“Sorry,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “How are you feeling?”
Now that I’m a little closer, I can see the beads of sweat kissing his temples.
“Not great,” he admits, his voice nasally. He covers his mouth with the crook of his elbow as he coughs. “I don’t think I’ll be playing this weekend.”
My chest sinks. “That sucks.”
“Yeah.” He huffs a laugh, no doubt at the disappointment in my tone, when we both know I haven’t been his biggest fan prior to this season. If only he knew it was because I’ve been fighting my feelings towards him. “I’m sure Dane will be happy to hear it. He’s been waiting to get off the bench.”
“You mind if I join you?” I wave a hand at the space across from him.
His eyes widen a little, and he casts a glance over his shoulder at the empty tables surrounding us, but he nods and moves some of his textbooks to make room for me. “Just don’t get too close,” he warns. “Coach Johnson will kick both our arses if you get sick.”
I just shrug as I sit across from him, pulling out my laptop and textbooks.
“What were you listening to?” I ask when he turns off his headphones and shoves them in his bag.
“The latest Forever Summer album.”
My lips tug into a grin. “How good isUnder the Covers?”
“It’s good, but my favourite’sCrawling on my Knees.”
“Elias is a fucking genius with his lyrics. You know, I saw them in Perth last year. They’re so good live.”
“I had tickets to see them in Sydney, but I got food poisoning.”
I wince. “Brutal.”
“Yeah.”
Not knowing what else to say, I fire up my laptop and access the Beckford student portal to check over the requirements for my assignment. We work in awkward silence for a bit, occasionally interrupted by his sniffles or coughing fits, but it’s almost impossible to concentrate when I can feel the heat emanating from his long legs, which are stretched out under the table, dangerously close to mine.
After a while, he heaves a heavy sigh and closes his laptop.
I glance up from the article I’ve been reading and watch as he closes his eyes and pushes a hand through his hair.
“Are you okay?” My gut twists at the concern in my voice, hoping he doesn’t read anything into it other than a worried teammate.
It takes him a second to open his eyes, and he blinks as if unfocused. “Yeah. I think I’ve just pushed it a little too hard today.”
“Are you going to be good to get home?”
“Hmm?” he asks, staring at his things scattered across the table.
Christ.
I close my laptop and shove my things into my bag before helping him.
“I’ve got it,” he mumbles, grabbing his laptop off me and sliding it into his bag.
“Don’t be a dick. Let me help you.” I hoist both our bags over my shoulder. I draw the line at trying to help him to his feet. Not only because I don’t want to get sick, but I don’t want to start any rumours around campus if anyone sees us.
He follows me out of the library, and we cross the quad towards the stadium car park.
“Where are your keys?” I ask as we draw closer to his car.
“I’m fine.”
