December 4

Brandon

"Don't forget about me?"

As if that could ever happen.

After her little joke with Meghan, I don't think I ever could.

She's the unforgettable kind.

Shameless.

Loud.

Hot.

She's got a great ass on her I'll admit.

It's an extremely hot ass, might I add.

Hell, everything about her is hot. Hands down, the hottest, sexiest girl I've ever talked to.

I don't know why I never took the time to get to know her. I guess it's probably because I never paid attention whenever she was around, never looked at her twice. But her up close . . . man that's another story.

"You dreamin', princess?" Riven smirks, taking a seat next to me and tying his shoelaces. "Is it Cara? I know you were at it yesterday." he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

I scoff. The best thing about sharing an apartment with your boys? You're always together. The worst? You have no privacy. But it's not like I care, I'm not a private person to begin with. "Nah, she was too whiny. Made a big fuss this morning about me ripping her shirt. I ended up loaning her one of mine."

Riven laughs as I bend down to pick up a shirt from my duffel bag. "Girls," he mutters to himself while shaking his head. "They're all the same."

I was about to nod in agreement when a flash of blonde hair flashes through my mind, turning my nod into a smirk. "Not the one I met yesterday," I tell him impulsively and he pauses. See this? I'm too open to keep secrets to myself.

"Damn, two girls in one day?" He whistles but I shake my head.

"I didn't sleep with this one," I assure him. "Her name's Stella."

"The ditzy fashionista?"

I smile to myself. I guess one could also call her that. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she hates me." Riven shrugs and I cross my arms over my chest.

"Really?" I find myself asking though deep down, I know. Riven's not a gentle guy with the ladies, he's always grotesque, letting you always know the worst thing he thinks about you. It's a no-brainer why these two don't get along.

"She's an heiress to a multi-million company, bro," Riven scoffs incredulously. "And you know the worst thing? She's not even planning on taking over after she graduates. If you ask me? I'd say she's sick in the head."

"That's the reason she hates you?"

Riven scoffs again, but this time it comes out as defensive. I've known him long enough to see the walls closing around him. He's done sharing. "Coach wants you out there," he motions to the court instead of answering, grabbing his bag and attempting to leave the locker room.

But I stop him before he does. "Come on, man," I block the exit. "I'm on a project with her. I need to know the deets."

It takes a hard minute for Riven to relent with a sigh. "She's the reason Musa doesn't want anyone knowing about us," he admits and my eyebrows shoot to the roof.

Well, shit.

I think I may have accidentally spilled the beans yesterday to Miss Sunshine. But in my defense, I didn't even know their relationship was a secret. "Why?" I ask curiously. "I mean, I thought everyone knew."

"Yeah, everyone as in you guys," Riven points a finger at me. "Look man, I don't know her personally, but from what I've heard from Musa, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed."

I stare at him, my eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Her best friend told you that?"

"No, but I know enough of her. Bottom line, she's a bitch."

Not impressed by Riven's choice of words, I bend down to pick my bag. "So I should steer clear of her?"

"I mean, sure she's hot for a couple of nights, but I wouldn't consider her relationship-wise."

"Got it, hit it, quit it,"


Practice is hell when you're tired and stressed.

Nothing you do is right and when you accidentally throw the ball to one of your teammate's face, you know something's wrong.

"Damnit, Shields!" Coach Peterson throws his clipboard to the floor, muttering to himself something I couldn't make out. "What the hell's wrong with you today?"

My shoulders sag in fatigue when I see Sky rubbing his nose in pain. I throw him a small 'sorry' and take my water bottle from the floor, swallowing each drop. "Don't know, Coach," I shrug. "I'm just tired,"

It's damn humiliating to come unprepared to practice. But to be the worst player of the day when you're the captain? Unacceptable.

"Tired?" he barks a laugh. "Let me guess, you were out drinking yesterday?"

I place my hands on my waist and pause. The tension in the air is astronomical and when I look back, I see it in their faces that there's no point in denying. "It was just one drink," I lie, though not really. I didn't drink enough to get drunk.

Coach scoffs. "You're busting my balls here, boy," he admits and my heart falls. "When your brother was captain, not once did I call him out for slacking off. He took his duty seriously unlike you and your friends who use it as a badge of honor to get girls."

And again with my brother. Honestly, it was all easier when he was here. Unfortunately, he graduated two years ago, and his reign as captain was passed to me. At the time I was happy, my dad was proud. He thrived on knowing that his first two sons were captains and that his youngest was going down that road too. But two years later and I can't seem to escape my brother's damn shadow. It's always comments like, 'he was a better captain,' and 'why can't you just take some pointers from him?' that makes me livid.

