Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Not blind to it
Ryker
I readjusted the icepack on my ribs. I’d been sacked late in the final quarter, so Coach had swapped me out for the backup quarterback. By that point, the game had safely been in our hands, otherwise I would’ve argued to keep playing.
I’d already showered and changed back into my football tracksuit. The team doctor had assessed me straight after I came off and given me a strict icing plan for the remainder of the night. With another game next weekend, I needed to get on top of this bruise and keep the swelling to a minimum.
A win on the road was always nice. The team was sure as hell pumped. Music played loudly in the locker room, and the chatter hadn’t died down since the end of regulation.
Beside me, my best friend Evan stripped off his gear, his sweaty hair sticking at random angles. The guy didn’t look like he belonged on a football field. His shaggy blonde locks and blue eyes suited a surfboard more, but I was thankful he’d traded in the board shorts for cleats.
We’d been both housemates and roommates since freshman year – housemates at our off-campus place, and hotel roommates whenever we were on the road for an away game.
Brady returned to the other locker beside mine, setting his towel on the hook. We had the same Richardson traits. The same height. The same brown hair. Not to mention we were both obsessed with football.
We’d been getting mistaken for brothers our entire lives. Our dads were twins, and Brady and I were born only four weeks apart.
Across the room, Kyler and Pat, my other two roommates, were heckling some of the freshmen. They were keen to keep the party going, never ones to pass up the chance for some fun.
Every weekend there seemed to be some kind of gathering at our college house.
In the four years I’d lived there, I’d never once been home alone.
Half the time, the guys hanging in the living room, watching football or playing video games, weren’t even ones who lived there.
I swear the entire team had a key to our place.
“I’m fucking starving,” Evan grumbled.
“We passed a burger shop on the bus ride here. It’s probably only a five minute walk from our hotel,” Brady said.
I leaned forward, wincing as I did, to pull my phone from my pocket. “What was the name of it? I’ll tell Ruby to meet us there.”
Trying to locate family and friends in the arena after an away game could get hectic, especially when you didn’t know the right spots to avoid fans.
While I was usually happy to stop for photos and sign kids’ merch – something I still found strange that people even asked for from me – I wasn’t up for it tonight. My ribs were fucking sore.
“King Burger.”
I pulled up Ruby’s name, coyly hiding my phone so nobody called me out for breaking our team rule: No phones straight after a game.
Ryker: Where are you?
Ruby: At a packed bar near the stadium.
Ryker: Meet me at a place called King Burger?
Ruby: Okay. I’ll round up the girls.
Ruby’s three roommates, Bri, Jaz and Daisy, had come to the game with her tonight. Knowing she’d worked earlier today, I was grateful that Ruby wouldn’t have to drive home alone later.
Locking my phone, I dropped it on the bench beside me, just as Kyler and Pat ambled over.
“Shower up,” I ordered the guys. “Ruby’s meeting us at the burger place with her friends.”
That piqued Pat’s interest. “Are her friends hot?”
Kyler snorted. “I’m gonna guess yes since they’re friends with Ruby.”
I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“He means your best friend is smokin’,” Evan clarified.
Brady whistled under his breath. “Don’t do it, man.”
Evan didn’t cower. “What? It’s not my problem Ryker is blind to the fact Ruby is a dime.”
I rolled my eyes. Here we went again.
“I’m not blind to it,” I shot, defensive. “I just don’t see her like that. Same way I don’t check out any of you ugly bastards.”
Though the constant stream of girls always around the guys was a tell that none of them were below average in the looks department.
Evan tended to have someone new on the scene each week, Brady had been dating the same girl since sophomore year, and Pat and Kyler usually didn’t sleep alone after any night out.
“I’ll bet Ruby gets hit on all the time,” Evan said.
I shrugged. “Can’t say I’ve noticed.”
“No shit. No guy is going to hit on her when you’re there. I’m talking about when you’re not glued to her side.”
Pat snickered. “Which is never.”
I’d spent my entire life defending my relationship with Ruby and ignoring the are you dating and when are you going to get together and you two will get married one day snide remarks.
It wasn’t a shock that my college teammates couldn’t understand our relationship. Only those who had known us since we were kids tended to be the ones who got it.
“You only see us together when she’s here. I’m not about to abandon her at parties when I’m one of the only people she knows at Phil-U.”
“Whatever you tell yourself, man,” Evan derided. “All I’m saying is that if she wasn’t dating that water polo snob, I’d hit on her in a heartbeat. And if you give her some breathing space tonight, you’ll see for yourself that I’m not the only one who feels that way.”
*
When we finally ambled into the burger place, my stomach mumbled its appreciation as the smell of grilling meat hit me. Most of the team had followed our lead and were here as well, filling up the place. After we ate, plenty would scour the streets for somewhere fun to party on.
Not me.
While I was willing to stick with Ruby for however long she lasted, my ribs were playing the fun police.
I caught sight of the back of her head by the bar. Her blonde hair was secured at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing a baggy beige knit over cream pants, along with the Adidas Sambas I’d bought for her birthday last year.
A guy was next to her, crouching to talk into her ear. Ruby smiled politely before shaking her head. I couldn’t read lips well, but I caught sorry and boyfriend.
Huh. Clearly Evan wasn’t talking shit.
Taking that as my cue, I crossed the room and came up behind Ruby. As if sensing my presence, she turned, a grin stretching across her face.
“Wheels!”
