Chapter 3
Easton
My eyes follow his every move, unable to look away. Like a damn moth to a flame.
I do my damndest to avoid him, but it was easier when I was in high school. I moved away, went to a different school, and we hardly saw one another beyond the occasional party.
You would think that because of how big the SVU campus is, I’d hardly see the guy. Wrong. His dad is my football coach, and his best friend is dating one of my teammates. I see him now more than ever.
I hate it. Yet, I also find myself searching for him whenever I know he’s going to be in the same room.
Eight years later, and this man still has my head all messed up.
“Wright!” Coach Creed barks. “Eyes on the fucking field.”
Grinding my jaw, I look away from the very pissed-off man. He hates me, but I guess I don’t blame him. I punched his son in the face.
It’s something I’ve regretted every day of my life since.
“Hey,” I shout to Liam as he makes his way back over to join practice. “What the hell was that about?”
“What was what about?” he asks, raising a brow.
“You and Bennett.”
“Oh.” He grins. “Just putting my plan in place.”
“Plan for what?” My eyebrow furrows.
“To get my ex back.”
My spine prickles. Is he for fucking real?
My fists clench at my side, anger boiling inside me.
“Why would he take you back after you cheated on him?” I try to keep my tone neutral, but it’s not easy.
I don’t hate Liam. He's not a bad guy for the most part.
But he is a manwhore. From what I heard, Bennett only knows about the one girl that Liam cheated on him with, but I can confirm it’s two girls and three guys throughout their relationship. Unfortunately, I had to witness it with my own eyes.
Every time I did, I wanted to beat the shit out of him. Why be in a relationship when you’re just going to cheat?
“That was the past.” He waves me off.
“You’ve been broken up for a year. Why not just move on?”
His brows furrow. “You know, for someone who hates the guy, you sure sound very interested in who he is or isn’t dating. What's up with that, Wright?”
“Nothing,” I scoff. “Whatever, do what you want.”
He gives me a funny look before taking off.
The rest of practice, my mind is elsewhere.
I keep seeing a pair of honey brown eyes that haunt my dreams.
“What the fuck was that?” Coach Creed growls at me as I down a bottle of water.
“Sorry, sir,” I pant heavily, out of breath from the extra drills he made us run.
“Whatever is going on inside your head, leave it off the field. It’s your last year, the scouts will be watching. If you want to go to the NFL, you'll need to be at your peak.”
“I know.” I nod.
I need this. I need to be drafted. If I don’t, I’ll be stuck here in Silver Valley, in a dead-end job, just like my father.
I want to be nothing like him, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
“Go.” He waves me off.
“Damn, Coach hates you today more than normal. What did you do to piss him off?” Travis asks. Travis is one of my best friends. We met when I started going to River Ridge High. He introduced me to his friends, Max and Luca, and the four of us became the best of friends.
Through Travis, I met my best friend and girlfriend, Taylor, his little sister.
“Breathed wrong, I guess,” I mutter, pushing through the locker room door.
“You would think he’d get over it. It’s been eight years.” Travis sighs.
After Travis and I got football scholarships to SVU, he noticed right away that our coach hated me.
Needing to come up with a reason why, I lied and told him I punched Bennett because he made fun of my family.
I hated myself as soon as the lie left my lips, but Travis and my friends come from similar backgrounds as I do. We’re not rich and well off like most of Silver Valley’s students.
It was a lie he easily believed, and one I hated how easily I told.
It’s what I do. Lie for a living, and lie to protect myself. It’s second nature at this point.
“Party tonight at our place!” Liam shouts. “Let’s kick off this season with a bang!”
The whole locker room erupts in cheers.
“I swear to god, if I find another couple fucking in my bed, I’m going to burn the damn thing,” Travis mutters.
“Don’t worry,” Liam chuckles. “If I see someone looking for a place to hook up, I’ll send them right to your room.”
“Fuck you.” He flips Liam off.
“Sorry, not my type. I like my guys with brown hair and big muscles.” He winks.
“I’ve got muscles, and my hair is like three shades darker than brown.” Travis frowns.
“Dude, why are you defending yourself to him? Do you want to hook up with him?” I ask.
“No,” Travis mumbles. “I’m just saying.”
Laughing, I shake my head and head for the showers.
“How was your day?” Taylor asks, throwing herself down on my bed.
Smiling, I move my textbook out of the way. “Good. Until practice that is.” I sigh, closing the book.
She rolls over on her stomach and looks up at me with curious eyes. “Spill.”
