Chapter 7
“The football team is planning something. Don’t know what yet.”
I snorted as I spotted Ty on the bench press. “Doesn’t surprise me. What about the soccer team?”
“Nah, I threatened them all with some serious ass kicking, and they’re ready to drop it. We can’t stop the students, though. This thing with you and Winters brought up some long-buried hate all over the place.”
“Kind of crazy, right? The South has such a rep for being nice.”
“Yeah, and for lynchings.”
“Ty.” I rolled my eyes. “Every region has shit like that in its history. The West was just as bad.”
“Whatever. This whole thing has me pissed.” He huffed through another lift. “I thought everyone was exaggerating about the no-fighting policy. It’s a public school, for fuck’s sake.”
“Guess not. Thankfully, they’ve got a boner for football down here, or it’d be worse.”
“They got some heat for downplaying a thing with a couple of gay kids last year. I think they’re just trying too hard to make up for it.” Ty grunted with the weights.
“What? Who told you that?”
“Cara.”
I leaned over Ty’s head and put a bit of pressure on the bar he was already straining to lift. “Why the fuck are you talking to Cara Winters?”
“Get off, man,” Ty growled with the effort of lifting.
I let go, and Ty completed the press, then hooked the bar in its stand.
“Damn, dude.” He sat up, heaving. “I’m not fucking up whatever you’ve got going on with Cal, okay. Cara was in a group of us talking, and it came up, that’s all. She said there was this girl who had a huge social media thing going on about some dudes who got outed.”
“They got outed at school?”
He nodded. “Facts, bro.” Ty stood and mopped at his face with a towel before he snagged his phone off the floor. “Why’s your boy messaging me?”
I jolted as if I’d snatch it out of his hand but stopped myself before I could do it. “He’s not my boy, and since when does he have your number?”
Ty rolled his eyes, then stared at his screen. “He doesn’t, and he’s not my type, Jack, calm down. He messaged me on Insta. Probably would’ve hit you up if you hadn’t deleted all your accounts.”
Maybe, but … “What’d he say?”
The evil grin that lifted Ty’s lips was one I recognized from my own face from time to time. For all of four miserable seconds, he had to have been contemplating not telling me. The sadist.
“Apparently, some jackasses are planning on salting the soccer field. He was giving me a heads-up.”
“Shit.” I shoved my sweaty hair out of my face. We’d been in our home gym for an hour already. My body had hit that high, but my mind was reluctant to let go of everything to follow it. “Why won’t this end?”
“You tell me. I don’t even know why the both of you hate each other so much.”
I gave him a don’t be stupid glare.
“Jack, you’ve had crushes before. Even unrequited ones. What’s different about Winters?”
“The billion-dollar question.” I gave in and grabbed Ty’s phone, then scrolled through the very short chain of messages. When I tossed it back at him, Ty smirked knowingly.
“Happy?” he asked.
“Far from it.”
Seeing Cal at the dry cleaners earlier was both exhilarating and frustrating.
We had been around each other so much since that first day.
Even at a distance, with dozens of students between us, it had been something to feed the hungry parts inside me.
The ones that demanded a place to focus my needs and wants.
I needed something to be angry about, and I wanted something to occupy my imagination.
Unfortunately for Cal, he claimed both.
Today had been a one-off chance. He’d been casual in his shorts and T-shirt, nothing new there, but meeting outside of school was. Surprise and even a bit of happiness struck hard and fast, and then he’d cocked his head and opened his mouth. God, I didn’t need to think about his mouth.
Or the six-pack that lay under that deceptively baggy T-shirt.
Or the tattoo I’d only caught the lower edge of once when he’d lifted his shirt high enough for whatever reason.
Or his striking eyes that could’ve been lighthouses luring me to the rocks instead of away from them.
Or the dark golden skin that made me wonder if he tasted as warm as he looked.
Right. Uh, yeah, I didn’t need to think about any of that.
The point—if I’d had one—was that Cal hit me like a tractor beam out of nowhere, one I couldn’t get away from.
No matter how his sexy body struck me in new ways of dumbfounded, all he had to do was open his mouth, and our same ole bickering renewed.
How would we ever get the school to stop fighting if we couldn’t be civil for thirty seconds?
The answer to that was even more forced proximity, apparently.
School resumed on Monday, but it would be far from a return to normal. I was called right out of homeroom and into the boys’ counselor’s office. My curiosity ended with Cal sitting in one of the two chairs in front of Trent Wright’s desk.
