Chapter 32
TYRELL
After a restless sleep, my alarm wakes me with a jolt.
It’s a freaking foghorn, and I reach for my phone, accidentally slapping it onto the floor in my bid to shut the thing up.
“Fuck,” I growl, leaping out of bed, my foot catching in the damn sheet.
I thump onto the floor, grappling to pick up my phone and shut it up.
“Ahh!” I punch my finger onto the screen until the damn thing goes quiet.
Lying down, I rest my head on the hard floor and gaze up at the ceiling. It’s still dark. Five in the fucking morning, and the last thing I feel like doing is a workout at the gym.
Maybe I could just skip today.
I’m seconds away from crawling back into bed when there’s a soft knock on my door.
“Ty, let’s go, man.”
It’s Grady. I hate how fucking chipper he is in the mornings.
No, you don’t. You’re just being a grumpy ass.
Forcing myself up, I quickly get changed, pulling on my shorts just as my door pops open.
“Brah, you ready or what?” Grady whisper-barks.
“I’m ready,” I growl, throwing on a T-shirt and grabbing my hoodie.
I trundle after him and meet up with Carson, who’s already at the front door, taking off for Coach’s house. They go for a run together most mornings. I can’t believe they’re still doing that, but Carson seems to get a kick out of impressing his girlfriend’s father, so he goes, almost every morning.
Shoving on my shoes, I grumble my way out the door, Wily behind me. He’s way too chipper in the mornings as well, and I’m grateful when Zander appears out of his garage and offers to drive.
I jump in the front passenger seat and let the two morning larks sit in the back.
Seriously.
My head is pounding with tension. I really did not get enough sleep last night. You’d think my body would be relaxed and sated after what went down at Offside, but my brain just wouldn’t switch off.
I should be reveling in the fact that I got to experience Dani’s luscious body.
But the experience is being marred by this… guilt.
Grady’s comments from last night whistle through me as I tune out their voices and force my mind back to the night Atlas died.
It was so fucking hideous.
Walking into that party. Hearing Dani’s screams. Seeing Atlas’s pale face, his open eyes staring at nothing because he was dead. OD’d.
On pills you didn’t force down his throat.
I should have been there to stop him.
He wasn’t your responsibility. He was a grown-ass man who chose to mix his drugs. That shouldn’t be on you.
If anyone’s to blame, it’s the guy who gave Atlas those pills.
We never did find that out. The police investigation into the whole thing was useless. They put it down to reckless partying and did barely any follow-up. We were all too shell-shocked and devastated to push for anything, and it all got swept under the carpet.
It seems too late to action anything now, and what good will it do? It won’t bring Atlas back.
But it might stop the person from giving drugs to someone else?
I frown, rubbing my forehead.
I never usually let myself sit in these kinds of thoughts. I don’t want to tarnish Atlas in any way. He’s my best friend. He—
Glancing left, I look at Zander, smiling at something Wily just said, then laughing when Grady adds a witty one-liner. I’m only tuning in now, so I don’t really know what they’re talking about.
But these guys right here… they’re my best friends now.
Because Atlas OD’d.
Atlas was reckless.
Atlas left Dani and me.
A hot rush of anger fires through me. I never usually let it.
I’ve been clamping down that emotion for years, throwing it on myself instead.
Hating myself for not being there for him.
But what about him? He wouldn’t have been thinking about me and Dani, the consequences of his actions as he downed more drinks and swallowed those drugs.
He may not have meant to kill himself, but he did.
He left us.
“I have the right to move on.” The words pop out of me, and it’s not until Zander glances my way and says, “What?” that I realize I even said them aloud.
“Huh?” I turn to him.
“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows wrinkle. “What do you mean, you’re moving on?”
I blow out a breath, then feel Grady’s fingers grip my shoulder. “You do have a right to move on. To be happy. It’s okay to fall for Dani, you know?”
“Oooo.” Wily laughs. “You getting hardcore feels for Dani? When did this happen?”
“They’ve been going on all those dates. It was bound to happen.” Zander grins. “I’m happy for you, man.”
“Yeah.” I nod, letting myself smile. “She’s awesome.”
“She’s hot,” Wily agrees.
I throw a frown over my shoulder.
“What? She is!” He looks to Grady for backup. “I’m not saying she’s as pretty as my Satch.”
“She’s definitely not as gorgeous Blake,” Grady mumbles.
“Hey!” I snap. “She’s a fucking queen.” Scowling into the back seat, I point between them. “And she’s stunning. Every inch of her.”
Zander snickers, pulling into the stadium parking lot. “All of our women are beautiful. We don’t need to be getting into an argument about this.” Braking, he cuts the engine and eyeballs me. “Now, what’s this about ‘every inch of her’? Did you two get it on last night?”
“Maybe,” I murmur.
Wily whoops. “They totally did! Is she still up in your room?”
“No.” I frown. “I dropped her home after. She’s got a day off, and she deserves to sleep in.”
“Where did you do it?” Zander asks.
I wince and softly mumble, “At Offside. After closing. On the stage.”
“What?” Grady laughs. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I softly warn them, “Tell anyone and I will slay you all.”
Zander gives my arm a good-natured slap. “You know your secret’s safe with us, man.”
“Yeah.” I sigh, pushing my door open and stepping out into the crisp morning air.
