Page 109 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

“Alrighty,” I said innocently and followed Jordan’s glare to Asher, who was pulling his phone out and showing an absolute lack of interest in everything around him. I reached for my phone and then decided to wait. “I’ll join you guys in a minute.”

“Suit yourself, Cap,” Jordan said and swung his shoulders back and forth as he walked away. A few more glances came my way before most of the room emptied.

I leaned against the kitchen island, viewing the emptying common room. Sofas lined the walls, coffee tables ran through the middle, and on the far end stood a fireplace we rarely used with stacks of decorative firewood by its side. Asher wore a defiant expression when he finished with his phone. It was like my very existence was somehow a threat to him. Or anyone’s existence, for that matter. It was only that I had known Jordan and him for years, and Asher had always had the time to spare me a narrow-eyed look.

“We good?” I asked for no other reason than to break the silence.

Asher thrust his chin out and ticked his eyebrows fractionally upward. That was all I got. Not that he was deeply entrenched in the team dynamics, like Sebastian and Tyler were, for example. Asher disliked his big stepbrother enough that being Jordan’s friend put you on the naughty list.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket again. Uncle Nate’s been on my mind for the entire hour and I desperately wanted to call him.

Asher headed upstairs just as the door of the now single occupant’s room opened and out strolled Caden. He wore a pompous combination of skinny jeans and a tucked-in stiff-collar shirt on sporty sneakers that made him look extra douchey.

I ignored him until he reached the ground floor and a cloud of spicy sweet cologne threatened to manslaughter me. “Time-traveling to an eighties’ disco club?” I asked lazily.

“Minding business that’s not yours?” he retorted without taking a breath.

“Clearly,” I said, setting my phone on the kitchen island. It was always more infuriating to rise to the bait intentionally. None could ever harm you if you took every mockery as a compliment. I knew how to disarm my opponents.

Caden stopped, his mind working through the loops. “Don’t.” He dropped the word hoarsely like it would make me more inclined to obey.

“How can I resist meddling when it gives you that virgin blush?” I asked flatly. And my bluff worked. Caden’s face reddened with anger.

“Fuck off, Partridge…”

We both looked down when my phone vibrated on the counter. My heart leaped. Uncle Nate was calling me like he knew I’d been thinking about him.

Caden gave a contemptuous snort and shook his head. “Is that your Big Shot uncle calling to give you a heads-up so you don’t gape when Coach delivers the news? He’s an hour late.”

The insult seared me way more than Caden knew and I meant to keep it that way. If Caden understood the power of the bomb he had just dropped in the middle of my entire fucking life, he would never stop using it. I sneered instead. “Nah, he’s probably calling to conspire on how best to cock-block your chances of getting laid tonight.”

Caden’s face contorted with anger. “One of you will have to take it up your ass if that’s your plan. I feel like bottoming tonight.”

I fucking knew it, I thought. The casual dropping of his preference didn’t surprise me one bit. In fact, it just annoyed me. “No need to advertise, Jones,” I said with an eye-roll.

“Go fuck yourself,” he spat and stormed the fuck off.

I watched after him while parsing through all that had just happened. So Caden just decided to slide that piece of information there, did he? I couldn’t guess why unless he just meant to shock me. The more pressing problem was that he had accused Uncle Nate of rigging my captaincy.

I was fully aware it was within Uncle Nate’s ability, which made denying it hard. Apparently, just because it wasn’t true, that wasn’t enough to make me innocent of nepotism.

Suddenly, my eagerness for this phone call had disappeared, but I picked up anyway. As I answered, I marched out of the team house for a little more privacy. “Uncle Nate.” My voice was forcibly happy. “I was just about to call you.”

“Hey, kiddo,” Uncle Nate said in his usual tone. It was slightly husky and smoky but mostly confident. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Oh yeah? Anything in particular?” I asked, my grin returning to my face and audibly seeping into my words.

Uncle Nate’s confusion lifted my heart. “What do you mean? Did something…?”

“Oh, something happened.” I dropped the words before they ripped out of my chest. “Coach Murray had named me the captain.”

“Holy shit, kid,” Uncle Nate said with unmistakable surprise. It soothed the tiny inkling of doubt that had lived in me until this very moment. “I knew you had it in you. Didn’t I tell you? Two years ago, kid, I told you this would happen.”

I remembered it. The summer before college, I was spending all my spare hours conditioning to make the best first impression I could. Little had I known how Caden would sneer and turn Riley against me. We’d been at Uncle Nate’s ranch in Texas for the week, Mom and I. He’d flown us in and treated us like royalty for the sake of the months that had gone by with little contact. He’d sat me down one evening and told me of his early beginnings and the doubts that had bombarded him from all sides. And he’d told me I was on the path to greatness. “I can see it, kid,” he’d said. “There are many players who will be good. But great? Few are destined for greatness. And you’re one of them, Beckett.”

I’d lived with those words ever since. They had been the very thing that had helped me get up in the morning. “You sure did,” I agreed.

“So, you’re doing well, I take it,” Uncle Nate chirped.