When I don't answer Coach's comment, he sighs in defeat and picks up his clipboard from the floor. "Go back to your position, boys. I don't want another defeat this season."

Glad he changed the topic, I throw my water bottle to the floor and grab the ball from Sky. We start some exercises such as dribbling and jumping. Coach's extra cranky today so I don't let it get to my head, but I won't deny that his words didn't hurt. If my game was bad before, now it's even worse.

My throw is bad, my shoelaces are untied, and when my eyes notice a stunning blonde outside of the gym, talking to a friend, I presume, my whole attention is on her.

I don't even notice Riven in front of me when I continue to run aimlessly. When my foot gets caught with his, I fall, and at that moment I feel like I broke a few things.

"Stop!" I hear Coach yell, but I don't pay attention to it as I clutch my knee in pain. "Hey, you okay? What happened?"

I hiss in pain when I try to stand up, Coach notices this and tells Sky to call Nurse Cindy. "I can't walk," I groan, falling back to the floor.

I'm sure by now that there's a whole audience outside the gym. The court becomes crowded and when a distinguishable soft voice rings through the crowd, I curse my life.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" she kneels beside me, a small amused smile playing at the edge of her plump, beautiful lips.

"What does it look like?" I ask her with the same amount of amusement, casually crossing my hands behind my head.

Her lips quirk and her forehead creases.

Fuck, she's beautiful.

"I guess this means you can't meet later," she states rather obviously.

"Tomorrow?" I offer her a smile as Sky comes with the stretcher.

She stands up and nods. "Here, let me help you up," she says, grabbing my arm. She looks around and frowns when she notices the number of people outside the gym doors looking inside. "Don't they have anything else going on?" she huffs and I fight the urge to smile at her antics. "You weight a ton," she groans, trying to lift me all by herself.

"That's all right, sunshine," I grunt as I make an effort to get on my feet. "I can manage."

Her lips tighten but her stare tells me she's not listening. "Sure you can, heartthrob," she replies dismissively. When I try to walk by myself, I feel her hand tighten on my bicep. "Don't be so stubborn."

I raise my eyebrows at her and ignore her futile attempts at helping me. "I'm the stubborn one here?" I smirk and she glares, placing a hand on her hip.

"Right now you are," she retorts with a smart-ass grin. I somehow manage to sit on the stretcher and when I clutch my knee in pain, her face falls. "You okay?" she asks, biting her lip in worry. I see her search for something in her purse and I furrow my eyebrows as I wait. "I have Tylenol for the pain, want any?"

I stop myself from asking why she's carrying a bottle of pain pills in her purse so casually when another sharp pain has me doubling in pain. I take a pill from her hand and grab the water bottle she had in her purse. "Thanks,"

Stella nods and Sky comes back. "Cindy's not here," His lips purse. "Looks like I'll have to take you to the doctor."

"You have dinner with your parents tonight," I stop him before he helps. "I'll drive myself, maybe call an Uber if I can't."

"You'll drive yourself?" Stella repeats in horror. I nod and she shakes her head with determination, grabbing her white purse and placing it on her shoulder. "No-uh, that won't work," she clicks her tongue. "I'll take you, my car's just around the corner."

Silence envelopes the air at her offer. "Didn't you fail your driver's test two times?" I hear Sky ask skeptically and I snicker when I see her reaction.

"Thrice, actually," she pouts, her arms crossing across her chest. "But that doesn't mean anything. I still have a license."

"It's okay, Stella," I stop the conversation before Sky makes further comments about her driving. "I'm sure I'll find someone else to take me."

She rolls her eyes and grabs my arm. "Don't be dense, I said I'll drive you."

It doesn't take me much to relent to her ways. The next thing I know, Sky has an arm around my neck, and with his help, I limp towards the parking lot. From the corner of my eye, I see Stella taking her keys from her purse and when she unlocks her car from her keys, my eyes widen when I spot a brand new shiny Mercedes Benz.

I guess Riven wasn't kidding when he said her parents are rich.

"Nice ride," I compliment her car, admiring the leather seats from the outside. If dad ever sees this car, he'd drool like he'd never drool before. He's a mechanist, he loves his cars as much as he loves his family. And he loves us a lot.

I see Stella's cheek flush in embarrassment, probably because she thinks I'm judging her in my mind, and nods, opening her door. "Thanks, it was a gift," she responds nonchalantly.

"A damn good gift," Sky mutters under his breath, impressed to see such a young girl with such an expensive car. Though he can't talk much, he has a Range Rover which was gifted from his family as well. His dad is very powerful in Boston; he's a lawyer or something, I don't know, I don't pay much attention to it.

Stella starts the car as Sky helps me inside. When he sees I'm fully seated he pats my shoulder and bids Stella goodbye. In less than a minute, she's already swerving through the streets.

