2. Nolan #2
I grab his cheeks between my hands and smack a kiss on the top of his head.
“Perry, you just became my favorite fucking person.” I pull the sheath of papers from his hands and slide them back into my bag feeling lighter and freer than I have in weeks—years.
“Sorry, Captain, but I’ve got to pack. It looks like I’m moving. ”
Hudson stands, wiping a towel across his brow which is heavy with doubt and concern. “I’ll walk you out.”
Guilt peppers my steps as we make our way out of the facility.
The entire team is here, working their asses off, preparing for what may be a defining season for all of us as well as Camden.
For years, Camden went unnoticed, never seen as a threat, but over the past several years, that’s changed.
Now, guys are riding on this season—their futures relying on a winning record.
I make a silent pledge to make up this session and help them achieve their goals as I push through the doors that take me outside.
“Are you sure about this?” Hudson asks as soon as we clear the facility.
“Am I sure that I don’t want to live in the dorms? Hell yes.”
“I know you hate living here and that soccer player is a fucking dick but think about four AM practices and nights when we get home at midnight and can barely crawl to the dorms.”
“It’s not just about having a dick living next to me.
Mila was right when she said we’re fucking show ponies.
They want us on a short leash, watching everything we do, where we go, and who we’re hanging out with.
The second we step out of line, they make us pay for it by threatening additional practices or fewer minutes in a game. It’s bullshit.”
“Krueger knows,” Hudson says.
I stare at Hudson, working to articulate what he’s telling me. Krueger is new to Camden. Typically, it would be his role to establish our playbook and call our offensive plays, but like the rest of us, Peters limits him as well. “Krueger knows what?”
“We talked, and he wants to loosen the reigns and allow us more freedom and privacy. He knows how tight we’re being squeezed and that we have a hell of a lot more potential than running the same goddamn plays.”
I nod. “We both know that won’t happen, not unless Peters retires.”
Hudson slowly releases a breath, his jaw clenched.
He’s still trying to wade out of the pile of shit he found himself stuck in last month after skipping practice to fly to New Mexico to see Evelyn.
Peters will happily replace him if he steps out of line again because he has no problem cutting off his nose to spite his face—or our winning record.
“Double-check the fucking rule. I don’t want him to be able to come after you. ”
I smirk. “Done.”
Hudson tilts his head, his expression turning to amusement. “Do you really think your sister’s going to let you move in with her?”
My little sister Katie was coined the ice queen last year when she came to Camden as a freshman.
I was completely okay with this; grateful I didn’t have to issue continuous warnings to the team to avoid her because she did it herself and never attended our games.
“Knowing Katie, it will come at a price, but she’s got a full basement that they don’t use. ”
“You don’t have any furniture.”
“God, no wonder you didn’t sleep with Evelyn when you guys got stranded at that motel this summer—all you see are obstacles. I’ll sleep on the fucking ground if it means getting out of there,” I say, pointing at the dorm building beside us. “Any other questions or helpful reminders?”
Hudson smirks. “Sometimes you’re an asshole.”
“An honest asshole, though.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I think I can help you out with your furniture dilemma.”
“I’m listening…”
“You know how Evelyn’s aunt has been redoing her house?”
I shake my head. “No, but continue…”
“She’s getting rid of a bunch of shit. The house has four bedrooms upstairs, and she’s tearing two out to make a bigger master suite, so she has some furniture she’s looking to get rid of.”
I reach for him, but Hudson takes a step back, chuckling. “Don’t fucking kiss me, too.”
I laugh. “Ask her how much she wants for a bed and dresser, and when I can come to pick it up.”
“We can probably get you more if you’re interested. Rugs, nightstand, lamps—make a list of what shit you need. We’ll get it sorted for you.”
“I owe you.”
“You will,” he tells me. “Good luck with your sister.”
I crack a smile, already working to bolster my confidence because I’m going to need both my confidence and his luck.
I measure the trip to where my sister lives both in time and mileage. It’s sixteen miles away from campus—assuring me it’s within the guidelines.
I get out of my truck, starting at the house where envy has always greeted me. Katie has no idea how lucky she is to be able to leave campus every day.
I ring the doorbell, a spiel and a plea already on my tongue.
The door swings open but rather than my sister, it’s one of her roommates.
The girl has blonde hair, blue-rimmed glasses, subtle freckles, and a smile that makes her the spitting image of most librarian fantasies.
