She's Mine Now (Patreon)

“Wait…” began Ethan, his carefully-curated nonchalance disturbed by what he had just heard, “You said you saw Nicky walking around with WHO, again?”“Stella Cartwright,” repeated his friend, Owen, as the two of them walked out of the library on North Campus. “You know, the star freshman softball recruit who hit a home run over 400 feet off the scoreboard the other week?”“Yeah, I know who she is,” Ethan replied shortly, trying not to betray his uneasiness.“Kinda hard to miss, isn’t she?” laughed Owen. “I think she’s, like 6’6 or something crazy…and that’s not even the half of it. She’s absolutely JACKED. Like…her arms!? Oh my GOD. Have you ever stood close to her!?”“No, I haven’t,” Ethan said, his jaw clenching slightly in annoyance, “And…like, who cares, anyway? Who watches softball?”“Well a lot more people than before!” grinned Owen, “Now that she’s playing!” But he caught himself as he began to register the nervous energy coming from his friend. “Hey, look, not trying to upset you or anything,” he added, “But just thought I should mention, you know…but since you told me the break-up was mutual, I didn’t think you’d mind.”“No, no I don’t mind,” said Ethan a little too quickly, “Yeah, it’s…I mean, Nicky can hang out with whoever she wants to, obviously…it doesn’t make any difference to me. And anyway, they’re probably just friends or something, so…”But Owen had raised his eyebrows and was tilting his head to the side, and Ethan felt a sudden, sick, sinking feeling in his stomach.“IIIIII don’t know,” Owen replied truthfully, “They looked pretty intimate to me.”“Intimate?” asked Ethan, now thoroughly alarmed and unable to hide it, “Like, how?”“Well,” Owen said, as he steadily regarded his friend, “They were holding hands.”Ethan blinked a couple times and looked away, across the green Quad, where pockets of students were milling around after class, some of them lounging on quilts, and one group even sitting around smoking hookah as they watched a pick-up game of ultimate frisbee.“It’s bothering you,” Owen declared, his voice softened a bit as he adjusted his backpack, staring at his friend.“No, it’s…it’s fine, really,” Ethan replied unconvincingly, searching for the words to somehow save face. “It’s just that…I don’t know…we broke up like a week ago, and she’s already…”“Already with someone else?” finished Owen helpfully, nodding, “Yeah I get it, man – kinda sucks all around, even if the break-up was mutual.”“Like, I think some of my clothes are still over at her place,” Ethan continued, letting his annoyance breathe, “And she’s already going around, holding hands with someone?”“And not just anyone,” Owen added, “This…amazon bombshell…”Ethan turned to cast a plainly annoyed look at his friend, and Owen quickly put his hands up.“Sorry, sorry,” he said genuinely, “I know that’s not exactly helpful. Uh, but…Ethan, speaking of the clothes you left at Nicky’s apartment…”“Yeah?” asked Ethan, wondering what on earth Owen was going to tell him now, “What about them?”“You’re not gonna like this,” Owen said carefully, “But…when I saw them together this morning, I’m…pretty sure Stella was wearing one of your shirts.”For the second time in a minute, Ethan just stood there, blinking stupidly. What next!? Was Owen going to tell him that he had actually seen Nicky and this softball girl-jock making out on some park bench!?“H-How…how do you know it was one of my shirts?” asked Ethan unsteadily.“It was that red Adidas one,” Owen replied, “You know? That matched the blue one Nicky always wore?”“Yeah,” nodded Ethan, wincing. He knew that was one of the shirts he had left over at her apartment.“Well, Stella’s wearing it now,” Owen declared, “Except…heh…”“What?” asked Ethan hotly. He was ready to be done with this stupid conversation.“Let’s just say it looks a little different on Stella than it looked on you,” Owen finished, shrugging. “Anyway, sorry man, gotta run –wasn’t trying to make you feel bad…you’ll probably see them today, and just thought you should know.”“Yeah, uh, no worries, thanks…see you,” said Ethan, managing a little smile as he waved goodbye. He turned slowly and set off toward the dining hall, figuring that, as he processed all this new info, he may as well eat. He walked down the sidewalk as the afternoon breeze blew, whipping up dried leaves that crunched underneath his feet. Other students passed by, chatting animatedly amongst themselves. But Ethan was deep in thought, not paying them any heed. If he was being honest, it was Nicky who had been the one to initiate the break-up, even though he hadn’t really tried to fight it. Things hadn’t been that great between them for a while, and he had actually been thankful that Nicky had broached the subject with him.The last couple years of college had been a bit of a downer for him, and he had developed the unfortunate habit of listlessly just floating through life, unsure of what his future plans were, but too afraid to initiate any real change. Nicky had been unhappy too, although, unlike him, her unhappiness stemmed primarily from their stagnant relationship. They had been dating since sophomore year – nearly two years now – and, ever since her study abroad semester in Oxford, the two of them had steadily drifted apart emotionally…plus, it had to be said, they hadn’t had sex in months, and the last time they had, Nicky had been the one on top, and he had cum prematurely, and she had been irritated, and…Ethan quickened his pace, trying not to think about that scene anymore. It was just too