Draw Play: A Sports Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

involved,” my advisor replied. She seemed too distracted to pay much attention to my question.
    “It’s just that, you know, when I tutored in high school, I was taking some of the same classes with the person I tutored. What major are they in?”
    “Hmm? Let’s see. Oh! He’s an English major.”
    I did my best to keep from rolling my eyes. Talk about taking the easy way out—just a bunch of reading and writing. And he couldn’t pass? That wasn’t my first concern, though. “He?”
    “Yes. It’s Jake Jennings.” Her face gleamed with excitement, and she said his name like I was supposed to know what it meant.
    “Okay? So ... who’s that?”
    Her face fell slightly. “You don’t know who Jake Jennings is? He’s the center for our football team, Claire.”
    I felt the air leave my body like she’d punched me in the stomach. All semester with a football player who had a brain the size of a mouse. Just my luck. No wonder they were willing to pay so much for me to do it—the football team was the closest thing to a cult I’d ever witnessed. There had never been a bigger bunch of self-centered assholes in existence. The administration treated them like celebrities. And they thought I would be part of it.
    “Which classes is he taking this semester?”
    She slid a paper across the desk so I could get an idea. One of them was Intro to Theatre. I could almost hear the universe laughing at me. I was impressed with the rest of the selection, though. Shakespeare, Nineteenth Century Literature, French Literature, Sociology. Not bad. I could actually have discussions with him on some of it.
    “You’ll be more of an accountability partner,” Sharon replied. “The head of the football program wants to be sure he does his studying, writes his papers, prepares himself for exams, and stops screwing around. Think you can do that?”
    “And this will pay double what I would make at the bookstore?”
    She nodded. “Maybe more. And between you and me, you get to spend all those hours with one of UM’s top football players. A dream opportunity, isn’t it?”
    “A dream? Uh, not really.” My heart sank. A football player? All semester with a football player? I could already imagine a lot of one-syllable communication and a chip on his shoulder.
    Then again … I looked back over his course list. It wasn’t the sort of roster an idiot would carry. He took fifteen credits, too, instead of twelve.
    “So, you’ll do it?” she asked with hope in her voice.
    “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
    “Probably not, I’m sorry to say.” She shrugged. “It was the only thing we could find for you, and you’re the perfect fit. None of the other floating work-study students come close to your academic record. I’ll call the team’s coach to let him know I found you. He’ll expect you to meet with Jake in his office later today.”
    “Wait! Today?” It was all moving so fast. No sooner had I accepted, then I was being told where to go and when.
    “Yes, around two o’clock. It looks like you’re both free at that time.” Sharon held up a finger while she spoke with the Coach on her office phone and let him know I’d be in his office with bells on. Those were her exact words. Yes, I’d be there with bells on, and they would be ringing out my doom.
    I left Sharon’s office in a hurry since my first Ethics class started in mere minutes. I wanted to scream, cry, or even throw a fit of rage. A few black trashcans almost felt my wrath as I hurried down the hallway.
    A football player. Of all the sports in the entire world, it had to be football.

    * * *
    I chose a seat near the front of the room and sank into the chair with a sigh. Good thing little work got done on the first day since my mind was years in the past.
    I remembered watching Oprah with my mom when I was younger. I’d come home from school to do my homework, and at three o’clock sharp, Mom would tune in. I didn’t always pay attention, but one of the