WYATT
I grunt through my teeth as I lift the bar weighed down with over two-hundred pounds.
“Thirteen, fourteen, and… one more,” Noah encourages me while keeping his hands just under the bar for safety, even though my personal best is over three-hundred pounds. I loudly exhale as I push the bar up for the last time. “Fifteen.” Noah helps me rack the bar. “Nice job.”
I peel myself off the bench and put my hands on my knees, exhausted. “It’s crazy how fast you get out of shape after the season ends.”
“That’s why we’re here together,” Jaden pipes in. He and Colin are at the squat rack taking turns lifting.
“And,” Colin leads, “to interrogate Wyatt about what’s going on with him and Nash. Because they’re definitely fucking.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl. I thought this was our off-season bros at the gym routine. I didn’t know it was a trap.
“You know we can all tell,” he says matter-of-factly.
I glare at him. “We’re not having this conversation. End of discussion.”
Jaden, not one to be put off of anything ever, chimes in. “Great, then we can talk about the fact that you still don’t have a signed Hurricanes contract.”
Wow. The only other topic I absolutely didn’t want to talk about today and he had to go and bring it up. “I’m sure the front office just hasn’t crossed all the t’s or dotted all the i’s yet.” It’s true that I don’t know what the front office is waiting on. Another player? More money? Coach’s say? No idea. How can I tell them that at the first sniff of interest from the Butchers, I’d be gone? They’re good guys. Just because I’m a dick for wanting to jump ship doesn’t mean they should have to deal with my selfishness. I know Jaden well enough to know he will take it personally.
Colin, mistaking my neutrality for a brave face, pats me on the shoulder. “I’m sure it’s coming. You know how this stuff works. Sometimes it can be so slow.”
I nod, taking his reassurance for something I don’t actually need to be reassured on. It’s no skin off my back. Colin might be the one man who cares about this team the most. As the quarterback, that’s kind of his job. I can’t express enough how different he is from Clark. Colin would never get mad at a receiver for running the wrong route. He never lets one mistake throw him off the rest of his game. Anyone who plays for him is lucky to have him as a leader. It makes me feel like an asshole that even with him being so great, I still would go back to the Butchers in a heartbeat if they would take me. That is, if their quarterback Jared Clark ever left, which might happen if hell ever freezes over.
“Speaking of taking it slow,” Jaden starts, his eyes full ofmirth. “Is that why you’re saying you and Nash aren’t fucking? Cause you’re taking it slow?”
“Or is that code for just oral?” Noah asks.
The corners of my mouth turn down in response to their dirty comments, but they continue on apparently, not even needing my input even though they’re talking about me.
“I don’t know how they could be living under the same roof and just doing oral,” chuffs Colin.
I shoot him a mean look. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“We’re only talking about her the way you wish you could,” accuses Jaden.
I huff but don’t say anything in response. After a split second it seems my silence has served as an answer to their accusations. “See? I told you,” Jaden’s grin is wide. I can feel my cheeks heat because, of course, they’re all right. We’re not having sex, but we would be if Nash wanted it as much as I did.
“All right, let’s get back to our workout, guys,” Colin calls the group to order.
“Thank you,” I say, turning back to the weight rack.
“We have months to bother him about this still,” he continues.
“Goddamn you,” I mutter, moving off the bench to let Noah sit and take his turn.
If this is what I have to look forward to at these workouts, I might be mysteriously coming down with a cold every week.
Chapter Seven
NASH
We all stand around the parking lot. The January chill clinging to our sweats as we wait for the team bus to pick us up. Our first game is against New Orleans, and we were scheduled to leave at five AM on the dot. A long bus ride being made longer by a tardy driver.
I lean over to Temi where she’s rooting through her gym bag. “Where do you think he is?”
“He can’t be far now. There’s no traffic this early.” She shoves her beanie into the corner of the bag. “I could have slept another half hour if I had known it would be so late.”