6. Micah
SIX
MICAH
Practice sucks. And I’m starting to second-guess my desire to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and get my literal ass handed to me by running drills. Or laps with Colton by my side. That’s a special kind of torture, even if I can get under his skin.
I’m halfway down the hall, earbuds in, hoodie up, and still vibrating with leftover adrenaline from my first practice—if you can call it that.
I barely touched the ball, but my pride sure got a workout.
And the fact that Colton was feet away from me, naked and hard, and I’m pretty sure I was the cause of it. Yeah… It's a lot.
I’m almost at the exit when someone calls out behind me.
“Hey! Micah, right?”
I pause, reluctantly tug one earbud out, and glance over my shoulder.
Luke jogs up, cheeks flushed, hair damp from his shower. He’s got that easy-going, golden retriever energy that usually makes me want to run the other way .
Instead, I wait.
“Sorry,” he says, breathless, adjusting the strap on his bag. “Didn’t want to ambush you in the locker room. Figured you’d had enough of that today.”
I snort. “You’re not wrong.”
He falls into step beside me as we push through the doors into the late morning light. I don’t say anything else, and he doesn’t seem to mind the silence. We walk toward the dorms.
“I heard what happened,” Luke says finally. “With Colton. I mean—not the specifics. Just that there was drama, and it got ugly. A couple of years back?”
My stomach tightens.
He holds up a hand. “I’m not asking for details. Just—figured I’d say something, because…I dunno. It’s different now.”
I glance at him. “Different how?”
Luke shrugs. “I guess people stopped pretending so hard. We’ve had a couple guys come out since then. No one burned the campus down. Coach still plays them. They still get laid.”
I bark a laugh despite myself. “That your way of saying you’re one of them?”
He grins. “I mean, if the eyeliner, rainbow socks, and sparkly nail polish didn’t give it away…”
“I thought maybe you were just really into accessories,” I deadpan.
Luke gasps, clutching his chest like I’ve wounded him. “Micah, how dare you?”
I shake my head, biting back a grin. “Yeah, okay. I can tell.”
“Good,” he says brightly. “Because I’m queer. In case that part wasn’t clear. And you seemed like maybe you could use a friend who gets it.”
He says it so casually, as simple as offering gum.
I blink at him.
A friend.
I haven’t had one of those since—well, since before.
I nod. “Yeah. That’d be cool.”
“Sweet,” he says, beaming. “Want to grab a smoothie or something? You look like you’re two seconds from emotionally combusting. It must be hard being back on the team with Colt.”
I narrow my eyes. “You always this pushy?”
“Oh, honey,” he says, flipping an imaginary strand of hair over his shoulder. “You haven’t even seen pushy yet.”
I laugh.
Luke leads the way across campus like he owns the place, barely glancing back to make sure I’m following. I don’t think he realizes how rare it is for someone to just… include me. No strings. No subtext. No expectations.
We’re halfway to the smoothie stand by the rec center when two voices call out from across the quad.
“Yo, Luke!”
“Wait up, man!”
Two guys jog over—Ty and Will. I saw them on the field. They’re the type of players that coaches love—dependable, quick on the uptake, follow directions well. They’re also the kind of guys I usually steer clear of. Too easy for that easygoing energy to flip on you if you’re not what they expect.
But Luke just waves them over as if they’re old friends. Which, I guess, they are.
“Smoothie run?” Ty asks, falling into step on Luke’s other side. “You trying to get all that glitter out of your bloodstream?”
“I am the glitter,” Luke says with a wink. “This is Micah, by the way.”
Ty gives me a nod. “Hey, man. Good footwork today.”
Will chimes in. “That fake-out on Colton was nice.”
I blink. “You saw that?”
Ty grins. “Whole sideline did. Guy looked like he swallowed a whistle.”
Luke lets out a laugh-snort. “Tragic.”
I don’t say anything for a second, just studying them. Waiting for the shift—that moment when the friendliness turns cruel, or forced, or curious in the wrong way. But it doesn’t come. They’re just…guys. Talking. Being decent.
