Read Slammed #4 (The Slammed Romance Series - Book #4) for Free Online Page A

really
impressed him.” I nodded. Lisa watched me intently for a moment, tapping idly
on the top of her desk. “Look, everyone on campus knows there’s
been… issues with you and Zack. If you can’t handle this, let me know
and I’ll tell Bullden that you’re covering something
else and we can’t spare you.”
    It was tempting. If I could just back out of the
situation completely—if I could avoid having to go to California and face the
possibility of having to confront Zack again, it would be a major relief. But I
thought about the fact that Bullden had requested me
specifically. And the fact that I knew I had done well in my previous articles
about the team and its games. Besides, it wasn’t likely that I’d have to
interview Zack—he might not even be at the game at all. I had determinedly not
kept up with the drama surrounding his suspension; I had banned all mention of
him from Jess.
    “Is Zack going to be playing, then?” I asked, trying
to keep my voice as neutral as possible.
    “Oh yeah, he’s definitely in the game. Didn’t you
hear? The investigation found out that the picture they turned in was from
like, two years ago or something. They had nothing against Zack that was more
recent.” The words hit me like a ton of bricks; I felt awful. I hadn’t even
listened to him when he’d tried to explain.
    “That’s…good to know,” I said, smiling nervously.
“I’ll let you know if I can do it with my classes.” I didn’t want to even hint
at the possibility that Zack’s being present at the game would deter me. Even
if Lisa knew—she had mentioned it directly, after all—that I had personal
issues with the star QB, I didn’t want to make that the reason that I couldn’t
go.
    “Just as long as you give me a couple of days to
find a replacement,” Lisa said, nodding.
    I stood up and left Lisa’s office, my mind a blur
with different thoughts. Could I really hold it against Zack that two years ago
he’d had girls all over him? How could I know whether he’d changed? I sat down
on one of the benches in the Student Union, watching people pass through on
their way to classes or going to club meetings. I chewed on my bottom lip,
putting my notebook back into my bag and trying not to look like I was a
nervous wreck. It wasn’t that the idea of seeing Zack in person was so
terrible, but knowing that I had misjudged him made me feel horrible.
    But had I really? Just because they didn’t have
anything on Zack—no evidence that he was still partying or involved in potentially
illegal activities—didn’t mean he wasn’t still the party- rager he had been. Could I really trust that he had changed?
    I thought about the fact that he had tracked me down
on my horrible date with Derick specifically to try and explain to me what the
real situation was. I hadn’t even heard him out; I was already angry—and the
way he’d gone about trying to convince me to listen to him was definitely a bad
idea. But ever since then, he had left me alone—and I had avoided him. I had
judged him based on the thought that the picture had been recent, and I had
been wrong. He had probably already moved on. I didn’t know how I felt about
that possibility; in spite of the fact that I’d been avoiding him, and the fact
that I had thought I was over him, deep down I knew that there was still
something unresolved between us. It wasn’t fair of me that I’d taken my initial
anger at him and blown it all out of proportion, and didn’t even give him a
chance to explain his side. And I may have lost him for good because of that.
    I spent the rest of the day with my mind on the game
and on Zack. I couldn’t really blame him if he had given up on me. It seemed
like almost from the beginning of the time we’d reunited, things had been
stacked against us—though I was mature enough to admit that part of that was my
fault. I was afraid of getting involved with him, afraid of how easily I could
fall head over heels for