Hope for Him (Hope Series Book #2) by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

No." He stepped back and shook his head.
    "Who's Carrington?"
    "You are not still pining away for that girl?"
    "Who's Carrington?" Jeff asked, again.
    "You heard about Josh Griffin the fourth."
    "Your best friend who killed himself in front of Griffin Library." The story had reached myth status, but in this case, it was true.
    "Carrington was his girlfriend."
    "So, what's the big deal?" Jeff asked.
    "The big deal is our friend Jackson, here, has been in love with her for like two years," Richard said.
    "No, the big deal is she's back on campus."
    I drove them to the athletic dorm. No one spoke until we arrived.
    "Your still into her?" Jeff asked first.
    "I don't know. I haven't seen her all summer, and I'm with Tiffany."
    "That's right. You're with Tiffany, and she's awesome. She's perfect for you," Richard said.
    "Why?" I turned to him. "Why is she perfect for me?"
    "She looks like an NFL quarterback's wife. She's hot."
    "Dude, she is hot," Jeff said.
    "I'm supposed to be with her because she looks like a player's wife? Out of curiosity, what does Carrington look like?"
    "Listen, man. You don't need that baggage. Look, I'm only saying this because I'm your friend, but you just got your swagger back, man. Why would you want to go back there?"
    "What does Carrington look like?" Jeff asked.
    Richard ignored him.
    "And don't tell me it’s no big deal. You were totally out of it in practice today because of this girl. She's in your head already."
    "She's not in my head. She surprised me that's all. Besides, it's different now. We're both in a different place."
    "I don't get it, man. How do you look at her and not think about all the shit that comes with being with her?"
    "What the fuck, Rich?" I stepped to Richard, and he didn't back down. "You don't know what happened? No one knows what happened back between us. So, shut the fuck up."
    "I know this girl is going to fuck with your head. Leave it alone."
    "Hey," Jeff yelled.
    We both turned to him. "What?" we said in unison.
    "Seriously, dude. What does Carrington look like?"
    I blinked and stepped away from Richard. He let out a breath and rubbed his hands through his hair and shook them out.
    I took my phone out and flipped to a photo of Carrington from last May. Her hair was down, and she had this flirty tilt to her head. She looked through me, deep into my soul, and she liked what she saw and it made me happy.
    I tossed the phone to Jeff.
    "Damn, dude. If you don't want her, I'll take her."
    "Jeff," Richard said.
    "What?"
    "Shut up."
    I headed home. I understood where Richard was coming from. He wanted the best for me, and he wanted his quarterback happy and healthy, mentally as well as physically.
    I had no clue what I was going to do.
    When I turned on my street, my heart sank. Tiffany's yellow VW Bug was in my driveway. I had to talk myself out of driving away. I needed to handle the situation.
    When I entered the house, Tiffany ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck.  She pulled me to her and pressed her lips against mine. She forced my lips apart and darted her tongue in my mouth.
    I pushed her away harder than I attended. She gave me a sexy grin and attacked me, again.
    I grabbed her arms and held them to her side.
    "Tiff, stop for a second."
    "What's wrong?" she asked and reached for the bottom of my shirt.
    "Tiffany. Stop," I yelled.
    Her eyes sprang instant tears.
    How do girls do that?
    She turned away and walked back into my place with her shoulders slumped.
    She wiped her eyes as she sat down and waited.
    I walked over and sat next to her on the couch.
    "I told you not to wait for me."
    "I wanted to see you tonight."
    "Tiffany—"
    "I'm sorry. You're right. I should give you your space. I know I can be selfish sometimes. I love being with you. When we're together, everything is okay."
    "But we can't be together all the time."
    "I don't know what you want, sometimes. It scares me."
    I stood up and paced in front of the couch. I needed to tell her about