The Nerd — J.L. Beck; C. Hallman

All it took was one frat party for me to notice her. Blair Jensen. Gorgeous nerd with a sharp tongue and give-no-shits attitude. The moment she sneered jock at me, I was captivated. Then she poured a beer over my head and walked away like I was nothing. Nobody turned down Cage Wilder, nobody, and I knew then that I had to have her, no matter the consequences. She bruised my ego and embarrassed me in front of my football buddies, turning me into the laughing stock of the team, so I made a bet with them. They claimed there wasn't any way I could melt the heart of Blair the Ice Queen, after all, she had shown her disgust for me. Luckily, fate was on my side. With crap grades, I needed her, or I risked being kicked off the football team. Not that I cared, football was never my dream. But if it got me closer to the feisty brunette, who cares. Shutting off my feelings after we spend many late nights studying together isn't easy, and it doesn't take long for me to discover there is so much more to Blair than what everyone sees. Sweet, funny as hell, and a believer of happily ever afters, I start to fall for her, but she has secrets too, things she's hiding, a past that haunts her, and I find I want to save her, help her. She sees me for more than a football god, and she doesn't take any of my shit. Suddenly, I realize there is so much more to life than living someone else's dream. The bet I made still hovers over my head though, and I know that if I want more with her, an actual chance, I'll have to tell her the truth... before someone else does. Question is, will she still want me when she finds out what I've done? ***This is a short story about how Blair met Cage. Their story continues in The Jock, releasing June 12th***