When my legs are nice and tired and most of my excess energy is burned off, I head to the changing room. They follow, but I keep ignoring them, going to the showers after stripping off my sweaty gear. To my surprise, they give me space, but the same can’t be said for when I make it back to the room to find them still waiting.
“Aw, come on!” Hayes yells when I drop my towel at my stall. “My eyes!”
“Then stop following me around like a bunch of fucking weirdos,” I tell him, pulling on my boxer briefs. “And you’re lucky to look at my ass. It’s fantastic.”
“It is. Rory keeps asking me to get your workout routine,” Lawson says.
I flip him off just because I can, and he pretends to catch it, holding it against his heart.
I roll my eyes, then slide my jeans over my legs. “Can we just get this over with already?”
“Fine,” Hutch says, looking genuinely concerned. “Nobody has heard from you since yesterday morning, and we’re worried.”
“I got your messages in the group chat. You know I have. You can see that I’ve read them.”
They were ridiculous, and a few times I wanted to chime in, but I wasn’t in the mood.
“Right, but you never messaged back. And, usually, you’re likesuperannoying.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” I look at the rest of the guys, then point to Lawson. “He’s fucking kidding, isn’t he?”
They all shrug, likely because Lawsonisn’tjoking around for a change.
I run a hand through my wet hair. “Look, guys, I am fine.”
“Okay, you say that, but?—”
“No, no buts,” I snap, cutting Hayes off. “I am good. I talked to Chloe and?—”
“Chloe? Is that her name?” Fox asks.
I close my eyes for a second before I nod. “Yes, that’s my wife’s name.”
They all exchange glances again, and it’s so damn frustrating that they keep doing it.
“What?” I bark when nobody speaks, even though they clearly have something to say.
“I don’t know. It’s just kind of cute that you guys have the same initials, no?” Lawson says.
When we get married, we’re going to have the same initials. Clover Keller, Callum Keller. Has a nice little ring to it, huh?I remember saying that to her in college. It was a wild statement, completely out of pocket, especially for a nineteen-year-old. But it didn’t mean I meant it any less. I knew even then she was the one for me.
“How come you never go by Cal—” Lawson holds his hands up before he even finishes my first name, and I can guarantee it has to do with the look on my face that saysDon’t you fucking dare. “Okay, no to the first name still. Noted.”
It’s not like people don’t call me by it—of course they do. But most of the time, I’m just Keller. Except for with her. It’s always been Callum, so when she left, I didn’t want to hear my first name at all. I was simply Keller from then on out. I’d even ignore the media in pressers if they didn’t call me by my last name. They picked up on it quickly.
“Moving on,” Lawson mumbles. “Am I allowed to ask more questions about the cat, or not?”
“Dude.” Hayes pinches the bridge of his nose like he’s as tired of his teammate’s shit as I am. “Come on, Lawsy.”
“What? You can’t tell me you’re not curious about it too.”
Nobody responds, which is enough of an answer to tell me that, yeah, they’re curious. But I’ve opened myself up far too much over the last few days, and I’d rather not continue that trend.
“If you really want to know more, ask your girlfriend.”
“Rory knows you have a cat?!” He throws his hands in the air. “That’s it. I give up.” He marches toward the door, then stops, turning to look back at everyone still staring at me. “Well? Aren’t you guys coming?”
“For once, I agree with him. You guys should go, because I’m going too. I have shit to do, because in case you all forgot, we have a game to play tonight. Like you said in the chat, I need some time, okay?”