“Fucking perfect,” I muttered and fell into the available seat.
“Watch the attitude, Jack,” Trent said.
Our counselor was nothing more than some recent grad with a psychology degree. He was young enough he had probably convinced the school he could relate to the students while he practiced what he’d learned, and that made us guinea pigs.
Cal glanced in my direction, then leaned as far away from me as the chair would allow.
“Hope you boys took the time during detention last week to reflect on how your actions, intended or not, influence those around you.”
When neither of us said anything, Trent went on.
“The faculty heard rumors of more pranks being planned. I know neither of you want to be expelled, so I went out on a limb and convinced Principal Woodson that you two aren’t instigating all of this between the teams. However, to keep him convinced, you both’re being enrolled in mandatory visits to my office. ”
“What?” Cal shot up. “No. We don’t need counseling sessions. Why not counsel the school if everyone knows it’s not us?”
Had that been an accidentally nice thing to say about me?
As if he realized he had spoken for me in a positive light, he jerked his gaze to me, then back to Trent as he shuffled farther right in his chair.
I hid my chuckle. Cal wasn’t a small guy, and there was no extra room in that seat.
As the starting running back, he was just over six feet, like me, and built for burst speed from the line and longevity. Jesus, I bet he had stamina—
“Watch it, Cal.” Trent’s bite had me redirecting my near constant anger at him.
I needed an outlet that wasn’t Cal, anyway, so what better place than the school’s counselor.
“This isn’t negotiable. You two will have joint sessions on Mondays for an hour after school, and on Wednesdays in place of your study periods. ”
“We have practice on Mondays,” I said. And because I couldn’t have Cal thinking I was on his side about anything, I added, “Besides, I’ve been through therapy before. I’m good, thanks.”
Cal turned to face me. Not that I was watching him, but his eyes on me were always too heavy and uncomfortably warm. What got up his ass now? That I was aware of his practice schedule or that I’d admitted to going through therapy?
Shit. Why had I admitted either of those things?
Trent snorted as if he knew how much we hated being here already and got some sick pleasure out of it. “Coach Sullivan is aware you’ll be late, Cal, but you, Jack, will need to make arrangements with the FC.”
With Hickory Bend being a small town, Coach Hayes was associated with our football club, and working around practice probably wouldn’t be an issue, but that wasn’t the point.
“This is bullshit, Trent. We aren’t the ones with the problem,” Cal said.
“No?” Trent gestured one hand at each of us. “Look at yourselves right now.”
For fuck’s sake. I was leaning left as far as he was leaning right. The corner of his mouth quirked, and I straightened in my chair at the same time he did.
We were still far enough I shouldn’t feel his body heat, but just those few inches made me so much more aware of him. The wavelengths bouncing between us had intensified and thickened in the smaller gap, pinging like mini lightning strikes.
I loved and hated it.
“This is happening, gentlemen. The faculty is aware and will be watching you both closely. You’ve been volunteered for the Athletic Leadership Camp next month.
Any projects, group study, or joint homework assignments will have you paired together.
Anything that comes up requiring two students help out”—Trent flicked a finger between us—“it will be you two.”
“For how long?” I asked. This would be more torture than they knew. Fuckers.
Trent shrugged. “That’s up to you. The school is tired of this rivalry. You can try to fake it to get out of this sooner, but just know we’ll be watching.” He waved his hand toward the door in a dismissive manner. “Get to class.”
Cal and I got to our feet and shouldered our backpacks. He even held the door for me, but I was sure it was just to get one last seething glare at Trent before we left his office.
“Fucking bullshit,” Cal grumbled when we were in the hall. The wide space was lined with lockers on either side. His words echoed slightly, but there was no one to hear except me. A twisted voice in my head whispered, how you want it to be.
And fuck me, if that wasn’t all too true.
More than I wanted to keep fighting, I wanted to stay close to him but couldn’t think how to make that happen without arguing. So, of course, it pissed me off.
“Figure out how to call off your football dogs, and we won’t have to do this for long,” I snapped. Even I was amazed at how much venom I could muster for him. Jesus, why couldn’t I just stop?
“You think this is all my fault too?” Cal’s eyebrows pulled together as if my words hurt, and then they settled low over his eyes. “Fine.” His lips thinned. “I’ll shoulder it. You and your brother go play heroes, and I’ll do the work.”