"So . . ." she whistles as she taps her long nails on the steering wheel, stopping at a red light. "Did Meghan send you another photo?" she grins innocently, and a small, not quite noticeable dimple appears on her left cheek.

I scoff at the memory and nod. "Yeah, thanks for it by the way." I thank her sarcastically.

She shrugs with a cheeky smile and hits the pedal once the line turns green. "You can't just block a girl after she sent you a nude, it's disrespectful."

"Would you feel better if I told you I sent her a nude of mine?" A wolfish grin breaks my face.

She stays silent for a second before she replies. "You take nudes?"

I lift my left shoulder in a vague shrug and nod. "You don't?"

"Of course I do," she replies immediately and it comes out as defensive.

"Well, I would love to see them." I inch closer to her and she pushes me away with a laugh.

"You wish, perv," she rolls her eyes with a scoff. "My nudes are solely for me and my phone."

"So you haven't sent them?"

"No," she denies. "Besides, they're not nudes, just photos of my boobs."

Unwillingly, I let my eyes cast down her figure. Her V-neck sweater clings an amazing pair of soft, squeezable twins, with tiny freckles splattered across her chest. I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to use this image as spank bank material later. It'd also be better if she was there to help me, but with my fucked up knee, I doubt I'll be getting much action for the next two weeks.

"Stop looking at my tits, Captain," she breaks my thoughts away by placing an arm across her chest. She stops at a Stop sign and briefly meets my eyes, my breath hitching when I make eye-contact with her. "They're not there for you to admire 'em."

I smirk and ignore the light flutter in my stomach. "Can't help it, babe, you got an amazing rack." My smirk grows deeper when I see a small blush creep to her cheeks. "Maybe you should send me those photos, they'll keep me entertained when I'm on bed rest."

"You want my nudes, you gotta work for 'em." she grins wickedly.

"And how do you propose I do that?" I grin, up for the challenge.

Her left shoulder rises in a nonchalant shrug as she takes a left turn. "I guess we'll never know."


"All right, Brandon. Here's the deal," Doctor Ryan begins as she claps her hands together. "We ran a few scans, they came back perfectly fine and it seems like your main source of pain comes from the shock of the fall."

My shoulder sags in relief and next to me I can feel Stella squeeze my hand in reassurance.

"However, I do not recommend going back just yet," she advises. "Even though this fall will not cause permanent damage on your knee, it's still injured and I'm afraid if you go back to play as early as tomorrow, you'll injure it further and then we'll be looking at long-term, if not, a permanent injury."

My forehead creases. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"Rest," she answers. "Take a few walks, exercise it but don't exhaust it, and take a few pain pills if necessary. Panadol works like a charm."

"And how long before I can go back and play?"

"A week, maybe two if you want to be completely healed by the time you go back," she suggests. "Also, apply this cream I'll give you when the pain starts to become unbearable. It'll sting, but it's the most reliable when it comes to muscular pain."

"And that's it?" I ask her, skeptical. "I don't have to have surgery?"

"Not at all," she smiles. "Just apply this cream and bandage it up like I just did. Maybe your girlfriend here can help you."

Stella laughs uncomfortably when I eye her with a smirk. "I'm not his girlfriend," she clarifies. "just here for support."

Doctor Ryan sends us an apologetic smile. "Then have your friends help you, really, it only takes a few minutes."

The appointment finishes quickly after that. I stand up and help Stella get up from her chair, holding the door open and waiting for her to go ahead of me. I go to the counter and pay what's due, grabbing the cream Doctor Ryan suggested and a few boxes of knee wrap.

"That went better than expected," Stella says as we go back to her car. She opens the door to the passenger seat, seeing as I have both my hands full, and waits for me to get seated before closing the door. She comes back to her side and turns on the car. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I have a dagger in my knee," I mumble in pain, leaning my head back and fusing my eyes shut. It seems like walking only made the pain worse.

"Where's your apartment? I'll drive you there."

"Don't worry about that, I'll drive myself."

"But I want to help," she pouts cutely. "Besides, Sky texted, Riven took your truck."

I pry one eye open and stare at her. "You text with Sky?"

"He's Bloom's boyfriend, of course I do," she answers vaguely. "Anyways, your apartment, where is it?"

"Take a left here," I instruct her. "We're just five minutes away."

She does as I tell her, taking a few more turns before she stops in front of my shared apartment. Sky's father bought it for us, but we thought it was unfair to live here for free so the boys and I decided to split the groceries and other necessities to help Sky. I pay the groceries, seeing as I'm the only one in this goddamn house who knows how to cook.

"Thanks for driving me," I turn to her. "You didn't have to do that."

