Page 23 of Big Man on Campus

“As soon as the car crash hoopla dies down,” Dooley adds under his breath.

“You are so ridiculous, Dooley. No wonder you’re the king. To be honest, as cool as it sounds, I don’t want to cause any problem for Kace.” She gives me a sweet smile with just enough devil in it to worry me. But the shine in her eyes is real and true, so I let out a breath.

“You can’t spend the next year avoiding all of Kace’s past girlfriends because there’s probably one around every corner,” Dooley says. I give him a good punch to the shoulder and he immediately whines like it’s broken.

“Fuckin A, Kace. You pack a manly punch.” He laughs.

“I suppose you’re right,” Glory says, leaning in across me and rubbing Dooley’s shoulder. It’s an automatic move. I’ve seen it a million times before. She’s a genuine nurturer down to her DNA. I don’t want to lie and tell her she’s wrong, but Phoebe is different. She was my last girl and she lasted longer than the others. She was a legitimate girlfriend as opposed to a quick fuck. Not that my bedroom door was like a turnstile, but I played around, looking for something I never found because it was always Glory I wanted.

“He’s exaggerating,” I say, kissing her eyelid because it’s there. Her mouth puckers in a phantom kiss and her dimple shows.

“But I’m not wrong,” Dooley says.

“Not helping here.”

She laughs, “Don’t worry, lover boy. I can’t hold the past three years against you. Total free pass because we weren’t together.”

“Don’t remind me of all the time I wasted not being with you,” I whisper, leaning close.

“Meanwhile,” Dooley says. “I’m eating your burger if you’re not.”

My hand darts out and I grab his wrist as he reaches over to my plate. “Not so fast.”

“Fast? You are motherfucking fast, aren’t you?” Dooley says.

“What did you expect from a world-class athlete?” Glory says, pride beaming from her voice, sounding exactly like she used to sound back in high school when she’d brag about me whenever she got the chance, which was painfully often. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but now a rush of warmth floods my chest and my cock tics in approval.

“So I’ll set up a meet between you and Phoebe,” Dooley says.

I shove the burger in my face and hope for the best, that Phoebe will be as charmed by Glory Sunshine Rose as just about everyone else is when given enough exposure. But I’ll have to talk to Phoebe, just to make sure.

“How are the kids?” I ask, remembering she was getting a work study job at the campus day care.

“Kids? What kids?” Dooley puts a hand to his chest and looks truly shocked.

Glory laughs and says, “Relax, Dools, he’s talking about the kids at the day care. I only had one day on the job but I think we’re all in love and, all, is therefore, right with the world.” A zap of pleasure at her words slams me as I brush my fingers across her cheek. Her way with kids gets to me every time. Someday—far away in the future—we’ll have our own. It’s a fucking crazy thought. Don’t get out of control. I’m way ahead of myself here and a fresh sweat breaks out on my brow having nothing to do with the heat of the room. I drop my hand from her face to put some space between us, to get real. Her eyes track me and I look away.

My gut rolls around with the scariness of what she does to me, even though she’s what I want with all my heart, she’s dangerous because I’ll do anything for her, good or bad. I’m already in some shit and it’s shallow right now, but I don’t need to get deeper. I still need to get through this year, to make it to the pros before I can declare my independence and think about that kind of serious future with Glory where actually fucking having kids is appropriate.

Right now? Even the thought is way out of line, the kind of foolish thought I have no business having.

I finish my food, every last bite. The crowd in the caf thins out around us and the big wall clock may as well be chiming like an alarm as it closes in on ten before the hour.

“Time to fly,” I say.

“Me too. I have tryouts this afternoon,” Glory says. “Wish me the luck of the Irish, Kace.” She wraps her arms around my waist and kisses my lips, taking my breath away and giving me a zap of her energy at the same time. I don’t have a chance to ask her what she’s trying out for before she grabs Dools’s hand and dashes between the tables with him in tow. I almost feel bad for old Dooley. He’s used to being the one driving the bus, but my girl is a certifiable whirlwind.

As I head out the door behind them my phone chirps again. I’ve been ignoring it all during lunch as it vibrates in my pants pocket. I know it’s my social media blowing up about the fucking crash. For a fleeting second, I worry that Mom has seen it, but I doubt anyone’s posted the pic on Facebook, so I release the quick knot across my shoulder blades and jog to the arena, where the coach called for a team meeting.

My phone rings this time as I make my way down the cement corridor to the conference room attached to Coach’s office under the stands. It’s not too far from the team’s locker room. I think about letting the call go as it rings a third time, but fuck. A couple of my teammates, including Fitz, are ahead of me. I’m running late, but I pull the damn phone from my pocket anyway, something telling me it’s the smart thing to do.

“Yeah?” I’m in too much of a hurry to check the caller.

“Is that how you answer your phone?” My dad’s voice is tight and ticked off. That explains my instinct to answer. Something is fucking wrong or he’d never call me in the middle of the fucking day.

“What’s going on?” My gut clenches.

“That’s what I want to know. I saw a photo of you in some kind of car accident—”