at her.

Elena was not crying. She was not panicking. The shock faded from her face, slowly replaced by a dark, chilling smirk.

"Did you honestly think my father only controlled football scouts?" Elena asked.

Mason’s jaw tightened. "What are you talking about?"

Elena walked over to the small glass table. she picked up her sleek digital tablet. She tapped the screen twice and held it up for Mason to see.

Mason squinted at the glowing screen.

It was an official, drafted email from the university administration back on campus. The subject line read: Immediate Expulsion Review: Audrey Ellis.

Mason’s heart completely stopped. The blood turned to pure ice in his veins.

"My father is the primary financial donor for the university’s journalism department," Elena said. Her voice was smooth and deadly. "He funds Mrs. Higgins’ entire program. All it takes is one email claiming your little intern used unethical journalistic practices to tamper with academy assets."

Mason stared at the screen. He could not breathe.

"If she is expelled for ethical fraud, no newspaper in the country will ever hire her," Elena explained happily. "Her career is dead before it even starts."

Elena set the tablet back down on the table. She looked at Mason’s pale, horrified face.

"You secured your contract, Mason. Congratulations," Elena smiled coldly. "But if you walk out that door right now, I press send. Your freedom costs Audrey her entire future."

Mason stood frozen in the middle of the luxury lounge. The heavy duffel bag slipped from his fingers and hit the floor.

He was not free at all. The cage had just locked tighter than ever.