Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
14
HOUSTON
The following Friday, the Rush flew out for Saturday’s game in Atlanta, and I’d gone over to Canyon High to watch the team take down a rival school. I usually left right after the games, begging off most of the times the team asked me to go out for pizza afterward, but this time, I stayed, reluctant to go back to my empty apartment.
The guys were hyped up after the win, carousing like hooligans in the pizza parlor, much to the dismay of the owner, who kept shooting dirty looks our way. But hell, we’d spent $300 on pizza and sequestered ourselves off to one corner, even if a couple of guys kept wandering over to a nearby table full of girls.
“Jericho,” Coach Beam barked. “Y’all get your asses back over here and leave them alone.”
Jericho put his hands up and rolled his eyes as he sauntered back, his teammates trailing behind. “I’m not the problem, man. I was just chatting.”
“Getting fashion tips, you simp,” Jacob, one of the centers, said with a cackle. “Trying to impress your boyfriend.”
“I’m not a fucking simp, you tool,” Jericho said, popping his collar, at the same time a chorus of “woooooos” went up. “And he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just hanging out. Ish.”
Damn if that didn’t sound familiar. My attention was glued to Jericho now.
“Sleeping with the enemy,” Jacob groused, but it seemed good-natured enough.
“Who’s this?” I asked, unable to help my curiosity, because goddamn things had changed. I knew Jericho was out, but it wasn’t something that got talked about much, and at first, I hadn’t been able to tell whether or not it was because Jericho was a big motherfucker who could easily flatten most of the guys on the team if he wanted to or because people were just more relaxed about shit these days. It seemed to be the latter, though.
Jericho dropped down beside me and grabbed another slice of pizza. “Vic Townsend.”
“Mercy’s QB?” I arched a brow. “Interesting. Now I know what was up when you fumbled that pass third quarter,” I teased, and Jericho groaned.
“God, not you, too.” He pointed the tip of his pizza at me. “That was a legit fumble. Not because I was checking him out or anything. I’m profesh.”
“I know. Just messing with you.” Jericho was being scouted by several universities and was the real deal, not the type to let much get in his way on the field, even a boyfriend. I could respect that, and I both admired and was envious of the obvious change in societal norms even in the years since I’d gone to college. Things weren’t perfect, but professional sports had come a long way over the last decade.
Jericho finished his pizza and scooted a little closer, checking that the other guys were caught up in their own convos before he leaned closer. “So, me and Vic…we’ve actually been together since, uhhhh, sophomore year but kept it on the DL until two days ago when…” He bit his lip. “Something happened that made it impossible, so whatever.” Now, this sounded more familiar, and he definitely had my curiosity, but I didn’t want to press too much. Better to just let him share what he wanted to. Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little chuffed that he felt comfortable enough to confide in me. “I wanted to ask, though…you and Cullen played on the same team at Southern, right? I mean, I know you weren’t together then, but that’s how you met, yeah?”
“That’s how we met, yeah.” It wasn’t a lie, but the omission got under my skin. I wasn’t sure where Jericho was going with all of this yet, though, so I decided to play it cautiously.
Jericho pushed a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “Vic and I both want to go to Boulder U. They’re scouting him, too, and…” He shook his head. “That can’t happen, right? And it’s not gonna happen now if the coaches find out we’re together, yeah? They would think that’s a bad investment, right? Because what if we broke up and it messed with the team dynamics and stuff? They’ll be thinking about that. I mean, if they know.”
A cold sensation prickled through my chest and wrapped around my heart, a different but eerily similar scenario, for sure. I studied Jericho and the fervent spark in his eyes that made me think he was hopeful I was gonna disagree with him, tell him everything would be alright. Fuck, I wasn’t a dad; I didn’t have a shit ton of experience with kids. You were supposed to make them feel better, right? But I didn’t want to blow smoke up his ass.
“It’s hard to say.” I chose my words carefully. “It could be a factor, yes.” And then I hedged again before clearing my throat. “Cullen and I did get together there. Like the two of you, we kept it to ourselves, ended it senior year. Very few people know that.”