“Nix’s old man wants him gone after graduation.”
His eyes snapped to mine, narrowed and deadly, and I nodded.
“What are you going to do?”
“Try to get a decent job, save some cash, figure out a plan.”
Sometimes, I fought for Bryson to earn a quick buck, but it was dangerous business and when Coach had found out about it last season, he’d lost his shit. If I wanted to stay on his team, I’d had to promise there would be no more illegal fights.
“Or…” Kye added. “Speak to Coach about Albany U. This is the perfect opportunity to get out of here, Nix.”
“And leave Jessa? Leave you guys?”
“It’s Albany. It isn’t the other side of the country. It’s what, a forty-minute ride at most? You wouldn’t even have to move if you didn’t want to.”
“Can we not do this right now?” I said.
“When then?” Kye challenged. “When can we talk about it? Because burying your head in the sand isn’t the way to go, Nix. You know—”
“Fuck’s sake, Carter, I said drop it, okay?”
“Fine.” He held up his hands. “But I think you’re making a mistake ruling it out. This is your shot, man. Your chance to get out of this fucking place and make something of yourself. Why wouldn’t you want that?”
I stared at him, one of my best friends in the whole world, and I didn’t know what to say.
It would be easy to tell him I was scared. That I couldn’t let myself believe I could make it out of The Row; because if I didn’t make it, if something happened and my shot at getting out was ripped away from me, I wasn’t sure I would fucking survive it.
Besides, what if I got to college and I wasn’t good enough? What if I couldn’t handle the pressure? The Row was lawless. People lived by their own codes and values. College wasn’t like that. Especially college football where everyone was out to prove themselves.
Laughter floated over to us, and my body grew tense as I glanced over my shoulder to find Celeste Rowe and the Mulligan kid standing in the archway.
“Oh God,” she said, her eyes darting from me to Zane and back again. “We didn’t realize you’d be here. We’ll go.”
“She with you?” I asked, stopping them in their tracks.
“N-no. We’re… we’re on a date.” She lifted her chin slightly and I frowned.
Why the fuck would I care if she was on a date?
But her gaze flicked back to Zane and realization hit me like a truck. The sister had a thing for my best friend.
Interesting.
If Zane noticed her lingering stare, he didn’t react.
“Are you guys playing pool?” Mulligan asked with a nervous smile.
“Why, any good?” Zane quirked a brow, a faint smirk tracing his mouth.
So maybe he had noticed, after all.
“I’m decent.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got then, pussy boy.” He grabbed a cue and thrust it at Mulligan.
Celeste frowned. “Miles, come on, we should lea—” But the asshole shrugged her off, joining Zane at the pool table.
“Hi, I’m Chloe.”