Will shoves his hands into his hoodie pockets. “You in the dorms?”
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Portman Hall.”
“No way. Same. We’re on the second floor—north side.”
“I'm south. First floor.”
“Cool, cool,” Ty says. “If you ever want in on Mario Kart night, Luke’s our reigning champ.”
“Because you cheat, ” Will mutters.
“I drift, ” Luke corrects him primly. “There’s a difference.”
They’re bickering now, back and forth in a rhythm that clearly runs deep. And it’s weird—how easy it would be to feel on the outside of it.
But Luke throws an arm casually over my shoulder and says, “Micah’s joining us tonight.”
I stiffen. “I didn’t?—”
“You are, ” he says, grinning. “Come on. You deserve to destroy these two in Rainbow Road Revenge . ”
Ty chuckles. “Bring it on, man. Just don’t pick Waluigi. Will gets twitchy.”
“ It was one time, ” Will mutters.
And just like that, I’m walking with them, Luke’s arm still casually draped over my shoulder, as if we’ve always done this. Like I haven’t spent the last two years building walls so high no one could even see me, let alone touch me.
I let out a breath and nod.
“Okay,” I say. “But I’m picking Waluigi.”
Will groans. Luke fist-pumps. “Yes! We are going to destroy them.”
The smoothie stand is one of those pop-up carts that always smells like frozen fruit and syrup. There’s a tiny chalkboard menu with names like Berry Beast Mode and Green Guts Glory , and the guy working the blender looks like he’s either high or deeply spiritually fulfilled.
“Berry Me Alive,” Luke says dramatically, leaning on the counter with a wink like he’s ordering a martini.
Will snorts. “You always get that one.”
“Because it’s delicious,” Luke replies, then turns to me. “Get whatever you want, by the way. First round’s on me. Unless you pick something with kale, in which case we’ll be having words.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You bribing me into friendship now?”
“Obviously. It’s how I got Ty and Will.”
“ Lies, ” Ty says. “You guilt-tripped me with a video of a baby goat wearing pajamas.”
“And it worked,” Luke says proudly.
I scan the menu. “Guess I’ll do the mango-pineapple thing. ”
“Bold,” Will says. “That one comes with brain freeze and instant sugar regret.”
“Sounds like my type,” I mutter.
Luke chokes , nearly drops his cup.
Will stares at me like he’s trying to decide if I’m joking. Then he grins. “Okay, you might actually survive hanging out with us.”
Ty points at Luke. “You’ve corrupted another one. Great.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Luke says, already sipping his neon-pink monstrosity. “Micah, do not let them scare you off. These two are the worst but, like, in a charming, emotionally stunted straight guy way.”
We take our drinks to the low wall just outside the rec center, sprawling out.
The sun is still high—bright and unforgiving—casting short shadows and making the pavement hot enough to fry your motivation.
The breeze cuts through the heat just enough to keep it bearable, and the thrum of campus is alive in the background—students shouting across the quad, a distant whistle from a rec league game, someone blasting music from a dorm window like it’s a public service.
“So,” Luke says, stretching out his legs. “We gonna talk about it or pretend none of that locker room stuff happened?”
I blink. “You mean Colton in the shower?”
He shrugs. “Just saying—if you ever do want to talk, I get it. If not, we can also just play dumb and scream at each other over blue shells.”
I stare at the smoothie melting in my cup, something tight unwinding in my chest. “I’m good with playing dumb.”
“Perfect,” Luke says cheerfully. “It’s my strongest skill set. ”
Will wipes smoothie from his lip. “Second only to losing at Mario Kart.”
“I will end you,” Luke threatens.
“I’d pay to see that,” I say, and it comes out before I can stop it. Casual. And it feels like I’ve always been here.
They laugh. Not at me, just with me.
And maybe I don’t say much else, but I sit there with my too-sweet smoothie and watch the shadows from the trees play across the pavement, and for the first time in too damn long, I don’t feel like running.