Kaisatatthekitchen counter with his wire-framed glasses perched on the top of his head. I frowned at the mountains of books and loose-leaf paper cluttering the marble surface.
Our new house looked like it’d been copied straight out of a home decor magazine. Every appliance was new and shiny and stainless steel. Every surface was marble when appropriate or hardwood the rest of the time. A far cry from how we grew up.
“Hey,” Kai mumbled in protest when I knocked his glasses down on his nose as I passed by him for a cup of coffee. I hated the bitter taste, but I claimed a cup anyway. There was nothing else in our fridge besides leftovers from last night. My fragile stomach couldn’t take the heavy carbs this early in the morning.
“What’s the point of having glasses if you don’t use them? You’re straining your eyes.” I pulled out the chair beside him. My gaze fell on the papers to see what got him in such a studious mood before the sun rose. One glance had me rolling my eyes, already bored.
“You know, the season doesn’t officially start for another few weeks, right?”
He didn’t look away from his laptop screen as he replied, “All the more reason to get prepared while I have a head start.”
“All the more reason to relax a little before you’re sucked into the vortex of training.” I tried to swallow a sip of coffee without making a face and failed. My wrinkled nose and pursed lips earned me an amused glance from Kai. The almost curve of his mouth was the closest thing I’d gotten to a smile from him in years. I’d take it.
“You do realize you’re a player, not a coach.” I set my cup down with no plans to pick it up again. “What is this? You drawing up plays now too?”
He snatched up the sketch I was eyeing before I could get a closer look. I squinted at him.
Kai and I were ten months apart. Despite our closeness in age, we looked at the world through a vastly different lens. I didn’t understand his constant need to grind. He didn’t understand my tendency to get bored when I’ve spent too much time doing one thing. We struggled to meet in the middle.
“You’re going to burn out if you stress this early in the semester.” I placed my chin in my hand, watching him re-stack his papers in a neat pile.
“Don’t you have a creepy mask to paint or something?” He looked at me over his glasses. “Or maybe a sign to design?”
I frowned and straightened my back. “No need to bring up Tyler.”
“Bringing him up seems like the only way to get you to stop worrying about me.” He readjusted his glasses. To his credit, he at least looked a little guilty.
“That’s kind of low, man.” Silas stood at the opening of the kitchen. “Even for you.”
I let out a squeal and hurried over to him for a hug. “When did you get in?”
Silas squeezed me tight. His thick black curls were disheveled from traveling. Sans the hint of bags under his eyes, Silas’s brown skin looked near perfect. The smile he wore showed off the gap in his front teeth.
“A few hours ago. I had two layovers, and both planes were delayed.” He shook his head as he recalled the entire ordeal.
My grin hurt my cheeks. “You’re here. So, that means you said yes!”
It was a silly question. Of course, since Silas was here with his luggage and only two hours of sleep, he’d said yes to my dad’s request for him to join Westbrooke’s team. But I wanted to hear him say it out loud to make it true.
Silas was always loud and willing to indulge in my brand of fun. Admittedly, that brand has changed a bit for me. Silas wasn’t completely on board with my no-drinking train. But now that he was a new kid on the block like me, maybe I could persuade him to give up partying in exchange for tamer events. I missed staying out till one in the morning with him.
“Oh, for sure. I go where the Harrisons go. You guys are family at this point. I don’t want to be left behind.” Silas reached for my abandoned cup of coffee and sniffed it once before setting it back down. “Y’all got anything worth drinking in this place?”
I laughed. “I’ll stock up on tea later. God, I can’t believe you’re here. Are you staying on campus?”
Silas looked at Kai for confirmation, and my brother nodded.
“Dad said you’re free to take one of the rooms if you want. We’ve got plenty of space,” Kai said.
Westbrooke had enough money to provide impressive accommodations for head coaches. Since football brought in a boatload of money for the campus, Dad reaped the benefits by getting his pick of the most impressive houses on the market. He’d chosen a two-story, five-bedroom home only a ten-minute walk to campus.
“Looks like I’m bunking here then. Apartments near campus suck unless you have ten roommates,” Silas said.
“Perfect!” I hugged him once more before adding, “Now that you’re here, you can help me get Kai out of the house. He needs to stop obsessing, and I want to not look so lonely when I go out later on tonight.”
“You got it, boss.” Silas tugged at the stack of papers Kai guarded with his life. “What do we have here?”
“Player stats, potential cuts, and list of more guys who might follow us from Amber U,” Kai said in a monotone voice. He tried to play it down, so Silas and I got bored. I frowned when Silas raised a brow, scanning the details with interest. So much for helping me out.
