Dalton casually tossed our biggest roommate under the bus.“Dally mentioned something about it on the ride back to the house.”
“What did I mention?”Dallas asked as he entered the kitchen.He strode straight to the table to grab a slice without even bothering with a plate.
“How distracted Cash is now Saylor’s back in town,” Taco so helpfully explained.
“I was not distracted in practice today.”Turning to Dally, I said, “Tell ’em.Our timing was impeccable as always.”
“Except for that five-step drop-back on the out route.”Dally’s eyes danced around the half-slice bite of pizza he’d shoved into his mouth.
“Fuck’s sake!”I didn’t hold back on the exasperation.“Somebody missed an assignment, and Bax shot through the ‘B’ gap.I wasscrambling.”
Dally shrugged, laughter rumbling in his tone.“Whatever.”
“You’d better call her tonight, make a plan,” Taco said from where he sat across the table.“We need you sharp on those signature long throws of yours.”
After sliding half a large pizza onto a plate, I stood from the table and headed to my room.
“That’s right.Run away,” Dalton teased.
“I’m not running away.I’m going to eat my food in peace,” I growled.
“Make a phone call while you’re at it,” Taco called after me as I walked out of the kitchen.
I flipped him the bird over my head, and my roommates’ guffaws followed me down the hall to my room.
Settling back against my headboard, I balanced my plate on my thighs, shoving pizza into my mouth with one hand while toying with my phone with the other.I hadn’t lost focus on the field, but my mind strayed to Saylor every time I stepped off it.My roommates weren’t wrong about that part.
“Fuck it.”
I scrolled down to her name in my contacts and hit “call.”After four rings, I was contemplating hanging up when she answered.
“Hey!I thought you’d still be at practice.”She sounded out of breath.
“Been home for an hour.How long have you been in town?”
After another panted intake of breath, she said, “I flew in the day before yesterday.”
“Who picked you up from the airport?”It wasn’t any of my business, but I didn’t give a shit.
“Piper.”
“I would have been happy to pick you up, kiss you ‘welcome home.’”When she didn’t respond, I asked, “Are you working out or something?”
“Raced my brother to my car.”
In the background, I heard the metallic sound of her switching her phone over to Bluetooth.
“Got it.You’re busy tonight.”
“My parents are in town doing a college visit with Mason.The Wildcats are on his list of potential teams for next year.Hang on.”After a few staticky seconds, she was back on.“They were in the stands during your morning practice today.He mentioned something about the cannon that is your throwing arm.”
Was it wishful thinking, or did she sound kinda proud of her brother’s observation?
“I appreciate the compliment.”I set my plate of food beside me on the bed and settled deeper into the pillows stacked against the headboard.“When am I going to see you?”
“In ten minutes.Does that work for you?”From the laughter in her voice, I couldn’t tell if she was messing with me.
“Works awesome—if you’re not playing me.”
