“Huh.”He ran a hand over the back of his head.“Well, Dalton’s moving in with us, but we’re going to need a fourth roommate after graduation.You interested?”
Dally and I had started out on the wrong foot, but after almost a semester of weight training, practice, and me working my ass off to prove my first loyalty was to the team, he’d come around some.Still, I had to give it a minute to let his offer sink in, considering he was the one making it and not Taco.
“Would I be sharing a room?”
While my current situation wasn’t ideal by any stretch, and I missed the availability of roommates for gaming or spontaneous shenanigans, I’d become used to having my own space.Still, I didn’t want to live in a house that was succumbing to moss and plants, every day looking more and more like something out ofTheHobbit.
“Your own room, but you’ll be sharing a bathroom with Taco.”He smirked.“The property manager hires someone in the winter to plow the driveway.”
Over the course of the winter, Coach Larkin had made it a running joke in the weight room how close to six I’d arrive all sweaty and pissed off from having to dig out my driveway yet again.When the snow finally started melting last month, no one in town could have been more relieved than me.
“Yeah?They show up so you’re on time to lift?”
“Plow hits the sidewalks every morning at five.Cute little thing with a massive spotlight on the front of the cab so the driver can do his job in the dark.”
“How soon can I move in?”
Dally threw his head back, his laughter filling the locker room.“How ’bout you follow me over to the house, check it out, see if you like it and the rent?If all of that suits you, we can sign the lease when it comes due next week.”
“Sounds like a plan.”I slammed my locker door shut and slung my duffel over my shoulder.“Thanks, man.”
An hour later, in my head, I was arranging my furniture in my new room and daydreaming of winter mornings spent waking up half an hour later rather than setting my alarm to shovel mountains of snow in the dark.The house was a block over from Jock Street, where every house was occupied with athletes, mainly from the football and basketball teams, but also a house or two with hockey players, and one with skiers.It was kind of the sports fraternity section of town.
Our street tended more to general college students, but our back yard was right across the alley from where Callahan, Danny, Bax, and Finn lived.
Convenient.
We could throw passes across the yards from the back decks of each house.
Right as I was about to head back to my place, Taco and Dalton pulled in, boxing my ride in on the driveway.
“Hey, Cash!You movin’ in with us?”Taco asked as he swung out of the passenger seat of Dalton’s Tundra.
“Looks like it,” I said with a grin.
“Good thing.”A warning sounded in his voice.
“Why’s that?”
He shrugged.“Now I might feel like forgiving you for making the secondary look silly in practice.”He smirked.“Seriously, man.How is it you transferred down to FCS?Dude.You’ve got a big-league cannon right here.”The glancing blow he delivered to my shoulder emphasized his observation.
It was my turn to shrug.“More opportunities to contribute here.”
“LeSean is not happy to be playing in the background,” Dalton said as he came around the front of his truck.“You’re gonna need to work with him.”
I blew out a breath.“Don’tcha think I’ve been trying?First he was pissed I came in to take Patty’s spot.Now he’s pissed about me taking his.But not once has he shown up for our impromptu practices—even after both Patty and I invited him.”
“Yeah, well, QBs are divas.Everyone knows that.”Taco clapped a hand on my shoulder.“Got somewhere important you need to be?”
“I was headed home to work on my part of a group project in anatomy so I’m ready when we meet tomorrow afternoon.”
“How much time do you need?”
I considered where I was in my research and said, “Probably about an hour.”
“Good.You’ll have time to finish it in the morning.”Taco guided me back to the front door of the house.“We need to change before we head over to the SCR house.We’re hosting a cornhole tournament with Sigma Nu.You can help us represent.”
“But—”
