Chapter 6
SIX
CASSIUS
Everything was changing.
Excitement sparked to life in my gut whenever I thought about what lay ahead. That didn’t stop the slither of unease. Whatever happened in the next hour with the draft pick, it was likely I’d be thousands of miles away from all that was familiar.
Sure, I entered the draft early, much to Mom and Pop’s frustration, but this was what I always wanted. Had spent years dreaming about. My degree credits would keep. Maybe in a few years I could finish my degree, once life had settled and I was a shoo-in for the starting five.
If I ended up on the West Coast, those changes I was both nervous and eager for would take some getting used to.
“You okay?”
Dylan’s soft question was for my ears only. Not that anyone else would be able to hear, considering the volume in the arena.
“Yeah.” A shaky breath huffed out of me. The buzz zipping around was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. And I suspected I never would again.
This was it. The League draft.
Looking past the tables complete with other players and their family and friends, I wiped my sweaty palm on my thigh, hoping I didn’t stain the fabric.
“Not long before they start.”
My gaze connected with Dylan’s when he spoke. His eyes were wide. There was little doubt in my mind that he felt almost as nervous as I did. We’d already discussed the possibility of me moving away and what that would look like.
Hell, the very thought of not being able to see him regularly was difficult to imagine. More than that, discomfort, heavy and unfamiliar, sat on my chest, constricting my lungs. We may have lived apart for almost three years, but that hadn’t stopped me being needy to spend time with my best friend.
I didn’t expect anyone would ever understand the pull Dylan had over me. In fact, I didn’t even know how to explain it or attempt to put it into words.
For the first time, I was hyperaware of my inability to reach out to hold his hand. It fucking sucked. He was my best friend. Hell, if my best friend was a girl, I was sure I’d be able to cling on to her hand, seeking the support I desperately wanted.
And while I usually fought against even the tiniest hint of prejudice, with so many cameras around, and soon to be millions of Americans watching the draft from their screens, I reluctantly knew now wasn’t the time.
What I would do was hug the shit out of him, though, as soon as my name was called.
Grateful, I smiled at Dylan, relieved he was here. For sure, my folks being here meant everything, right alongside my friend Colton, who I’d met last summer at Montview Academy. We’d become good friends, despite us being on different trajectories after his injury.
But it was Dylan who helped keep me grounded. Helped to keep my breathing steady.
Paula, dressed in a lit suit and kickers that I knew had rainbow laces in them, leaned over the table to get my attention.
I angled forward, taking in the mischievous glint in her eyes.
At almost eighteen, she absolutely knew who she was.
Back then, I thought I did, but compared to Paula, who’d come out as lesbian last year, told her parents to fuck off, then moved in with Mom and Pop, I swore she was more clued up than I ever was.
“You think anyone would notice if I slipped out before they start and smuggled in some pizza?” She bobbed her eyebrows for good measure, and I grinned, appreciating her cutting through the tension.
“Unless you’re prepared for it to get squashed by hiding the tray under your jacket, it’s likely you’ll get tackled.”
“Ooh… there was a cute security guard near the door. Maybe I should make sure I walk past her, wait till I get her attention.”
“What, with your alluring cheesy stench? Sounds delightful.”
Paula flipped her brother off, only to hide her hand quickly at a raised brow from Mom.
“Sorry, Mama T.” As always, her sugary sweet smile didn’t fool anyone who knew her. Paula was too much of a badass for that to fly.
“If anyone needs to use the restrooms, now’s the time.”
My lips twitched at Mom, and I flicked a glance at Dylan, who openly grinned.
It didn’t matter that Dylan was less than three months away from being twenty-one and two days away from leaving to head to Virginia for the start of his police academy training—knowledge that made it difficult for me to breathe if I thought too long and hard about it.
Nor did it matter that by the end of the night, I’d be playing professionally and have a contract earning me the big bucks.
For sure, none of that mattered to Mom, who still liked to remind us to pee while we could.
“You need to go potty, Dyl? Need me to hold your hand?”
Without speaking, Dylan stared at me, silently telling me to fuck off. We didn’t need to exchange words for me to know what he wanted to say.
It was all I could do to not burst into laughter and drift into hysteria. With my emotions high and close to the surface, it wouldn’t take much to push me over the edge.
