Page 19

I hear Archie’s loud mouth and then a slap in the hallway before Casey and Archie walk into the PT room.

Archie says, “I heard that. You gotta be gentle with me. My body is a temple, Miss Sally.”

“Get in the tub, Griff. I want you to sit in an ice-bath first before we get started.” She turns and looks at Casey. “Casey, I don’t have you on my schedule today. Did you need something?” she asks while looking at her chart.

“Nope, all good here. Just coming to see if Beck was finished yet. I’m checking to see if he wants to grab some food.” Casey is looking at me while he talks to her.

I mouth,What?and shrug.

“He’s all yours. Beckham, do your stretches at home too. If you need help with the pressure, have your buddy here help you.” She points at Casey with her pen in her hand.

“Motherfucker, this is cold. Excuse me for cussing, Miss Sally, but I feel like my balls just hit my throat,” Archie barks out.

“High and tight?” Casey asks.

“Yep. But it’ll be worth it. Right, Miss Sally?” He tilts his head in her direction, but is looking at us with his ever-present smirk.

Always a good time, this guy.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, making us all laugh.

“Thanks, Sal. I’ll stop by next week if it’s still stiff. Griff, enjoy the plunge.”

I bend and grab my gear bag, then walk toward Casey, who is waiting by the door. I reach out my fist for a bump, and he taps his to mine. We start walking out of the field house. We hear Griff already asking for a towel before we walk out the door.

“Sup, brother? You want to grab some food?” he asks.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I haven’t had anything since breakfast.” I rub my stomach with the hand Sally just worked on.

“I’m starving too.” He slows to a stop and reaches for the same hand. “So, are you ever going to tell me why you have those scars? I knew they were there, but honestly, man, I never thought to ask why. And I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I did hear you tell her that Coach knows. So, I’m wondering why I, your best friend, don’t know. Is there a story there?”

I sigh and look into his eyes. “Case, it happened a long time ago, before I moved to Troy. You know how my mom isn’t in the picture? Let’s just say, she wasn’t a good mom and leave it at that. Besides, it doesn’t really matter anyway. I’m good, man, I promise.”

He nods, but he knows I’m not telling him the whole truth. What happened to me was fucking horrific, but he doesn’t need to know the details.

“What are we eating?”

“I thought we could just run by the dining hall before we head home. It’s on the way to my car. I couldn’t find a spot near the field house earlier today, so I had to park on the other side, near my morning class.”

“Okay, that’s fine. When I left this morning, I didn’t see you, and your car was already gone. How could you have not gotten a spot? I ended up walking to campus since my first class was close to the house, so I’ll ride back with you.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I wasn’t home last night. I went over to Noelle’s, and we fell asleep. I’d forgotten to set my alarm on my phone, and when she woke up for class, I realized how late I was and ran out of there like my ass was on fire.”

I’m not going to get into his business with Noelle. She’s important to him, and no matter what I say, he’s going to do what he wants. I think he’s feeling more for her than she is for him though, and I really don’t want to see him get hurt. So, I just hum in understanding.

As soon as I walk into the dining hall, I see her.

I have no idea how I went an entire year being at a different school from her. It almost seems like a blur. And probably why I stayed hyper-focused on football and school.

She’s standing by the staircase, looking at the bulletin board of events.

I elbow Casey and nod toward her, and we walk in her direction.

Charlie King has the most beautiful face I’ve ever seen. She’s got that girl-next-door way about her. She’s sweet, even when she’s trying to be mean. And, man, can she be mean to me. But I want to gain her trust, and I know the first step is to allow her to get used to me being in her world again. I realized that when we were shopping at Target. I’d pushed her buttons that morning, but then we found a common ground. It felt normal again. Then she brought up Britney, and it was like we were right back where we’d started.

I knew she needed space.

Fuck, I need space.