“Why the fuck did you hit me with the ball?”
He turned and stepped forward. I took a step toward him.
We stopped with our helmets only inches apart.
“What the fuck is your problem?” he asked.
“Did you fuck Brooke?”
“What?” His face scrunched up in confusion. “Why would I do that to you?”
“I don’t know, bro, but I’m hearing things around campus.”
“Did Brooke say something to you?”
“No.”
“Well, there you go. You better check yourself.”
Coach walked up and slid an arm between our chests.
“What the hell is going on here? You two asking to be benched?”
“No, Coach!” we yelled.
“Then get ready to scrimmage!”
“Yes, Coach!”
Trey and I were on the same team, which helped cool things between us, at least a little bit.
* * *
I went straight home after practice while Trey headed to an evening class he had once a week. Teddy and Brian were not in the living room, which surprised me.
On the way upstairs to my bedroom, she sent another text message.
You okay? What’s up?
I ignored that one too, determined to concentrate on football above all else. If Brooke cared for me, she would understand slowing down our relationship. It had been charging forward at an almost reckless pace. As I fell asleep, thoughts of her would not go away.
SEVENTEEN
Brooke
Why hadn’t he answered? The thought stuck with me through all my classes the next day. After the last one, I went to the stadium, hoping to catch him at practice. When I approached the field, I saw Austin standing on the sidelines with his helmet off.
I walked over to him. The smile slid off his face when he saw me heading his direction. He glanced around then stepped forward to meet me before I reached him. Other players on the field weren’t paying attention to us. While I hated to bother him, we had to talk.
“Brooke,” he said, stopping in front of me. “What are you doing here?”
“You haven’t been answering your phone. I don’t have time to fool around. If you’re dumping me, be a man about it and say something.”
I placed my hands on my hips. He put his hand on my arm.
“Let’s go talk about this off the field.”
“So you are ashamed of me?”