“You’ll be stuffed later,” Jason smirked.
“Is that a promise?” Desire glittered in her eyes.
“Guys, really?” I groaned, and Cameron squeezed my hand, fighting a smile.
“What?” She shrugged. “We’re all friends.”
“Damn right, we are.”
Jason reached for his beer and thrust it in the air. “No matter what the next four years bring, you’ll always be my best friends.”
“Aww, love you too.” I poked out my tongue at him and everyone laughed.
“You’re not so bad, Raine.”
“Likewise, Ford.”
It was hard to believe there had been a time when Jason and I couldn’t stand one another. He still drove me crazy sometimes, but I loved him like a brother. He was fiercely protective of those he cared about, and that now included me.
“But seriously, guys, we might not be Raiders anymore, but we will always be friends. Distance won’t change that.”
“Easy for you to say,” Cam said, glancing between Jase and Asher, “you’ll be a stone’s throw away from each other.”
He chuckled, but I heard the strain there. Cameron was coming to Michigan for me, for my dream, and I couldn’t help the tiny pang of guilt I felt. He reassured me all the time it was the right move, but I didn’t ever want him to regret it.
Or resent me.
My shoulders sank.
“Hey.” He squeezed my hand and I lifted my eyes to his. “I’m joking… it was a joke.”
“I know.”
“You think he’d really go anywhere you’re not?” My stepbrother asked me.
“Jase,” Flick warned.
“It’s okay,” I said, forcing a weak smile. “Nine hours is nothing. We can still see each other at the weekend and at holidays.”
“Damn right we can.” Asher tipped his beer at us. “Nothing, not college, distance or time, is going to ruin this.”
His words settled over the six of us, turning the air thick with anticipation.
College was a big step. Things would change. We would change.
But was Asher right?
Were the bonds between us strong enough to survive?
Part I
Sophomore Year
Jason
“Okay, gather round,” Coach Faulkner called us in, and we fell into position around him. Shoulder to shoulder, teammate to teammate. The anticipation of a new season was thick in the air. Last season, as a freshman, I’d been so close to tasting victory, but in the end it had been Cornell who took the title.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow. I wanted to be the best, to win, to prove myself.