This morning I got an email from my coach saying that he wanted to meet with me this afternoon, and all I could think about during physics was that I had finally done it.

Had I finally made the NFL? Did I have a shot at getting drafted? A part of me can't help but think that this is what he wants to talk to me about. There couldn't be anything else.

After an agonizing five hours of school, I finally, finally am able to go to his office for our meeting. My palms are sweaty, my heart is racing, and I suddenly find it hard to breathe. This is everything I've been waiting for.

Coach isn't sitting in his chair when I open up the door though. It's Katie, and she has the most terrifying smile on her face.

Fuck.

"Cameron." She says and extends her hand out to the chair in front of the desk. "Please. Take a seat."

"I'm assuming it was you that emailed me from your fathers account?" I mutter and plop down into the chair, my chest instantly deflating at the fact that this most certainly isn't about being drafted.

"You guessed correctly."

Her hair is done up today more than normal. She's curled it, and her acrylic nails are painted a deep shade of red. She looks like she has something up her sleeve, and just for a second I start to panic.

I didn't do anything wrong, did I?

"I wanted to see you privately to offer a proposition." She says, and I arch an eyebrow up for her to continue. "I want to be engaged to you."

I immediately look at her like she's lost her mind, but she puts a hand out to shush me. "Not romantically. Just for publicity. I need the instagram followers in order to start my fitness business, and when you're drafted it will give me fantastic ratings."

"What the fuck makes you think I'd ever agree to that?" I sneer. "I'm with Maddie. You know this."

Katie slowly nods her head, another tiny smile threatening to appear on her lips as she turns to the computer screen and clicks a few buttons. "Ah, the doctor." She laughs. "Yale, top of her class... it's impressive. She's worked so hard to achieve her dreams, hasn't she?"

Where is she going with this?

"Yes?" I reply, it coming out more as a question.

"Any idea on where she wants to go to med school?"

I honestly don't know the answer to that question so I just shrug and say, "Yale? The same school I think? I don't know. Why the hell do you want to know this?"

"Yale has a great med program." She nods, completely ignoring me. "Well, if she can get into it that is."

Turning the computer screen around, I see one of Devin's band members in a video that he's filming of himself from the other night when we went backstage. This must have come from his Instagram, but Maddie is seen clear as day snorting an entire line of oxy in the background, face and all.

My entire body freezes.

"How did you get this?" I gulp.

Leaning back into the chair behind her fathers desk, she analyzes her nails and lets out a tiny sigh. "It's funny you should ask that actually. I didn't mean to stumble across it. My friend Amber, you know her, right? The one that I did track with? Well, she used to date your roommates band mate here, and she sent me this thinking you were cheating on me because for the life of her she just couldn't understand how someone could have moved on so quickly."

Of all things that could have fallen into Katie's lap, this was the worst. This is Maddie's entire future we're talking about here. If any of these med schools see this video she won't ever be considered to have a license in medicine. She can kiss her dream goodbye.

"My dad has a lot of connections..." she trails off. "With basically any dean you could think of to all of the top schools. I wonder what would happen if they got word that one of their applicants did this as a recreational activity?"

"It was one time!" I explode and slam my fists down onto the desk, sliding out of my chair to rise to my feet. "This is bullshit, Katie. Why are you doing this? Are you really that fucking bitter about what happened between us?"

"I'm not bitter, Cameron. I told you last week that I just look out for my best interest, which I'm doing right now. I need to gain a following, and you're the perfect person to help me do that. But what I'm not going to have happen is have you run around with her and embarrass the fuck out of me if you get caught. I just need two years. That's it. Then I can break up with you publicly and we go our separate ways."

"You're asking me to end things with Maddie?" I laugh in disbelief, my ultimate worst fear coming true. I just got her back. "No." I say. "I won't do it. I can't. This is fucking blackmail, Katie."

She shrugs and opens up the email app on her fathers computer, attaching the video to a recipient I'm unfamiliar with. "Suit yourself." She says. "Shall I send it?"

I quickly reach my hand out to stop her from sending it, panic etched into my voice. "I'll tell your dad." I say. "What do you think he'll say when he hears about this?"

She snorts. "You think my dad hasn't done this to get the job he has today? My father has done far worse than this. Trust me when I say he'll understand."

I'm standing in front of the desk completely speechless, trying to rack my brain as to how I can get the hell out of this. Do I have anything on her? Did she do something stupid while we were together? Even if she did I know I don't have proof.

She doesn't want Maddie to know about this, and what happens if I do tell her? Maddie will probably tell me that it's fine and to have her release the video. She'd lose all of her dreams to be with me. I don't know that for certain, but I have a feeling that's what she'll choose to do, and I don't think I can let her do that. I love her too much for her to throw that all away for me.

Why the fuck do things like this keep happening? The minute we get happy some bullshit gets thrown our way. It seems like we will never be together at the right time. Thinking of breaking up with Maddie is so painful. It's a scenario I can't bear to comprehend.

"You think on it." She taps my hand and logs out of the computer. "I'll give you tonight to let this marinate, but so help me god Cameron if I find out you told Maddie what I have on her then I won't hesitate to release what I have on you either."

What the hell does she-

I pause, my jaw clenched with fury. "You kept it? After I told you to delete it?"

"Oh, come on." She giggles. "You looked too good in that video for me to delete it."

"If I remember correctly you were in that sex tape too, right? Releasing that would just fuck us both over."

Leaning forward so that her elbows are on the desk, she glances up at me with a devilish grin. "But that's where you're wrong, Cameron. I don't have a career to fight for other than my fitness blog. A leaked sex tape with an NFL player is only going to boost my morale. It would, however, be detrimental to yours."

I'm still standing there in shock when she finally gets up from the chair and walks over to the door. "This was a great chat." She smiles. "Like I said, I'll give you overnight to decide. It's just two years. No romance. Maddie can't be in the picture though. I mean that."

She closes the door without another word, and I'm left alone, the silence becoming unbearably loud.

I'm going to have to break up with the love of my life. I'm going to lose her again, and I truly don't think I'll mentally be able to handle it this time. It'll be soul crushing, life ending, unbearably painful.

It's going to be by far the worst thing I will have ever had to do.

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