Chapter 3 Ash #2
Then I realized that when Jett turned from his brother and moments later his hand clasped my shoulder as he passed me to go to Coach, they both did it with me.
Frowning, I rubbed my hand over my shoulder and caught Gray watching me.
He missed nothing, that cousin of mine. With a rueful smile, I headed over to the cones, ready to run my drills for the day.
I realized that I didn’t mind how attuned we all were.
“Single leg hops, then fast feet drills,” Coach barked at the offense.
“Santo, twenty-two, not you, you’re on Swiss ball squats.
Santo, eight, loosen up the throwing arm.
” Coach’s hard eyes met mine. “Santo, eighty-seven, set the pace. Show them how it’s done.
” He turned to shout orders to the defense, and with a resigned sigh, I set about the drills that would improve my speed and precision when playing, knowing that somewhere, a computer analyst was enjoying a hot breakfast, coffee, and probably an extra hour in his bed.
Lucky bastard that he was, I knew I didn’t envy him at all.
* * *
After practice, we left the stadium each with our own aches and pains. My back was still sore, my hip had eased, and my legs were now sore for their own reasons, and not the fact Red’s bed was narrow.
Ava and Quinn were outside, holding steaming coffee cups, and I think I actually saw the hint of a halo around each of their heads.
“Hi,” Ava greeted cheerily. “I bring the nectar of the gods.” She held up the coffee carrier as we all reached for one.
“And I bring the food of . . . well, the kitchen,” Quinn said as she held up a paper bag. “But it still counts.”
“Gloop?” I asked hesitantly.
“No.” She smiled at me, and I noticed how much easier she was around me, now that her secret was out. “I made you . . .” She dug into the bag and pulled out a wrapped package. “A breakfast wrap.”
I could have kissed her. Hearing a not-so-subtle warning grunt from the man to my left, I realized I may have made my intent clear.
With a welcoming smile, I gratefully took the offered wrap.
“You can do this every training day if you like,” I said as I unwrapped my wrap and took a coffee from Ava. “Where’s Red?”
“Mia,” Ava stressed her name, and I grinned around my wrap, as she rolled her eyes in answer, “is already at class.”
“Who took her?” Jett asked before he bit into his own food as we all walked the short distance to the campus.
“She went herself,” Quinn said, “but we spoke to her the whole way,” she added hurriedly.
“She protested?” I guessed when I saw Ava frowning.
“The entire journey,” Quinn admitted.
“Hey.” I nudged Jett, who was eating hungrily. “What’s the policy again on furnished apartments? Can I change stuff?”
“What are you changing?” Ava asked me in alarm.
She was wearing a bright red coat, and with her blonde hair and wide eyes, she looked entirely innocent.
However, I had heard her and Jett in his bedroom more times than I was comfortable admitting, and I knew under the angelic exterior, she was no angel.
“Either her bed or yours.” Scrunching up my paper, I tossed it into a trash can as we passed. “Or else Queeny needs to massage me every day to work the kinks out of my body.”
“Your back?” Quinn asked me as she moved closer. “I have an hour free at three if you need.”
“My back, my legs, my hips, hell, even my neck. The woman doesn’t have anything firm in her bed, at all.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” Ava quipped as she winked at me, and I laughed despite myself.
“I think you’re okay to change it out, on the understanding when you leave, you leave it behind.” Jett took a drink of his coffee. “I mean, we all changed our mattresses when we moved in, I’m sure everyone else does the same.”
“I need a bed and a couch.”
“What’s wrong with the couch?” Ava cried out.
“I’m a big guy. It’s like a freaking loveseat.” I turned my attention to Jett. “And I need a TV.”
“Why not just refurnish the whole apartment?” Ava grumbled.
“To be fair, if I could, I would.”
“Call mom, she’ll sort it,” Gray said easily as we all stopped at the point where the sidewalk split into two different directions.
“Then we’d need to tell her why,” Jett reminded him. “I’ll speak to Onyx.”
“For furniture?” Quinn snorted. “He’ll love that.”
“He knows what’s going on. He’ll get his secretary to do it,” Jett said. “I’ll text him.” Leaning over, he pulled Ava into his arms and kissed her goodbye.
I didn’t turn away quickly enough and saw Gray tug Quinn toward him. Feeling like a spare prick, I called out a mumbled thanks and see you later as I headed to class.
What were the chances that my cousins both ended up with girlfriends within weeks of each other? Of course, they would shack up almost at the same time. Stupid twin thing.
I needed a hookup. Red was off the table, and I wasn’t to bring anyone back to the tiny space she lived in, but the football house was still open to me. I still had a room there, and whoever I called would also have a room.
Yeah, I didn’t need Quinn at three this afternoon. I had better ways of working the kinks out, and I started to scroll through my phone to consider my options.
“You good?” Jett asked me as he pulled up beside me.
“Peachy.”
“Bed hurt?”
“Like a torture device.”
“You okay with Gray?”
Looking up from my phone, I looked around to see that my cousin and I were alone. “Where is he?”
“Walking Quinn and Ava to class.” Jett shrugged. “I’m only here because he’s there.” Nodding to show I understood, I went back to my phone. “Ash?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay with Gray . . . and Quinn?” Jett asked me again.
He was like a Rottweiler: once he had his jaws around you, he wasn’t letting go. “No?” Putting my phone in my pocket, I met his unwavering stare. “Maybe.”
“You and Quinn seem to be better,” he hedged.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Then why not Gray?”
Stopping on the path, I looked at him. “Because I’ve had two years to get over the fact that my girlfriend cheated on me.
Or wanted to cheat on me. I’ve had one week where I knew that it was with my cousin.
Who’s not only family, but my best friend.
” Running my hand over my hair, I shrugged.
“And with everything that’s happening, I need time to process. ”
Jett rocked back on his heels and looked at me in consideration. “You’re right, sorry. I’m just eager to move on.”
Snorting, I looked away from him as I shook my head. “Yeah, well, I’m not a machine.”
“I never thought you were,” Jett said quietly beside me. “And I know everything’s completely fucked up. We just need to see this through, then we can all process. Separately, if we need to.” He looked over his shoulder back to where Gray and the girls had walked. “Time to heal.”
I resumed walking, and he did too, both of us in our own thoughts as we headed to start the morning. We had separate classes as we took different majors, with only some courses overlapping. With a wave, I left him to go to Economics, and I headed into my first computing class for the day.
As I sat down at my usual spot, I realized I was looking for Red before I remembered that I didn’t share this class with her.
The pang of disappointment was unnerving, and pulling out my phone, I began to scroll through my options again.
Just because my cousins were loved up did not mean I had to follow them.
I was far too young for serious. That was one lesson that Quinn had taught me well.