Last year, I partied every weekend, hooked up just as often, and was an idiot. I met Jessica at the Fourth of July party, which fucked up the next four months of my life. Never again. I ran a hand down my face before going back to the machine. Morning workouts today helped wake me up and set the tone for the day. But… I missed helping Mack with the soccer camp. They were back at the girl’s stadium today now that they were done with the seeding, but I loved doing that. I sent her a quick text for an update on how it was going, secretly hoping she’d want to hang after.
Even after working out with her and having dinner, I woke up wanting to see her again. It was wild, but hey, it was a new summer for me. My summer of getting back to myself. I had researched some online counselors to talk about what happened. I hadn’t scheduled anything yet because it made my skin crawl, but I looked, and that was a good step.
“Hey, is Coach running summer camps again?” I asked Callum as he worked on his thighs. The dude was a tree trunk as he grunted, lifting a few hundred pounds with his legs alone.
“Yup. He has the sophomores running them thankfully. I did it last year, and it was tiring as hell.” He pushed the machine again, his face straining. “Why?”
“I helped Mack with the soccer camp last week, and it was more fun than I thought.”
“Ah, yeah, you never had to run camps, you bitch.” He laughed. “Damn specialty positions never experienced the hazing. It wasn’t too bad but a lot.”
“You ever think about the younger generation?” I wrapped a towel around my neck, holding each end of it as it rested on my chest. I’d already run a few miles, did my rotations of full body lifts for the day, and now I avoided going home to the emptyhouse. “Lo and Mack do all this shit to spread awareness and reach out to other generations, and what do we do?”
“Post thirst traps because that’s what our fans want.” Callum did a few more reps before getting up. “People don’t follow you for anything but your arm and your face and championships.”
Jesus.I fisted my hands. That was what my friend thought of me?
“Dude, don’t look at me like that.” Callum narrowed his eyes. “I don’t feel that way. I know you’re a great person and the main reason the team is as successful as we are. You’re a good fucking leader and work your ass off. What I’m saying, is your image online is curated for the fans, not foryou.If that’s bothering you, do something about it.”
He shrugged but then his attention moved over my shoulder. He squinted, and I followed his gaze until it landed on our new athletic trainer. She wore black glasses and had long black hair tied up with a bright pink hair tie. She hurried toward a group of guys working out in the back, and Callum studied her until she was out of view.
Interesting.
“Anyway,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t think I’m aware of what my image is? Playboy? A little bit of a whore?”
“A little?”
Ha laughed. “Fine. A lot of a bit. I’m a risk based on my reputation and image. I’m cool with it. I don’t have the same pressure you do being the QB, but I control my image for me. I love being the untroubled, no-feelings guy. I’m about having a good time, and people know what to expect with me. They lower their expectations, and it works out.”
A twinge of pride and jealousy mixed together. I wanted to be that sure of myself, that confident. I felt that way on the field, but off? I used to party hard, have a good time. I also usedto train so much my coaches told me to chill. It was like Callum and Luca had a weird love child, and that was me. Not quite falling into Callum’s carefree world and not finding a spot in Luca’s pure determination and focus.
Then Jessica came in and fucked it all up.
“How are you so confident in who you are?”
“Dude. I have three older sisters. I basically had four moms.” He laughed and put his hair in a half bun thing on his head. “They made me feel like I was the coolest person in the entire world. I started believing it at one point and never stopped. Try it. You’re legit, man.”
He slapped me with his towel before the girl with the glasses came back into view. His entire posture changed, and his nostrils flared. There was a story there. “Who’s the new girl?” I asked.
“Ivy Emerson. She’s one of the athletic trainers this season.”
“Did Coach introduce her?”
“No.” He frowned, running a hand over his jaw. “Why?”
“Curious how you know her name. I’ve never seen her before.” I fought a smirk. Was this the moment Callum had his first feeling? I wanted a front row seat. “She’s kinda cute. I might—”
“No.” He glared at me. “You keep pretending you’re not into Mack. Don’t get involved with Ivy.”
“Is this you getting into Ivy?”
“No.I’ve known her most of my life. She was my best friend for over a decade.”
“And why the hell haven’t we met her? Did she just transfer?”
“No.” Callum’s jaw tensed as Ivy spoke with Xavier, one of the newer guys on the team. She laughed and pushed her glasses up that had slid down her nose. “There’s a reason Ihaven’t brought her around you guys. Now, I need to finish working out. We can catch up later.”
He stared at her for a long second when her gaze caught his. Her eyes widened, her posture straightening. Then, she looked away.Weird.That wasn’t how best friends treated each other.
