6. Ryder #2
He’s complained about this guy before. I guess he’s the son of one of their father’s friends.
In a way, it was a setup, and both of them have agreed to go along with it.
According to Camden, the guy is a wet blanket.
He’s boring, doesn’t intellectually challenge his sister, and would make a terrible life partner for her.
“Have you told her?”
“I have. But she isn’t listening.” He lets out a sigh as he runs his hand over the back of his neck and then his face.
“Come on, let’s go inside and get out of the heat,” I suggest, and he follows me into the house.
This house was built in the 1980s. I love the layout, the bones, and the full waterfront view.
What I didn’t love was that it has not been updated once.
Well, other than kitchen appliances. Think yellow honey oak cabinets, high-gloss lacquered countertops, linoleum flooring in the kitchen, wall-to-wall old carpet, bold geometric patterns, and glass blocks in the bathrooms. The previous owners lived here almost their entire lives.
One recently passed away, and the other went to live with one of their children.
“Wow, it’s coming along great in here,” Camden tells me as he looks around at the changes I’ve made.
Coming out of college, I really didn’t have a lot of furniture. A couch, a bed, a television, the basic standard apartment stuff, so it’s made it easy to strip this place bare and modernize it.
“Thanks. I’ve finished the floor on the first level and the stairs, painted, and swapped out the mantel on the fireplace. I’ve just started in the kitchen.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this all by yourself.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You know what I mean.”
In college, I fell in love with civil engineering and working with my hands. More specifically, structural and construction engineering. I love buildings, how they’re designed, and the idea of how I can make them better. One day, football will end, but I already know what I’m doing next.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I do, but it hasn’t all been by myself. Sully helped a lot with the floor.”
“Speaking of, you going to tell me what happened at practice today?” He leans against the kitchen island, pulls off his sunglasses, and pins me with one of his classic blank stare looks.
“What do you mean?” I attempt to play dumb because I really don’t want to get into it.
“What happened with Sully?” He frowns.
“What makes you think something happened with him?”
“Ryder.” His tone tells me he isn’t amused and to stop wasting his time.
My chest deflates as we stare at each other, and Felix makes his presence known by wrapping himself around Camden’s leg.
When I arrived in Tampa in May, I crashed at my mom’s place until the sale went through.
One day, I was headed to the facility for conditioning, and Felix was sitting under my truck.
He wasn’t a kitten, but he wasn’t full grown yet either.
He was covered in black fur, with large white spots.
His nose was pink in contrast, and he was very skinny I knew immediately he didn’t have a home.
Instead of working out, I found a veterinarian who could see us, and I instantly became a cat daddy.
I’d never really given much thought to owning a pet, but as the expression goes, “You don’t pick the cat, the cat picks you,” and he did.
“Every practice he’s all over you about one thing or another. Today, he gave you the silent treatment. I’ve worked with him long enough to know that the silent treatment isn’t good.” Camden bends down to run his hand over Felix’s back. Felix purrs at the attention.
I think everyone noticed he was giving me the silent treatment, as everyone was looking at me oddly. More so than usual because I’m the new guy on the team.
Needing to put some space between us, I walk to the other side of the island and set down my water and let out a deep sigh. I’ve rarely ever talked about Alice. Having to do so now brings emotions to the surface and makes me nervous and uncomfortable at the same time.
“There’s a cheerleader,” I start.
He holds up his hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. No. Just no.”
Felix jumps up onto the island and makes his way over to me.
“It’s not like that. Marketing has decided to do a big campaign this season featuring the two of us. They’re calling it Hometown Heroes. Alice and I are both from Tampa and have known each other for a long time. We used to be friends.”
Friends isn’t necessarily the right term for what we were. She was always so much more, but I’m not giving him anything more than that.
“Used to be?”
“Yes. I went one way, she went another, and that’s it.” I don’t want anyone to know what went down between us. Then again, if they searched Google hard enough, I’m certain the video is still out there. As we all know, things on the internet last forever.
“What’s the problem, then?”
He’s not going to let this go. At least I know with him, there won’t be gossip spread around the team.
Camden is different from others, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.
He’s ridiculously smart. He doesn’t waste his time with stupidity, and sometimes I don’t think he reads social cues very well.
But he’s the kind of guy who would give the shirt off his back to anyone, and he’d help you bury a body if needed.
Of course he’d be spouting off facts and percentages about how the body will still be discovered, but this is why I love him.
“Some shit went down, and well, we aren’t on the best of terms.”
His head tilts up a little as he absorbs what I’ve said, and under his scrutiny, I feel like an idiot and start fidgeting with the bottle.
“When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Last night. Some of us were called in to assist the cheerleading team with a gym workout. Of course, they paired Alice and me together. Danica was there to film us. Alice and I were . . . well, we were us, and Sully thinks he saw something he didn’t see.
Also, Danica was annoyed, and you know how he is around her. ”
Sully is a by-the-rules kind of guy. He likes order and cohesiveness. He likes it when all’s right and simple in the world. And for whatever reason, he’s particularly no-nonsense when it comes to the social media team.
“Not last night, before the season started.”
“Sophomore year. We had a game at Florida. She was a cheerleader there. I ended up getting a pick six, and when I ran into the end zone, she was standing right there staring at me.”
Standing there in a row with her teammates.
She had on their blue uniform with the large gator across her chest. The first thing that I noticed about her was that she was thin.
A lot thinner than I had last seen her. And second, were her eyes: large, brown, and still so beautiful they made my stomach ache. This, of course, made me mad.
“Did you say anything to her?”
“Nope.”
I did, however, taunt her. In high school, whenever I would intercept the ball or recover a fumble, which wasn’t often, I would run over to the sidelines and give it to her.
This became one of our signature moves, and everyone knew it was coming.
However, this time I walked right up to her, held out the ball, and while she looked confused and, dare I say, even a little hopeful, she reached for it.
I snatched it back and hit her with a dead, cold stare.
Like hell was I going to give it to her.
She left the game after that, and although I hated that I looked for her senior year, I couldn’t find her.
“And that’s it?”
“Yep. Last time we spoke was four years ago.”
I still dream about that day. Unfortunately, in my dreams things turn out different.
He lets out a sigh. “You should tell Sully, so it’s not awkward on the team. He is your captain.”
“Maybe, but for now, I want to get through these next couple of events unscathed.”
“How many events are there?”
“Eight. Well, seven now. The photo shoot was the first, but the gym footage was new. It was not scheduled.”
He chuckles. “You have to do them too, don’t you?”
“Unfortunately.” I pull Felix into me and hug him.
“Why did she say yes to this?” He picks up his water to take a sip.
“I’m guessing for the money. She gets paid by appearance. She also has a nonprofit and the Tarpons are sponsoring.”
He stares straight at me. “Golden handcuffs?”
“Pretty much.”
“You’ll have to find a way to make it work, and I don’t need to remind you that there’s no fraternizing with the cheerleaders.”
“That is the last thing you need to worry about.”
I tried that once.
Never again.