Chapter 10
TYRELL
I drive back to Football Frat, my mind running through a list of guys I know and wondering which ones will be a good fit for Dani.
Her next date needs to be perfect. He might not be the guy, but she needs to walk away with a smile on her face and the belief that moving on is possible.
Shit, the look on her face. Those tears. They sliced me up. Atlas would have been torn to shreds to see her that way. I’ve got to help her out. For his sake. For hers.
“Would you have taken those pills if you knew, man? If you could have seen into the future? Seen the way she’d suffer?”
I cling to the hope that he wouldn’t have. He was drunk, not thinking straight, being reckless, and no one had been around to check him.
Except he’d been at a crowded party, surrounded by people who supposedly admired him.
“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair, desperate to shake off these blues and second-guessing my decision to help Dani.
Being around her is unearthing all this past pain, and I can feel myself getting sucked back into that blackness I had to fight so hard to get out of. There was this constant cloud hanging over me—dark and brooding. It suffocated me, made me want to hide away and…
I pause at the intersection, giving the other car the right of way and noticing that it’s Carson and Nylah.
Following them home, I park right behind Zander’s SUV, which Carson obviously borrowed.
He really needs to get himself some wheels, especially since the three people he’s been borrowing from will be leaving after graduation.
Apparently, his mom has offered to buy him a new bike, but he wants to get some old thing and do it up.
He loves mechanics, so it’s gonna be his summer project.
I hope it all works out for him. I’m a little worried that I’m not going to be here next year to keep a quiet eye on him.
But he has Nylah now, and she’s calmed him down a lot.
He’s not the wild, angry bad boy he was when I first moved into Football Frat.
He’ll also have Grady to keep him in check… and whoever else they decide to let move in. I hope they find good guys. I’m assuming they’ll ask their teammates. I think Lincoln would work… or maybe Johnson or Rheems. Knowing them, they’ll go for guys on the offensive team. That’s worked well for us.
Opening the door, I jump out and raise my chin in greeting to Nylah, who’s grinning at me. “Where’ve you been?” she asks.
“Just helping out a friend.” I shove my hands into my pockets and follow them across the grass and up the front steps.
“Is he or she okay?” she asks when we reach the front door. “Are we talking moving furniture around help? Or studying help? Or—”
“Kitten, stop being so damn nosy,” Carson grumbles as he kicks off his boots.
Nylah laughs. “I’m just asking.”
I grin down at her. “She had a bad date. I just gave her a ride home.”
“Oh no. How bad? Like dire or scary or the kind you have to rant about?”
“The ranting kind.”
“Yikes.” She makes a face at me while Carson pulls her into the living room.
Everyone’s in there, watching a replay of The Big Bang Theory. Grady and Blake are cracking up while Sienna grins at the screen and Zander plays on his phone. He’s addicted to some block game.
I pull a chair in from the dining room and watch the last five minutes of the episode while Nylah and Carson get comfy on the beanbag near my feet.
“So, you want to do another episode?” Wily picks up the remote, aiming it at the screen, and I decide to put my foot in it.
“Actually, guys. I need your help.”
What are you doing? Why are you involving them?
I have no idea, but the TV goes off immediately, and soon every eye in the room is directed at me. Even Zander slips his phone away, and my mouth goes instantly dry.
Damn, boy, you’re a fool.
“Uh…” I clear my throat, scratching the back of my head and shifting uncomfortably on this chair, which suddenly feels too small.
“Well, I… I have this friend, and she just had a really shitty date, so I offered to find a nice guy for her to go out with. She’s only just getting back on the horse, you know?
And she really needs a good experience.”
“Why don’t you just take her out?” Grady asks.
“Uh… no.”
“Why not?” Blake shifts on the couch, stretching her legs across Grady’s lap. Her socked feet end up against Satch’s thigh, but Wily’s girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind. She’s too busy looking at me with a sweet smile, like she knows what I’m about to say.
“Well, she’s… she used to go out with my best friend. They were endgame, and I can’t step on that. Even though he’s passed away now, it feels wrong to… entertain that idea. There are rules. A bro code, you know?”
All eyes turn to Grady, and he tips his head back with a groan.
Wily snickers, reaching around Satch to lightly punch his arm. “You getting it now?”
“I got it before,” Grady grumbles. “Why do you think I resisted her for so long? It’s not like I just dove right in. I fought against this for—”
“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Carson cuts the argument short. “We don’t need to keep rehashing that shit. Wily doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s actually fine with you dating his sister.”
“I never said that,” Wily growls.
“The fact that he’s not breathing through a tube is proof enough, dude.” Carson smirks at the big, blond guard who is trying and failing to maintain his glare.
Wily’s lips twitch before he finally gives in to his grin and throws all the attention back on me. “So, you need to find this girl a guy. Any ideas?”
“Yeah, maybe.” I scrub a hand over my mouth. “But I don’t know if any of them are good enough.”
“Who’s on the list so far?” Zander asks.
“I was thinking maybe Lincoln. He’s single, right?”
“No way,” Carson barks. “He’s friends with Fleischer. That automatically makes him an asshole.”
“He tolerates Fleischer.” Zander raises his eyebrows. “There’s a big difference.”