“So…” Wily hitches his bag onto his shoulder and limps around the car. “Considering you had hot sex last night, you seem kinda down this morning. Are you bummed out that you couldn’t spend the night with her after or something? I didn’t peg you for being that much of a sap.”
“It’s not sappy to want to sleep beside your woman after you’ve had sex with her.” Zander frowns at Wily.
“No, I know that. I just…” Wily shakes his head, wisely shutting up.
Grady jumps in. “It’s the fact that Dani used to be Atlas’s girl.”
“Oh.” Zander and Wily nod in unison.
“That makes sense.” Zander shoots me a kind smile. “But… it is okay for you to move on. And if she’s the one, then don’t let shitty reasons stop you from being together.”
I can tell he’s speaking from experience.
His entire being resonates with it, plus we all know that he will forever regret breaking up with Sienna in high school and then screwing up so badly in his first year of college.
His actions nearly cost him Sienna and Zoey forever.
He had to do some major work to win his woman back, and now he’s playing happy family.
I know for a fact that he’s been looking at diamond rings.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he proposes when they get to LA, or maybe even before they leave.
“Yeah, man,” Wily agrees. “Life’s too short to hesitate. You need to go for it with this girl.”
“I think he kind of already has.” Grady smirks. “Maybe you should think about taking her out on a date next.”
Zander laughs while Grady winks at me, and I shake my head. I seriously have no response to that, because yep, Dani and I definitely jumped the gun last night.
But damn if it didn’t feel right at the time.
Our bodies were working of their own accord, and I’ve got a feeling they’ll want to do the exact same thing next time we’re together.
But I can’t just turn what we have into a sex-fest. I want more than that. I want a relationship with her. And I’ve been building one of those every time we’ve gone on a double date together.
It’s time to treat her like the queen she is.
Dumping my hoodie on the floor beside the weights area, I jump onto a treadmill to warm up and figure I may as well ask the fucking room.
“Everyone, give me your favorite date scenarios. I’m taking out the best girl I know, and I want to make it special.”
Every guy in the gym pauses, like I’ve just lost my fucking mind, before cracking up and hassling the shit out of me.
I frown, giving them all the finger as they laugh at me before upping the pace on my machine. I’m just breaking into a slow jog when one of them calls from across the room.
“Mini golf is always a winner for me.”
“I’d go for an outdoor movie. There’s usually one playing at this time of year.”
“There’s a cool night market in Fledgling every second Saturday of the month. That’s coming up this weekend. Take her there. Buy her some cotton candy or a piece of handmade jewelry,” Wily tells me.
I glance at him and grin.
“Yes, Satch told me about it, and yes, I’m planning on taking her there before I move to Arizona.” His smile drops away, his eyebrows dipping.
Yeah, the thought of leaving her is killing him.
“Maybe she’ll transfer.”
He sighs, resting his hand on my machine. “I don’t want her doing anything she doesn’t want to do. If she moves, it’s gotta be for her, not me.”
“Maybe she’ll love Arizona State.”
“Yeah, I mean, she’s already looking into it.” Wily glances at me. “I didn’t ask her to, but she got online the same night I was selected.” His lips twitch with a grin. “Think she’s gonna apply.”
“She’ll definitely get in.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’ll take her. I just… She’s never been that far from her parents before.”
I slow my pace, my muscles nice and warm to start lifting weights. “She can handle it, man. And you’ll be there. Plus, she’ll be away from those bitchy girls.”
“What if new bitchy girls crop up in Arizona? What if I’m out of town? Who’s gonna protect her?”
“What if she makes amazing friends in Arizona? What if she copes just fine while you’re away? What if she can protect herself?”
He growls as I fire the questions right back at him, but he knows I’m right. Satch is growing in confidence every day, and she hasn’t had one incident with those bullies since she stood up for herself that night.
“Look…” I stop the machine and step down, standing beside Wily as I reassure him. “The truth is, she’ll probably be just fine if she stays in Nolan, and she’ll be just fine if she moves to Glendale with you.”
“Agreed.” Zander steps up to join the conversation. “At the end of the day, the decision comes down to which place she’ll feel happier in. And my guess is that moving in with you is what she wants the most. She loves you, man.”
Wily’s lips curl into a grin. “I know that’s the option I want. It’ll definitely make me a happy man if she comes with me. I just want what’s best for her. She needs to make this decision for herself, not for me.”
“She will,” I try to assure him, but I don’t honestly know.
I haven’t exactly spent hours with Satch.
She seems sweet, and I can imagine her making decisions that are in Wily’s best interest. But he’s busy making decisions that are in her best interest, so maybe between the two of them, they can figure out what they both want and make it work.
They’ll make it work.
Every couple in Football Frat seems to have an endgame vibe. Which is why I was seeking my own.
And maybe you’ve found it.
My chest hitches at the idea, a smile creeping over my lips.
“Go with the market idea.” Wily gives me a nudge as I walk to the chest press and he heads over to the mat for some resistance training.
“Need a spotter?” Zander comes up behind me, and I nod, lying down and getting comfy under the bar while he smiles at me and starts to tell me all about his first date with Sienna.
The guy made envelopes with little riddles she had to work out.
Talk about a romantic.
“She loved it.” He grins, his expression turning nostalgic as he obviously relives his high school romance… and my brain starts ticking over with date ideas.
I want to give Dani the perfect night.
I want to show her that I’m in on this thing. All the way.