I look over at him and nod. “Yeah, I originally wanted to just make sure she was okay, but then I saw him walk into the restroom and couldn’t help but follow him.”
“What did he say, or did you start it?” Casey asks.
“I asked him how it felt to see his girl kiss a real man. He got all red in the face and told me to fuck off. But when I told him to treat her better or leave her alone, he spun around on me and got in my face. Which, honestly, just wanted to make me laugh, but I was too curious to hear what he had to say.” I chuckle. “So, he told me that I needed to step off—his words—and that me and my jock friends were interfering with his relationship with Brooke. And I couldn’t hold in the laugh by then, so I crowded up to him and told him if I ever saw him or heard of him disrespecting her again, he would be getting a visit from me on his nerd farm.”
“He doesn’t live on a farm. I think he lives on campus,” Ace joins in from out of nowhere. Kid can be stealthy when he wants to be.
We all turn to look at him to see if he’s fucking with us, and, nope, he’s not.
“What? Am I wrong?”
Casey punches him lightly in the shoulder. “Bro, we know he doesn’t live on a farm. Silas was just trying to make him mad.”
“Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I hate that guy.” Ace shakes his head and walks to his cubby station.
“Well, thanks for that, Arbuckle. I appreciate you looking out for her, but, hey”—Beck pauses—“don’t fucking kiss my sister again.”
I look him dead in the eye, knowing what I’m about to say could hurt our friendship, but I’m gonna risk it anyway because she’s worth it. “If she wants me to kiss her, you and nobody elsewould be able to stop me.” I wink to lighten the blow, but he knows I’m not joking.
He sighs and shakes his head. “All right, assholes. I need to run. I’ll see you in Houston.” The call drops before any of us can respond.
“Welp, it’s your balls on the line, Arbuckle. What are you gonna do now?” Casey asks.
“I’ve already told her to break up with him, so I feel like it’s pretty clear to her that I’m into her.” I shrug.
“Never assume they know, brother. Sometimes, these girls need to see it clear as day. Don’t make her guess, and I’ll fuck you up if you play games with her too.” Casey points at me, smiling.
Bo takes hold of my shoulder. “You should probably see how it goes over the next few weeks. Hopefully, she’ll come to her senses on her own. But we need you ready to play now. Worry about your girl problem later, yeah?”
“No, you’re right. I need to stay locked in right now and figure this out later.”
“She’s going home for a few days, so you won’t even see her until after the game anyway.” Casey turns back to his cubby and starts packing up his gear. “I’m gonna grab a snack then head home to shower. See you guys later.”
Brooke going home is probably a good idea for both of us. I don’t want her to feel awkward being around me now. She needs to figure out her relationship with Eli on her own, and maybe the space will give her that clarity.
But maybe checking in with her from time to timewouldn’t be a bad thing.
After I left the field, I got an email alert from one of my professors, telling me there was a problem with my submission for my final grade. It didn’t transfer completely to the portal, and it needed to be done before five p.m., which didn’t leave me a lot of time to get it done. So, instead of going home and resubmitting it, I swing by the library, settle in at one of the study tables, and get my laptop out of my bag.
I’ve just put on my glasses when I look up and see Brooke walking by.
I whisper-shout to her so I’m not totally disrupting the other students, “Brooke!”
She stops and looks around, and I wave to catch her attention. When she just stands there, I think maybe she might still be upset about the kiss. But then she walks over to the table and pulls out the seat across from mine.
“Silas.” She drops her backpack on the floor, then leans in, resting her arms on the table. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you have practice?”
I nod. “Just got done, but I need to submit an assignment that didn’t make it through, and I would have missed the deadline if I had gone home first. Speaking of, don’t move. Let me just send this out real quick.”
As I’m typing a note to my professor, I can feel her watching me, so I glance up and wink at her. It’s a little dark in here, but Iswear she blushes.
“Okay, done. So … what are you up to? Aren’t you done with finals?”
“Yeah, I am, but I remembered I had a book I needed to return before break, so I ran over here to get it done.” She tilts her head, still studying me.
“Do I have something on my face?” I pull off my glasses and run my hand over my face.
She laughs lightly and shakes her head. “No, nothing on your face. I just didn’t know you wore glasses. I’ve been around you for, like, what, a year and a half ? And I’ve never seen you wear them.”