“No. It’s stupid.” I clear my bed off, shoving my school stuff into my bag.
“Tell me anyway.” She moves into a seated position, crossing her legs and waiting for me to talk.
“Bennett came by the football field today,” I begrudgingly admit.
“Okay...” she says slowly. “Not an uncommon thing since his dad is your coach.”
“Liam ended up talking to him.”
“Huh.” She frowns. “Why?”
“Guess he’s trying to get his ex back.” I roll my eyes.
Snorting, she shakes her head. “Not going to happen.”
“How do you know?” I frown.
“Because I’m friends with his bestie. You know this.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“We talk.” She shrugs. “And I happen to know Bennett can’t stand a cheater. What Liam did to him was fucked up, and he would never go back.”
Her words settle something inside me that I didn’t know needed reassuring.
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter.” I get up and go to my closet. Pulling off my T-shirt, I switch it out with another one.
“Clearly, it does if it bothered you. I thought you said you didn’t like Bennett anymore?”
“I don’t.” I turn to face her. “I haven’t in a long time. Doesn’t mean I want the guy to get back with a cheater, though.”
“Mhhm.” She raises a brow.
“Taylor, stop,” I warn her.
“I’m just saying.”
“I know what you’re saying, and it’s not true.” I roll my eyes.
“Mhhmm. Sure, sure.”
“Enough of this. Can we just go, please?”
“Fiiiiine,” she sighs, getting up. “Let’s go party!”
Chuckling, I follow her out of the room.
We spend the next two hours helping set up, moving anything we don’t want broken, and making sure doors to bedrooms are locked.
Travis wasn’t exaggerating. The amount of times I’ve found someone fucking on my bed is disturbing. I’m normally too drunk to care in the moment, though.
I gravitate toward the backyard and settle by the fire pit with Taylor. We snuggle up together, drinking and talking with our friends.
Honestly, it’s a pretty chill night compared to the normal parties we have.
That is, until I see Bennett and Aria come out back. He’s giving her a piggyback ride, a big smile on his face. He puts her down by the ping pong table.
Aria goes over to Tyler and kisses him while Bennett talks to Roland.
“You okay?” Taylor asks. Shit. She must have felt me tense up.
I have eyes, I saw the way Bennett was checking Roland out today at practice. I’ve seen how Roland checks Bennett out every time they’re in the same damn room, too.
That’s probably why Liam went over to say something to Bennett. Not because he wants to get back together with him, but because he didn’t like that one of his teammates has the hots for his ex.
“I’m fine,” I murmur, holding her closer. “How about you?”
“Distract me?” She pouts up at me.
Here's the thing. Taylor is my girlfriend. To everyone else but us. We’re in a lavender relationship of sorts.
I like guys, but my dad is a raging homophobe. To keep him off my back, and you know, not beat me to death for liking dick, I started dating Taylor.
She really is my rock, my person, my soulmate.
At first, I was worried I’d be keeping her from finding someone she could be happy with. She insisted she was fine, and if she ever found someone she liked, we could revisit our arrangement.
Years went by, and I got comfortable. I was content with the way things were.
That was until I found out why Taylor was so okay with being in a fake relationship. I found her making out with someone behind the equipment shed the first year we started at SVU.
And that someone was a girl.
I was hurt, not because she cheated on me, because our relationship wasn’t real. It was because she didn’t come to me. Of all people, I would have understood.
Like me, Taylor’s family isn’t accepting of same sex relationships. While my dad is just a piece of shit loser, her parents are very religious.
She opened up, apologized, and we moved on with new rules in place.
We’re allowed to see other people if we want to. She’s seen a few girls on and off in secret. Me, however? I have yet to find a guy worth taking that risk.
What does that mean for me?
It means I’m a twenty-one-year-old closeted virgin. What a flex.
Anyway, enough about that.
The reason why Taylor is no longer in a good mood is because she’s fallen head over heels for her very straight friend. The friend who also happens to be Bennett’s best friend.
I’m the king of loving someone you can’t have. I feel for the girl.
“Want something to drink?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go get a drink, maybe some dancing, huh?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I help her to her feet. Taking her hand, I guide her inside the house, resisting the urge to look over at the beer pong table.
I’m over Bennett, and I have been for years. I shouldn’t care about who he flirts with or who he dates. It’s none of my business.
The guy hates me anyway, so I should really just leave it alone.
“Cooler or beer?”
“Do you have to ask?” Taylor gives me a look, wrinkling her nose.
“Beer it is.” I grin.