“Not in my book,” Carson clips. “Think of someone else.”
“Well, there’s a guy in my anthropology class who could be a contender,” Nylah pipes up. “He’s really funny and smart, easy to talk to. And he has these amazing green eyes that are just—“
“Hey!” Carson snaps. “What the fuck?”
Nylah whips a look at him. “What?” She takes one look at his face and starts to laugh. “Aw, baby. Don’t be jealous. I only have eyes for you.”
“Doesn’t sound like it.” He scowls. “Green eyes, my ass. What’s so great about green eyes anyway?”
Nylah keeps giggling, touching Carson’s cheek and forcing him to face her. “I’m trying to talk him up for Dani, not me.”
He’s still looking kind of salty as she presses her mouth to his. It takes a moment, but he finally relents, giving in to her sweet affection with a soft growl, running his hand behind her neck and kissing her deeply.
I look away, then hear her softly mumble, “Love you, caveman.”
Rolling my eyes, I look around the room and try to ignore that soft surge of jealousy rising through me. I don’t want to feel that way about any couple in this room.
But damn, it’d be nice to have a girl sitting on my lap, kissing me and telling me I’m her man.
Stop it. Just focus on Dani and finding her a guy.
Pulling out my phone, I open up a fresh Note and ignore the fact that Nylah and Carson are still making out.
“What’s his name?” I ask her, nudging the beanbag with my toe.
“Oh, um…” Nylah turns to face me while Carson presses a kiss to her neck. “Andy. But I can’t remember his last name. I can find out his contact details for you tomorrow, though. We have a class together in the morning.”
“Cool.” I jot down Andy (Nylah’s anthropology class). “Text me when you get his deets.”
A soft growl rumbles in Carson’s throat, and I look away from his frown while Nylah starts to giggle again.
“Any other ideas?” I ask the room.
There’s a beat of silence before Satch speaks up. “There’s a really sweet guy in my study group. Super friendly and nice. He’s a tutor like me, and he’s great at helping people.”
“What kind of nice?” Sienna asks. “Ned Flanders or Keanu Reeves?”
Satch’s nose wrinkles as she thinks, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip before she admits, “Yeah, he’d definitely say ‘Okily-dokily.’”
Carson and Nylah snicker while Grady frowns. “What? Who’s Ned Flanders?”
Blake pings away from him like she can’t believe he just said that. “From The Simpsons. You know, the yellow guys… Homer, Bart, Lisa…” She tips her head, her face crumpling with confusion at Grady’s blank expression. “Really? Not even a meme? Come on.”
He shrugs, and she pulls out her phone to show him while I ask Satch the guy’s name.
“Paul Polaski.” She glances up at Wily. “Can you please pass my phone, babe?”
“You have his number?” Wily frowns, reaching for her device.
“He’s in my study group. I kind of have to have it.”
Wily nods, handing it over, then wrapping his arm around her shoulders while Satch pulls up the number and reads it out to me.
“You think he’d be interested in taking out someone like Dani?” I ask.
“Well, I don’t really know her, so I’m not sure what the personality match would be, but Paul’s really kind. Even if it wasn’t a good fit, he’d still give her a nice evening out, you know?”
“Oh yeah, I have seen these memes before.” Grady nods. “And which one’s Ned Flanders?”
Blake giggles and finds a clip of him. We all sit there while Grady watches Ned pop up from behind a hedge to greet Homer. “Hi-diddly-ho, neighborino!”
Grady winces while Blake cracks up laughing. “Yeah, that’s way too friendly.”
I frown down at the digits on my phone, suddenly unsure.
“He is really sweet, though.” Satch tries to stand up for her study buddy. “And he wouldn’t treat her like crap. Maybe she’s into super friendly.”
She looks back at me, and I wish I could give her a swift answer, but I’m not sure.
I know the Dani from high school. She’s no doubt changed a lot since then.
But if she’s looking for a guy like Atlas, a Ned Flanders dude is not gonna work.
“You said you wanted to ease her back into dating.” Wily shrugs. “Maybe a super-friendly guy is exactly what she needs. It’ll take any romantic pressure off.”
“And he’ll definitely listen to her and not talk about himself the whole time. I don’t think there’s an arrogant bone in Paul’s body,” Satch adds.
“Okay.” I nod, sighing as I rest back in my chair. “Well, do you want to see if he can meet up for coffee or something in the morning and we can find out if he’s interested?”
“You want to screen the guy first?” Zander grins at me.
“Hell yeah, I do. I’m not recommending someone I haven’t even met.”
“Good call.” Sienna nods. “I’m kind of curious to meet him now too. Can we all go?”
Satch giggles and pauses texting to cringe at Sienna. “That poor man. No, you are not doing that to him. Sitting down with a bunch of massive, intimidating football players and a crew of curious women? I will not put him through that. It’s gonna be Tyrell and me only.”
Sienna gives her a disappointed pout, then points at Satch. “I want full deets afterward, though. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Satch gives her a mock salute, then finishes her text while I start to worry if this is the worst idea I’ve ever come up with.
Seriously, what was I thinking?
Telling Dani I’d find her Mr. Right? I must be out of my damn mind.