I don't hide a smile before saving Ethan's number and then replying.
Charlie: Hello to you too, Ethan Clarke. And yes, of course I have one. But I'll only tell you mine if you tell me your first.
Ethan: Samuel. Which is pretty unoriginal, since it's my dad's name ??
I let a little puff of air out through my nose in amusement and decide to open the messaging app on my computer, before Professor Neal catches me on my phone and scolds me.
Charlie: True, nothing original. But if your dad's name were weird, it could be a lot worse. Oh, and mine is June.
Ethan: Charlotte June. Interesting. Were you born in June?
Charlie: Ironically, no. I was born in August, but my mom thought August would be too masculine, and she's a June baby, so...
Ethan: Visionary. She honored herself, but in a subtle way.
That makes me have to cover my mouth to hide a laugh. My mom loved to brag about that little accomplishment.
The player then keeps asking random questions about me and making conversation, so I barely feel the time pass.
By the time I come to, class was over, I'd had dinner, graded Professor Whitman's tests, done an assignment for the next day, and basically... spent the whole time talking to Ethan Clarke.
Chapter 4
Ethan
Jonathan Blakely was an idiot.
Not just because he cheated on one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, but also because now he was keeping me from flirting with her so I could go clean up his messes.
Again.
Trey Maddox, the football team captain, was out of town and called to ask me to go bail Johnny out before the coach found out. The stupid creature got arrested for fighting at a bar last night and was only getting out on bail.
Which I had to pay.
But he was going to pay me back with interest, just for the hassle.
I park in front of Blakely's dorm building and he clears his throat, seeming to think about what to say. After I got him out of jail and called Trey to tear into him over the phone, followed by a few more curses from me, we'd driven here in my car in complete silence.
"Uh... thanks, Clarke. I owe you one," the player says, and I roll my eyes before actually looking at him with my barely disguised contempt. He was always pulling this kind of thing. Dumb fights, drug use during the season, nights of heavy drinking followed by terrible performance on the field... It was a lot of trouble for someone who was just a backup kicker on the Royals. If I were captain instead of Trey, I'd have told the coach about several of these screwups already, but Trey was the big-dad type who wanted to protect everyone, said everybody made mistakes and deserved another chance... Even when the person obviously didn't deserve all that trust.
"Just get out of my sight, Johnny. You've got about three hours to sleep and show up to practice looking good as new," I say firmly, and the idiot nods.
"Sure, sure, you got it," he assures me, already climbing out of my car and raising his hand to flash me a thumbs-up. I roll my eyes one more time.
"And I'm going to text you my bill," I say loudly while he walks off slowly and just shouts back an "okay."
I shake my head in disgust and gun my car, pulling out of there fast toward the building where my class had already started about fifteen minutes ago.
Damn Johnny.
I was never going to understand people who risked their careers in the sport like that. Football was what I loved doing most, and the future I wanted for myself. Having spent years with Logan as my best friend, someone whose dream was the same, it was strange to see Jonathan and some other teammates always seeming so... careless.
Sure, it wasn't my business what each guy's focus in life was. As long as they didn't drag down the team, and our shot at making it to a Bowl game for the first time in Lexington Crown history, I was fine with it.
"You're distracted." Logan's deep voice comes from my right, making me jump and shut off my phone screen, then toss the thing into my locker.
"Fuck, why do you always show up out of nowhere? I thought you were still in the shower," I complain to my friend, who shrugs and smiles. We were still in the locker room, since football practice had ended a few minutes ago. I'd gotten to serve as interim captain for the second time that week and I was loving being able to do it. When Trey graduated at the end of the year, I was hoping the coach would give me that position.