Rather than visiting the little boys’ room, I tried to relax, focusing on Colton telling a very different version of a story of when we were at the training academy together and I’d “accidentally” mistaken Byron Dexter’s dick for the hoop.
My bad.
The guy was a homophobic fuckwit and had deserved to be walking with a grimace and an ice pack pressed to his balls for the rest of the afternoon.
“How the hell you didn’t get kicked out of the academy I’ll never know.” Despite his words, there was a proud gleam in Dylan’s gaze.
“Seriously, is there even a tiny part of you that could underestimate me?” I cocked my brow at my best friend, earning me an eye roll.
“I have no idea of underestimations,” Colton butted in with a grin. “I seriously just think Dylan here deserves a medal for putting up with your ass over the years.”
Dylan bobbed his head, feigning seriousness. “Thanks, Colton. It’s nice to feel appreciated.”
“Whatever, assholes. I know love and worship when I see it.”
Neither of my friends had the chance to flip me off as Mom cleared her throat.
I quieted down, my nerves once more sparking to life when I noticed the number of film crew taking up their positions.
They’d been milling around since before we got here, but with the bustle of activity and more people taking their seats, including the spectators at the back, it was clear it was almost showtime.
Falling to the hotel mattress with a grunt, I grinned at the ceiling.
The mattress dipped beside me when Dylan followed suit. At the touch of his arm against mine, I turned my head, our gazes clashing, the grin on his lips matching my own.
“I need to keep pinching myself.”
“If you need a hand with that….” He lifted his arm and reached for me, humor in his expression. I stopped him short of pinching my side and instead clasped his hand.
“LA Tritons.” I squeezed his palm. “As long as I get through training camp, I’m going to be playing alongside Phelps.
” For real, there were so many players who were incredible.
It just happened that Eddie Phelps was fucking phenomenal.
He’d been in the League for a few years now but was nowhere close to retirement.
“You’ll dominate camp.”
The conviction in Dylan’s tone caught my attention. I flushed at his belief, at the gentle yet somehow fierce way he stared at me.
“You think?” While I quite liked an ego boost every once in a while, right now, this was more than that.
The names drawn today reminded me that I’d be going up against the best the country had to offer. And once I was at training camp, I’d be legit competing against some of the best players in the world for a starting spot.
Talk about intimidating.
“I know.” Dylan brushed his thumb over my skin, the touch centering. “You’ll push yourself and find your place in no time.”
As reassuring as his words were, they were an unwelcome reminder of the new distance between us. Just over two and a half thousand miles, in fact.
I’d been holding out hope for a southeast team, just so I could be closer, not only to Dylan with his move but also not quite as far away from home.
“Hey, stop with the pouty lip.”
I huffed out a laugh and straightened my features, not realizing I was being quite so obvious.
“I know there’s a bit of a distance, but I won’t be in Virginia forever.”
He wouldn’t be. I knew that.
While he could have applied to a police academy closer to home, apparently Virginia offered hard-core training and was recognized countrywide as one of the best training institutes.
It meant he’d also need to police there for a couple years or so before even looking at returning home.
The whole decision hadn’t been made lightly, especially because of his sister.
But with Paula living with my folks and with her own plans for a scholarship at pretty much any college of her choice, she’d convinced him she’d be fine and he should follow his dreams.
So he had. And I was so damn proud of him.
But the reality of the miles between us was a shit of a thing.
It also made me feel even needier than normal.
We’d always half jested about Dylan being the cuddler of the two of us. Him initiating contact. We both knew the truth. It was bullshit.
While Dylan enjoyed affection, having been pretty touch starved at home, I’d been the one to latch on, embracing the cuddle monster title with pride.
I turned on my side, angled my thigh on top of his, and pressed my cheek against his chest.
“Nothing between us will change, yeah?”
Believing him, I bobbed my head and closed my eyes.
Tonight we’d had a few drinks in my parents’ room, but we were far from drunk. Just enough to help us celebrate and make us a little rowdier than normal.
In the hotel room we shared, though, it was easy to embrace the comfortable quiet. Relax into the way Dylan stroked my hair, his nails every now and then scratching lightly over my scalp.