I shrug. “She didn’t argue too hard when I asked for a ride. Of course, she also thinks she dropped me off at some random chick’s house for a hookup, so I probably burned whatever goodwill I had.” I chuckle at the memory. Why is it so fun to push her buttons?
“Whose house?”
“Maisy’s. Not for a hookup, obviously—I decided to give tutoring one more shot—but Jade doesn’t need to know that.”
“Agreed. The more she hates you, the more she keeps her distance.”
“Nah, I could convince her to spend a night with me. I betshe’s fire in bed, wild as she is, but I don’t have the energy for that type of chick. I’m focused on the game.”
“Good, can we keep it that way? Because if you dick her over, Lenni’s going to get pissed atme.”
“Breathe easy, dude. Even if I did want to get tied down to some girl, Jade wouldn’t be it. I wouldn’t tie myself to her to save my life.”
“Good,” he says as we get in line at the counter. “I heard she’s got something going on with Bryce anyway.”
“Wait, what?” I whip my head around to look at him. “Bryce, our fucking dirtbag teammate who only made the cut because Daddy’s a donor? Are you serious?” The thought of his hands on Jade makes me see red. “What did you hear about them?”
Cam lets my demand linger in the air between us before giving me a knowing smile that makes me want to smack him. “Gotcha.”
I exhale, irritated by the relief running through me. “You’re an asshole.” After we put in our order and find a table, Cam asks, “So you getting fired up for tomorrow night?”
I’m hit with a little shock of nerves, but it’s the good kind. Tomorrow night we play the number-three-ranked team right here at home, and I’ve got a good feeling about it. We’ve won every game since our disappointing opener, and I’ve played pretty well, but I’m not racking up the stats I thought I would. My shoulder has been quiet, but every time I walk onto the field, I feel like I’m one wrong move away from overextending it. Maybe I’m holding myself back without realizing it. This week, though, I’ve been feeling stronger and playing harder.
“For sure, man. We got it in the bag. Can’t say I wouldn’t kill for Lorenzo to be off the bench, though.”
“Seriously. Their offense is unreal.”
Lorenzo is our top middle linebacker, and his shouldersurgery came with a long recovery, which sucks for him personally and is made worse by the fact that it’s obvious our defense suffers without him. Our D is strong but it’s not where it was last fall. And lately, with this shoulder twinge I have on and off, every time I look at Lorenzo, I pray I don’t end up like him.
“So is ours,” Cam says. “You looked like a beast at practice yesterday. Hey, did you read Atkins’s article about you?”
“What?”
“Brian Atkins, the sportswriter for?—”
“No, I know who he is, man, but what article are we talking about?”
Cam smiles, glad to be the one to break the news. “Read the paper. Pretty clear whohethinks should win the Heisman.”
“Seriously?” I grin, my chest puffing up. Brian Atkins interviewed me before the season even began, and I was starting to think he was never going to turn it into anything. “He made me sound good?”
“He doesn’t try to pretend he doesn’t have favorites.”
“So I can expect a little extra attention on me tomorrow, huh? Good. I think this is the game I’ve been waiting for all season.”
“My mom’s bringing my aunt and a couple of her girlfriends,” Cam says unenthusiastically. Minnie Forrester loves nothing more than showing off for her friends, and Cam’s football games are her favorite showcase. “Hey, so the reason for the over-the-top bouquet? I told Minnie last night that I might not even enter the draft.”
“Shit. How’d she take it?”
“About like you’d expect.”
“So she’s sweeping up smashed vases this morning, huh?” As far as Cam’s mom is concerned, his being an NFL star was a foregone conclusion the day he picked up his firstfootball.
“Okay, slightly better than you’d expect. No broken glass but some waterworks for sure.”
I look at Cam, trying to imagine what it would be like to actually choose never to play football again. I love that he’s always flown high above peer pressure and what people around him think, but for once I wish he didn’t. “So that’s really where your head’s at? You don’t think you’re even going to enter?”
“I probably will, actually. Lenni thinks I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t.”
