“You’re still money. You know?”
Dawson’s gaze swiveled to him again. “Alright. If you think so.” He sounded almost amused. Like Cam was saying it to be funny. Or to placate him, which was even worse.
“I mean it,” Cam argued. He was beginning to think it wouldn’t matter what he said, it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to how Dawson saw himself. It was humbling and more than a little humiliating.
“I know you do,” Dawson said, smile wry. “But yeah. Probably gonna regret waking up in the morning. And I’ll—we’ll—deserve it.”
Cameron nodded. He’d been through his share of shitty practices. Probably not as many as Dawson, but enough to know what it was probably going to be like.
He gestured at the pool. “I think I’m going to . . .uh . . .get in?”
“Sure,” Dawson said absently, and as Cameron slipped into the pool, he told himself that even as bad as tomorrow was probably going to be, they’d have each other.
But when he emerged on the other end of the pool and glanced back, Dawson was gone. Disappeared like he’d never been there at all.
Chapter 3
“Icalledyouyesterday,”Aidan said, jogging over and catching up with Dawson as he headed towards the field.
“Yeah,” Dawson said. He hadn’t been much in the mood to talk. Not since he’d gone to bed, replaying that stupid field goal on his eyelids, and then woken up to a text from Brynn.Wanted to tell you before you heard it anywhere else, but Carlos and I are expecting.Due in the spring.
“So?” Aidan questioned, giving him that same look he’d done back in Michigan. A little disgruntled, a little offended, like there was anyone on earth who’d get a call from Aidan Flynn and thennotcall him right back.
But Dawson hadn’t been in the mood. The fucking understatement of the century.
He’d told himself that his ex-wife wasn’t trying to rub her happiness into his unhappiness, but it felt like she kept pressing on every bruise, never letting them quite heal.
He didn’t even know if he wanted kids, but of course, now he couldn’t stop thinking about that other life, the one he’d lost. Theone where they’d stayed together, in Baltimore. Where her dad hadn’t stolen his money. Where she’d become pregnant withhiskid.
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been particularly happy. It didn’t matter that they’d both barely been going through the motions of a marriage.
That sliding-doors moment still beckoned tantalizingly, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Tempting and nearly attractive enough to lure him in, before it swiped hard at his tender midsection with its sharp claws.
“So I was busy,” Dawson said to Aidan.
Aidan made a face. “That’smyexcuse, now,” Aidan said, annoyingly self-righteous. Annoyingly happy, too. Like he’d finally gotten a boyfriend at the ripe age of thirty-three and was going to be insufferable about it for the rest of eternity.
Dawson was happy for his friend. While also wishing Aidan would fall right into the nearest black hole and stop harassing him.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re happy as fuck. We know,” Dawson grumbled.
“Still doesn’t tell me why you didn’t call me back.”
“Maybe ’cause youcalledme like a freaking old man,” Dawson said.
Aidan’s face did something hilarious. Worth every bit of the shit he was about to get dished right back. “You’re literally only a year and a half younger than me,” he said blankly.
“It’s enough.” Dawson paused. “I went out, actually.”
Aidan looked skeptical. “Did you really or are you just saying that?”
“I go out!” Admittedly, not often, and usually only when someone else made him, but hediddo it. He wasn’t sure if he’d call heading down to the swimming pool so he wouldn’t have tolook at the blank walls of his apartment any longergoing out, but nobody was going to stop him from calling it that.
And if pressed, hecouldsay he’d run into Cam, too. Almost like it had been planned.
“Could stand to do it a bit more,” Aidan said. “I wanted to know if you wanted to come along to the linemen’s dinner this week. Trying to get a count.”
“I’m not a lineman,” Dawson pointed out.
