I slung my gym bag over my shoulder and headed toward my truck parked near the far row. Halfway there, someone jogged up beside me.
Landon.
He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans while matching my pace. “Couple of us are heading to Sheila’s. Pool tables just opened back up after that remodel. Figured we’d break them in.”
I shifted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. “Can’t tonight.”
“Sure you can.”
“Got some stuff to take care of at home. Sorry.” The words came out automatically, the way they usually did.
Landon angled his head toward me without stopping. “What stuff?”
This was new. The guys never bothered delving into my ‘no’ once I’d given it. They left me to decline and go on my way. Now I felt the pressure of a lie that wasn’t thought out all the way.
“Just… stuff,” I replied weakly.
“I’m not buying it, and neither will they.” He chuckled under his breath, and jerked his chin toward the other side of the lot.
I followed the motion to find a group of the guys standing around Hunter’s truck near the row of light poles. Grayson leaned against the passenger door while Tucker and Cash talked near the tailgate. Hunter sat behind the wheel with the engine already running, exhaust drifting behind the truck.
Every one of them looked in our direction. Waiting.
I turned back to Landon. “They don’t need me there.”
“You’re first line now.”
“So?”
“So you don’t get to disappear anymore, Center,” he said. “Most practices, and after most games, we go out. The sooner you catch up with that, the less trouble the rest of this season’s gonna be.”
I shifted my bag higher on my shoulder. “What trouble?”
“You’ll find out if you don’t get your ass over there.”
When I made no sign to move or give in, Landon threw some kind of signal over his shoulder to the guys watching us. A quick motion with two fingers.
“What are you doing?”
His grin widened. “Fixing your schedule.”
The group around Hunter’s truck broke apart, and started straight for us. Fast. Sneakers thudded across the asphalt while Tucker’s voice carried ahead of them.
“Don’t let him run!”
I turned back to Landon. “What’s going on?”
He didn’t answer, but simply stepped out of the way as the others arrived.
Tucker reached us first, and before I could shift out of the way, his arms wrapped around my torso and lifted me clean off the ground. “Got him.”
“What the hell?” I twisted in his grip, but it didn’t come to anything.
Then Cash was on me, laughing so hard his shoulders shook. “The man weighs nothing.”
“Put me down.” My gym bag swung against my side while I flailed in their grip, feet kicking uselessly above the ground.
“I’m sure Landon explained the logistics to you,” Tucker said, as he and Cash started in the direction of Hunter’s truck.