Pressing onto her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around my neck. I ignored the sharp pang that shot through my ribs as I ducked down to her height to hug her back.
Her signature scent hit me, making me feel like I was at home and not in some random city. With how often we travelled for games, it was nice seeing a familiar face for a change.
As I pulled back, my gaze shifted to the guy beside her. He cautiously looked me up and down, seeming a little guilty.
“You must be the boyfriend,” he murmured.
“Actually–”
“Yep,” Ruby interjected with ease. “Thank you for my drink.” She placed her hand over my forearm, winking subtly. “But he’s got the rest covered for the night.”
With his tail between his legs, he walked off, retreating to his group of friends hanging by the jukebox.
Once he was gone, Ruby’s attention switched to me smoothly, as though he’d never been there. “What took you so long, Wheels? Come on. We’ve got a table back here.”
Scooping up her free drink, she headed to the booth where Bri, Jaz and Daisy were sitting.
I hadn’t spent as much time with Ruby’s friends as she had with mine. With my hectic schedule, Ruby mainly came to visit me. I’d only been to her place in Columbus twice, and both times it had just been to pick her up before we continued home to Detroit.
Given how often we spoke though, I still knew her friends well. Ruby would often prop me against the fruit bowl while she ate dinner, and I’d get sucked into whatever conversation they were having in the kitchen.
It was usually something pretty fucking whack – girls talked about the most random stuff. I knew way more about Ruby’s friends and all their dating drama than I needed to.
Ruby slid in beside Daisy then scooted over to make room for me.
“Hi girls,” I said.
“Sup, hotshot,” Bri greeted.
I hated that nickname. It’s what she’d called me ever since Ruby mentioned I was a draft prospect.
“Enjoy the game?” I checked.
Jaz nodded. “Totally. I mean, I know fuck all about football, but the atmosphere was cool.”
Daisy grimaced while offering an apologetic shrug. “I’m a hockey girl through and through. Sorry.”
I simmered at that admission. My track record with hockey players wasn’t great.
Bri picked up her drink, a playful smile on her face. “My highlight was witnessing Ruby turn into a football fan. I’ve never heard so many cuss words coming from our little pocket rocket.”
Ruby nonchalantly shrugged the comment off. Knowing how vocal she could get from the living room couch, I had an idea. Like mine, Ruby’s family was a big football family.
These days, the college stadiums I played in were too big to hear her. But back in high school, I could make her out clear as day, shouting from the stands. Sometimes it fired me up exactly when I needed it.
“Are you all good?” Ruby checked. “You got sacked hard near the end.”
“I’m okay.”
Her blonde brows lowered. “You sure? I felt the ice pack strapped to your ribs when you hugged me.”
“I’m fine, Rubz. Just a little sore. That’s all.”
“If you’re offering to play nurse with my captain, he’ll take you up on it,” Pat drawled as he appeared beside me. “We need him in fine form for the backend of the season.”
The rest of the guys had followed him over, each already clutching an icy cold beer.
Smiling, Ruby climbed over me to edge out the booth. “Girls, this is Brady, Evan, Kyler and Pat.”
Pat rested his arm on the table, flexing. “And you all are?”
“Bri, Jaz and Daisy,” Ruby filled in. “But to you it’s hell no, absolutely not, and don’t even think about it.”
The insult rolled off Pat. With a subtle nudge, he all but yanked me from the booth before sliding into the spot beside Daisy.
The rest of the guys – minus Brady who was staring at his phone, likely chatting to his girlfriend, Tori – wasted no time getting acquainted.
“Have you ordered yet?” I asked Ruby. “I’m starving.”
She grimaced. “We were actually about to leave.”
“What? I only just got here.”
“It’s getting late and the drive home is long.”
I pouted like a kid being told he couldn’t have a new toy. I wasn’t above stomping my foot and throwing a tantrum either.
“I’ve barely seen you, Rubz.”
Ruby’s face softened. “I know. I guess meeting at one of your games doesn’t actually leave much time for catching up.”
In high school, I’d all but begged Ruby to apply to the same colleges as me. Though given I’d been offered a full scholarship to multiple football schools, it hadn’t exactly helped her in knowing where to apply.
I’d also known she’d always dreamt on going to Columbus for their nursing program, and if she wasn’t giving up that dream to follow Noah to Miami, it was off the table for her to abandon it to come to Philadelphia with me.
“Stay for dinner at least.” I gestured to our friends who were all chatting, seeming to be getting along nicely. “How often do we get to spend time like this together?”
While mine and Ruby’s lives were fully interconnected back home in Detroit, our Philadelphia and Columbus worlds didn’t often cross paths. Our friends were never all in the one place.
“Come on, Rubz,” I pleaded. “It’s the least you can do for your fake boyfriend.”
Her forehead creased. “Did that bother you?”
“Of course not, but would it bother Noah if he found out?”
She shook her head. “If anything he’d thank you for keeping other guys away.”
I doubted that. Noah was only in my life because Ruby was, and I knew he felt the same about me. In high school we’d run in very different groups. I only noticed him once he started paying attention to Ruby.
There was only one thing we had in common – and I was looking at her now.
“Out of interest,” I began. “How often do you get hit on?”
“What type of question is that?”
“A curious one.”
She blinked at me in confusion before giving a small shrug. “I don’t know. Definitely not as often as you.” With a defeated huff, she returned her keys to her pocket. “Whatever. We’ll stay. But you’re buying my burger.”