I exhale, rubbing the back of my neck. “We can’t just be friends?” I ask, hating how hopeful I sound. “You know, give me a chance to prove I’m not always an asshole.”
For a split second, I see it.
A small smile tugs at her lips.
Then it’s gone.
“I’m sorry,” she says gently. “No.”
The rejection lands clean and sharp. I don’t love it, but I get it. Hell, I respect it.
I nod once. “Okay.”
I don’t argue. Don’t push. That wouldn’t be fair to her or smart.
“Thank you,” she adds quietly. “For understanding.”
I give her a crooked smile. “I’m learning.”
As I walk out, disappointment follows me, but so does something else.
Determination.
Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that Amelia Bronwyn is already under my skin and getting her out won’t be easy.
Practice runs long,the sun dipping low by the time we finally jog off the field. Sweat clings to my skin, my arm pleasantly sore, the familiar exhaustion settling into my bones. The guys are loud around me, joking, shoving, reliving plays like we didn’t just spend three hours grinding them into muscle memory.
I walk beside Kamden, mits tucked under our arms.
“So,” he says casually, like he’s asking about the weather. “How you doing?”
I shrug. “I’m good.”
It’s automatic. Easy. The answer everyone expects.
He gives me a sideways look but doesn’t push. Kamden knows when to read the room. Evan and a couple of the guys peel off ahead of us, still arguing about who owes who dinner.
We hit the tunnel, our footsteps echoing.
“You ever spread the ashes?” Kamden asks, just as casually as before.
The question punches the air out of my chest.
I keep walking. Keep my pace steady.
Ashes.
My mind flashes back to the funeral parlor, sterile, too quiet. The director asking me questions I wasn’t ready to answer. Burial or cremation? Service or private viewing?
My mom died when I was a kid. No siblings. No one to lean on. It was all on me.
So I made the decision.
Cremation.
I signed the papers. Took the urn. Brought it home like it was just another box.
And then I shoved it in my closet.