I’ve seen her a few times but can’t recall her name.
I try to recall if she’s the computer nerd, the band chick Katie often complained about, or the bookworm I’ve only seen behind a textbook.
“Hey, is Katie home?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says, taking a step back into the house and widening the door slightly. “Can I tell her who’s here?”
“Nolan.”
Footsteps on the stairs in front of me have me glancing up to see my little sister, her easygoing expression and steps stalling as she notices me.
“What are you doing here?” Her speculative gaze and pursed lips likely have her roommate thinking we don’t get along, or maybe she knows Katie well enough to know she’s suspicious of everyone.
Once as kids, our parents took us to Disney World, and she gave every character Mom made us wait in line to pose with the third degree, telling them all she knew they were imposters. She made at least a dozen kids cry.
“It’s been a few weeks,” I say. Neither of us went home for the summer, me because we have to take classes year-round to earn enough credits and our break from football is only a couple of weeks, and Katie because she started dating a guy last winter and had a part-time job that kept her busy.
She nods. “Want to come in or is this a well-visit drive-by?”
I grin, taking a step into the house. It smells a hell of a lot better than our dorm, which reeks of paint and fresh carpet from the summer.
“You guys got a new table,” I say, nodding at the dining room table.
She nods. “We ordered it last spring, but it was on backorder forever.” She looks around the room, as though searching for another safe topic to discuss. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Water would be great. Thanks.”
Katie moves to the fridge, withdrawing a bottle of water that she hands to me.
“How’s Carsen?” I ask though I’m still undecided if I like the guy. He’s my age and kind of awkward. However, he seems to make her happy.
“He’s doing well.”
“Still on track to become a lawyer?”
Katie nods. “Still on track.”
I take a pull of water. “What about you? Classes good?”
“It’s still the first week, and it’s only Wednesday.”
It feels like it’s December. The idea that it’s only the first week mentally taxes me and has me cutting through pleasantries. “I have a proposition.”
Katie shakes her head. “I’m not interested.”
“You haven’t even heard it.”
“I don’t need to.”
“I can move out of the dorm,” I say, jumping straight into the fire.
“Good for you.” Her response is only half sarcastic because she knows I was jealous as a stray cat when I helped her move in here last fall.
“But there’s a catch.”
“There always is, and I’m guessing that’s why you’re here.”
“I have to live with a relative.”
Katie shakes her head. “I have two roommates.”
“I thought you had three?”
“She’s abroad for the year.”
Her words have the proverbial bell in my head, ringing that this is right and true. “That’s perfect. I can take her room.”
“Nolan, you can’t sleep across the hall from my roommates.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a dude and we’re a house of women.”
“Sounds familiar.”
Katie shakes her head. “This is different. They’re not related to you.”
“What about the basement?”
Katie closes her eyes. “What about the basement?” She’s scrambling for new excuses.
“You said none of you go down there because it’s unfinished. I’ll sleep in the basement.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“Why?”
Katie tilts her head back, her blue eyes narrowed. “Because we don’t want cleat chasers and random people showing up at the house with a keg over one shoulder, looking for a good time. We have routines and a cleaning chart.”
“Sign me up. I’ll help.”
“Nolan—”
“Name your price.”
“I don’t have a price.”
“I will wash your car for a year. I’ll be your personal chauffeur home from every party you attend—”
“I don’t get shit-faced.” She gives me a pointed look that says like you .
“I can do house projects, get you box seats to give to Carsen for Christmas, get test answers for one of your classes.”
“How?”
“Is that what you want?”
“No!” She sounds exasperated.
“Katie, come on. I’ll live in the basement.
The only time you’ll see me is when I’m coming or going.
” I already know offering to help with finances will be a moot point.
Our grandparents on our mom’s side left all three of my sisters and me inheritances for college that could support us going to college for a decade a piece if we wanted to thanks to the oil that was found on their property.
Still, I make the pitch, “I’ll help with the bills and groceries, and if some random idiot shows up in the middle of the night, I’ll be here to chase them away. ”
“The only random idiot I’m worried about showing up is you.”
“Come on. I’m desperate. Name your price.”
Katie’s shoulders sink, revealing her reluctance is beginning to break. “There are going to be rules, and it’s not forever, but I need to talk to my roommates first. I can’t make this decision on my own, and if they say no…”
I nod, not hearing anything except her accepting me to move in.