“You guys know a Weston Briggs?” I asked.
Silas stared at me with glassed-over eyes while Kai shrugged.
“Last year’s quarterback,” Kai stated with no emotion. “Quit before the end of the season after some drama with the coaches. Both coaches got fired after some abuse scandal, according to the articles I could find. Why?”
I shook my head. “I heard his name come up and thought it sounded familiar. Outside of the quarterback stuff, do you know anything else?”
Silas’s back straightened as something dawned on him. “Briggs? Wasn’t that the guy Lawrence used to hang out with?”
Damn. I knew it. That’s where I knew this guy from. Lawrence freaking Griffin. My first boyfriend who liked to stay in everyone’s business. I’d been ignoring that guy since he told me about Tyler.
“Yeah, I think I remember that.” Kai eyed me. “Why? Is he the next guy on your radar?”
I scoffed. “No. I’m not interested in anyone, anymore.”
“Well, that’s new,” Kai mused and looked a little relieved.
“Then why are you asking about him?” Silas asked around a yawn.
“His name sounded familiar, that’s all,” I said.
“Now you know why. Leave it at that.” Kai started towards the door. “You out of all of us knows what happens when you get involved with Lawrence. It’s safe to say anyone adjacent should be left alone too.”
“Agreed.” Silas forced himself to his feet.
“Not arguing there,” I murmured.
Lawrence was bad news, so was anyone he touched. I’d been bad news too at some point fooling around with him… Could the same be said for Dakota?
Instead of coming up with conspiracies, I grabbed my camera. It was time to focus on something less worrisome.
“God, I love this. Wind in my face, heavy-breathing football players at my back. All mornings should start like this.” I whipped us around a corner in the new golf cart. Amber U had a ton of perks but it didn’t hold a candle to the flame that was Westbrooke’s designated golf carts. All head coaches got their own. Since Dad was squeamish about anything with an engine, I was his driver for the morning.
Dad chuckled. “Thought you would. But let’s try not to get too excited this early on. Think the boys are falling behind.”
I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the pack of football players jogging. The group was led by one of the defensive coaches, a young, lean Korean guy, Vinny, who’d just retired from an eight-year career in the NFL. My brother flanked him. Even from this distance, I could see his mouth moving. Kai was one of those annoying runners who could carry a conversation while everyone around him was in the midst of torture.
“I suppose you’re right,” I sighed and eased off the gas a bit. “We’re only on mile one.”
“Slow and steady.” Dad held up his phone to remind me of the route we were going on. The current trail cut throughout campus, leading towards the downtown area.
“Is that a bridge?” I pointed at the middle of the map. When Dad nodded, I shook my head. “Oh, they’re going to hate that.”
“That’s the goal. Train ‘em for the worse.” He grinned as he slouched back in his seat, enjoying the ride.
I shook my head, amused. “You love making things ten times harder.”
“It’s my favorite part of the job,” he joked. “Well, that and the free merch.”
“Mom did always say you were the biggest cheapskate she ever met.”
“That woman.” He shook his head with a smile on his face. “She likes to act like she isn’t as thrifty as I am. Remember when you moved in with your grandparents for a few months?”
I nodded. It was a time in my life I’d never forget. My parents’ separation was messy in the beginning but evolved into something better for all of us.
The better for me came in the form of living with my grandparents in Alabama for a short period of time. I went from being the youngest of three kids to the only child while Kai and Naia stayed with our aunt in Maine.
Life of an only child had been glorious for me. I loved the attention and praise from people who thought I was everything because, in everyday life, no one saw me.
