A few guys laugh, heads tipping back, groans turning into chuckles.
"Make it a pitcher for each one of us," Martin adds, half-smiling through his exhaustion.
"Yeah," Cody says, kicking his skates off with a grunt. "Hell, two pitchers. Minimum."
Before anyone can top that, the Archer twins throw their hands up at the exact same time, grinning like idiots.
"No place else but La Playa!" Liam shouts.
"Damn right," Luke backs him up, already laughing. "We're going. No arguments. First rounds on us."
The room explodes — guys banging lockers, hollering.
La Playa's the place. Always packed, always lit, perched high enough over town that you can look out and see the Miami lights bleeding into the water.
It's where everyone at Ridgewater ends up sooner or later.
"Anything you want," Liam calls out, smacking his chest. "Pitchers, shots, I don't care. It's on us tonight."
That seals it. Every single guy's in. Tired voices overlap with a mess of "hell yeahs,".
Nobody's saying no to free booze. One by one, guys start dragging themselves toward the showers, laughing, still groaning like their legs don't work.
I peel off my elbow pads, glance to my left where Kentaro's sitting beside me. "You coming tonight?"
He smirks, shaking his head. "Can't, bro. Gotta study tonight. Stupid Philo class tomorrow—prof loves those damn pop quizzes."
"Man, you kill me." I let out a dramatic sigh, slapping my knee.
"You make it sound like you're the only student on this team. We've all got classes, genius. You ever think about living a little? Having fun? 'Cause I swear, you desperately need it."
Kentaro just chuckles, calm as ever. "Maybe some other time."
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. He's been sayingsome other timesince the day he got here. Spoiler:some other timenever comes.
Kentaro strips down slow, gear hitting the floor piece by piece, until he's just in his boxers. And yeah — unfair doesn't even cover it. Tan skin, lean muscle, every line cut like he's been sculpted for a damn fitness magazine. Shoulders broad, chest solid, stomach tight enough you could bounce a puck off it.
He bends to grab his pads, and yeah — I catch myself jerking back, whistling.
"Nice ass."
The room cracks up.
If girls ever got a look at this? Game over. They already lose it over his permanent scowl — throw that ass in the mix and they'd go feral.
Kentaro just shakes his head, chuckling. "Shut up."
"America's ass!" Cody yells.
"Put it away before somebody gets hurt," Reese groans.
"Shit," Pete chimes in from the floor, not even lifting his head. "No wonder girls follow him around campus."
Kentaro just shakes his head, grinning as he grabs his towel. "You idiots done yet?"
"Not even close," I shoot back, still smirking. "That ass deserves its own banner."
The chirping rolls on until Kentaro flicks his towel at me, muttering, "Clowns. All of you," before heading toward the showers.
