"Well, I appreciate being part of your college experience." Gavin squeezes my hand. "I gotta go shower and do some meet-and-greet stuff with donors. Wait for me? Should be like forty-five minutes tops."
"We'll be here."
He kisses the top of my head, right there, in front of everyone, like it's nothing, and jogs off toward the locker room.
Max sighs dreamily. "I want one."
"A football player?"
"A person who looks at me like that." He glances around, then quickly looks away. "You know. Someday."
Leo's expression is strangely blank.
"Come on," JP says. "Let's find somewhere to wait that isn't directly in the sun. I'm not built for extended UV exposure."
We end up near the player entrance to the athletic complex, tucked into a patch of shade. Max is chattering about the physicsof football trajectories. Leo is pretending not to listen while clearly hanging on every word. JP is typing into his phone and I don't really want to know what he’s making notes of this time.
Normal. Easy. Good.
Then I hear voices coming up the path behind us.
"— can't believe he's still pulling this shit. Dad's gonna lose his mind."
"Already did, from what I heard. Called him last week, told him to get his head straight. Apparently, the little shit said no."
My blood goes cold. I recognize one of the voices. It's Gavin's asshole cousin, Clint.
"No way. Gavin said no to Dad?" That voice is unfamiliar.Shit! This must be Gavin's brother.
"That's what I told you on the phone." Clint has the same dismissive cruelty as last time he was here. "He's hanging out with the fairies now. One of them was at dinner with him the other night."
"And you're sure it wasn't just?—"
"I saw them, Troy. Holding hands and shit. It was disgusting."
JP's hand finds my elbow. He's heard them too.
"Well, well." Clint's voice is closer now. "Speak of the devil."
I turn slowly. Two guys are walking toward us, one I recognize as Clint, Gavin's cousin. The other is taller, broader, with Gavin's coloring but none of his warmth. Has to be the brother. Troy.
Clint's lip curls when he sees me. "Hey, I know you. You're one of the fairies Gavin's hanging out with now."
Max steps closer to me. JP moves to my other side.
"Excuse me?" JP's voice is ice cold.
"You heard me." Clint looks us up and down with obvious disgust. "Jesus, Troy, look at them. This is what your brother's wasting his time with."
Troy shakes his head slowly. "Fucking embarrassing."
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. But before I can respond, before I can even figure out what to say, the doors behind us burst open.
"Doc! Hey, sorry that took?—"
Gavin's face is bright, happy, already reaching for me. I see his arms open for a hug, and I?—
I step back.