embarrassing. Early on in their relationship, he had taken the lead in sexual encounters, but gradually, as the months dragged on, Nicky had been the one to take the more dominant role. Even though it was clear that she did so unwillingly, and was obviously wanting him to take charge, Ethan was kind of turned-on by her increased confidence and aggression. It didn’t hurt that, at 5’9, she was actually just as tall as he was. And even though, at 135 pounds, she was fairly skinny for her height, he wasn’t much bigger. He had worked out plenty as a high school athlete, but now, in college, he had let himself slide a little and had lost all that muscle mass. The last time he had weighed himself, a few days ago, he was only 142 pounds.As Ethan neared the dining hall, Nicky’s words from a week before echoed in his head:“This just isn’t working anymore, Ethan…I need…I don’t know…something else. Someone who actually WANTS me.”He had opened his mouth to say that he DID, in fact, “want” her, but he had closed it again as he felt the words die in his mouth. He couldn’t say it; he couldn’t pretend. He had no idea what he wanted, and that just didn’t cut it with Nicky anymore.‘Guess I can’t really blame her,’ he thought to himself, rounding the corner as the dining hall came into view. Still, though, to think that, if Owen said was true, Nicky was now going out with Stella freaking Cartwright, the girl who had been featured on ESPN, it all just seemed a little absurd…almost like she was intentionally trying to needle him. He had known Nicky was bi the whole time, and it never really bothered him or made him feel uncomfortable, but the idea of her suddenly dating this female sports star, less than a week after they had broken up…it bothered him.‘And I shouldn’t feel guilty about it bothering me,’ he told himself, trying to fortify his feelings. ‘It’s weird that she’s moving this fast…she probably is trying to get to me, like, punish me for not benign what she wanted, and this is her way to do it – to embarrass me by dating –’But his thoughts had suddenly come to a screeching halt, because, coming out of the dining hall, he saw them – Nicky and Stella together – and he froze. Stella looked…HUGE. Ethan had seen her a couple times from a distance, but up-close like this was something entirely different. Even though Nicky wasn’t exactly small, Stella made her look absolutely tiny. The softball star had a big, muscular arm draped possessively around Nicky, with the other one hanging at her side, looking massively imposing. No one would wonder how this girl had smashed a softball over 400 feet. Ethan felt his heart start beating rapidly in his chest as his eyes traveled up to Stella’s face, and he was shocked to see that, despite her incredibly muscular and bulky body, she was positively gorgeous…strikingly so. Stella was chatting away happily, quite animated…more spirited and cheerful than Ethan had seen her in a long time.But, more than anything else, his eyes were drawn to the bright red Adidas shirt that was stretched over Stella’s huge, powerful torso…HIS shirt. Nicky was wearing her matching blue Adidas shirt, which fit her pretty much the same as Ethan’s red shirt had fit him – a bit baggy, with plenty of room in the sleeves. But on Stella, the shirt looked almost absurdly small, especially the sleeves – her gigantic arms were stretching them to the limit, with absolutely no room to spare.And, just then, as the two of them approached, Nicky noticed him, with her and Ethan making eye contact. He briefly considered accelerating into the dining hall without acknowledging her, but Nicky was already opening her mouth to address him.“Oh! Hi Ethan,” she smiled, clearly determined to act as naturally as possible in this decidedly awkward situation, “How’s it going?”“Uh, h-hey! Good! Uhh…everything’s good!” he exclaimed, hating how exposed he felt. Nicky’s smile was typical, warm and drama-free, but it was Stella who was intimidating him. On top of towering over him by 9 inches, she probably outweighed him by 80 pounds…at least. And the way her large brown eyes were going over his body, he could tell that, even though she was only a freshman, she was used to confidently sizing people up.“This your ex?” she asked Nicky, her big arm still draped around Nicky’s shoulder. Even at her size, Ethan was surprised how deep and authoritative Stella’s voice was. She had only spoken three words, but it was already manifestly clear who was the alpha in this exchange.“Mhm,” Nicky nodded, glancing up at Stella as the huge girl tilted her head to the side, her wavy, light-brown hair fluttering in the breeze. It was obvious that she wasn’t the least bit impressed with Ethan…perhaps even a bit contemptuous. Ethan could feel her eyes continuing to go up and down his body, despite his intimidation, he felt a surge of anger rise up in him. She was judging the hell out of him already…calling him weak and pathetic without even having to say anything. And he wasn’t going to take it.“Heh, I, uh…I think that’s my shirt you’re wearing there,” he chuckled, nodding at Stella. This had been his impromptu attempt at somehow staking out his territory and standing firm, but as soon as the words had left his mouth, he knew it had all been a mistake. The huge girl was already shaking her head.“Oh no,” Stella declared emphatically. She pulled Nicky close into her, who giggled at the easy show of force, obviously enjoying being manhandled like this. “I think it fits ME better. So, just like your girl here...mine now.”