She shrugs and nods. "Just helping a friend in need," she grins and my heart stops. I'd invite her in, but I know my friends wouldn't miss a chance to perv on her and I kinda have dibs on her already.

"Well I appreciate it," I send her a smile. "Where should we meet tomorrow?" I ask her before I forget.

"Maybe here?" she offers. "It's not too far from my apartment and that way you'll rest."

I guess introducing her to my friends is inevitable. "Fine, I'll try to throw my boys out so they don't bother you." I chuckle, opening the door of the car. "Tomorrow morning?" I ask before I leave.

She smiles and nods. "Totally."


My roommates are pissed when I walk into the living room. I take a peep at the kitchen and frown when I notice empty beer cans splattered across the counter. Riven and Pete are draped over the couch, Xbox controllers in hand and fighting over the latest game of NBA 2k21. I roll my eyes at them and saunter over to the kitchen, grabbing a closed beer can from the fridge. Pete's gaze shifts when he notices me around the corner and smiles broadly when he sees me alive and well.

"Hey, man," he raises his beer. "I heard what happened today. Everything all right?"

Pete couldn't come to practice today, so I'm sure Riven was the one who told him about today's unfortunate events.

"Yeah, just injured," I shrug. "Where's Sky? And Helia?"

Helia was another roommate of ours. He doesn't play basketball, but he stays with us because we love the dude. He's the most passive person I've ever met and that's an understatement considering I'm pretty passive myself.

"They're with their girls," Riven responds with a roll of his eyes. "Can you believe it? They've gone soft. It feels like we don't have our man nights anymore."

I snort. "Yeah, they're horrible for wanting to spend quality time with their girlfriends," I quip sarcastically.

"Whatever," he says. "You gonna cook for us?"

"Cook? No, we're getting pizza tonight, I feel like shit," I tell him, taking another swig from my beer and plopping next to him on the couch. "Order from Landy's, I want something greasy tonight."

"Pepperoni?" Pete questions as he grabs his phone. Both Riven and I nod and he leaves to place an order.

"You gonna tell me what happened with that harpy?" Riven asks as soon as Pete leaves.

"She's not a harpy," I tell him instead, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, Stella, " he corrects himself. "I know you went out with her."

"We didn't go out, she just took me to the hospital."

"Uh-huh," he nods as if he doesn't believe me. "So no car sex? No BJ?"

I shake my head and he groans. "Not yet," I take another swig. "But she's coming tomorrow," I tell him with a shrug.

I know she's coming to start our project, but honestly, if she wants to get in my pants I wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

"Be careful, bro," Riven taps my shoulder. "I heard Pete talk about her today, he's got his eyes set on her."

"So? I called dibs first."

"Dude, Pete brought her here a month ago," he says and I narrow my eyes. "And from what I was hearing, they certainly weren't watching a movie."

I frown at the news and Riven changes the topic once Pete comes back. We have strict rules here, never the same girl as your roommate, it brings unnecessary drama in our lives and we're pretty practical guys, we just want a good fuck. But I'm willing to break a few rules for Stella, I mean, the girl hasn't even mentioned Pete. There's a pretty good chance they hooked up drunk and don't remember anything about it. Which is good for me, I wouldn't want her comparing us. And it's not like Pete has shown any signs that he might be interested in a girl, hell, he had one just two nights ago. I don't see why being with Stella would complicate things.

And if the rumor she has around about not putting out is true, then I'd be more than glad to tell everyone is a lie.


Brandon's totally a beer guy. He just gives me that feeling.

Before any of you get confused, Stella doesn't know Pete and Brandon live together. That's why she asked for his directions even though she had already been there.

I couldn't help but make Brandon's 'best friend' be Riven, I guess they have more chemistry together than he and Sky so that's why I did it. I also added Pete, a character that appears, or is mentioned in the show and has actually had a relationship with Stella at some point in his life. He's not going to stir much drama, but I figured it'd spice things up.

Also, a fun fact is that Stella wasn't supposed to appear in this chapter. When I planned it, I didn't want to include Stella because I wanted all of you to be focused on Brandon, but I guess she magically appeared and the chapter just had a different flow with her in it.

I'm updating today because I know some of y'all have seen the show, and I know I needed a nice distraction from that.

And as for the misunderstanding from last chapter, yes, Stella is still a virgin. She has been with a few guys before but she has never had sex. If you look up hooking up, you'll realize that it stands for any kind of sexual interaction. Right now, Stella has only had foreplay. I don't know if I explained this great, but if someone else understands me and can find a better way to explain it in the reviews, then I'd greatly appreciate it.

Anyways, thanks for liking this story, this chapter is the longest so far so enjoy. I promise longer chapters as the story evolves.

Oh! And keep in mind that this is Brandon's POV, he has a very dirty mind and he'll make sure we know it!

;)