Page 19

“STRAIGHTEN THE FUCK up, Bo, I’m tired of tellin’ ya!”

Atticus watched Bowen flinch at the booming voice of their athletic trainer. How someone so small could always manage to be so loud was a mystery to Atticus, but he was used to Ivy’s training style after two years of working with her.

Ivy walked past, punctuating her order to Bowen by chopping a hand against his spine. He went ramrod straight before continuing with his stretches, and Atticus swore there were hearts shining in his teammate’s eyes as Ivy picked up a clipboard to jot something down.

“Give it up, man.” Aaron dropped to the ground between Atticus and Bowen. He leaned into a stretch, a knowing expression tilting his lips into a smile. “She yells at all of us, you’re not special.”

Bowen frowned, and Atticus couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “You’re not really her type, anyway.”

That frown deepened as Bowen’s shoulders slumped. “I know that,” he mumbled, “but let me dream, alright?”

“Bowen, I swear to whatever gods exist…” Ivy was standing in front of them again in a heartbeat, all five feet of he r towering over them.

She was glaring, green eyes bright, dark waves spilling out of the messy ponytail she always wore, hands planted firmly on her hips.

“If you’re going to do the stretches wrong, you might as well just not do them at all. ”

As though he’d been shocked, Bowen straightened up once again. Aaron let out a small laugh, only to cut off as Ivy’s attention turned to him.

“And you.” She pointed a finger. “If I see you push yourself too hard again today, I’ll make sure coach doesn’t let you see any time in the first half of the season.”

Atticus wasn’t sure that she could actually boss their coach around with the same vigor she did all of them, but he thought maybe Aaron shouldn’t tempt fate. He liked having Aaron as his backup, liked knowing the other man would be ready to step up if Atticus, if the team, needed him.

“Atticus.” Ivy’s stare finally landed on him, sending a chill down his spine. “Come on, I’ll help you with your tape.” He could sort of understand why half the team fancied themselves in love with her. Something about being bossed around…

Atticus rose from the floor to follow her, pulling off his shirt as he sat backward in a folding chair. Ivy grabbed some kinesiology tape from her bag.

“Coach said it looked like you were favoring your left shoulder last practice.” Cold fingers against the skin of his back almost made Atticus shiver. Ivy’s Kentucky accent was almost gone now that she’d lowered her voice.

“Didn’t feel like I was.” Atticus frowned. “Nothing felt wrong.”

“I’ll watch you today. Make sure to keep your head in the game, no more mind wandering or you’re going to end up hurt.”

Atticus scoffed, glancing over his shoulder. “My mind doesn’t wander!”

A smirk tilted the corner of Ivy’s lips. “So when you were checking your phone earlier instead of warming up with everyone else, that wasn’t your mind wandering?”

Atticus flushed. He had been waiting for a response from Kai, after he’d checked to see if his new housemate needed him to pick up anything on his way home from practice.

“Bowen said the guy you’ve been lusting after is staying at your place.”

“Bowen needs to learn how to mind his own business.” Atticus couldn’t keep the sharpness out of his voice.

It made something twist in his gut, the idea that his team, his friends , were gossiping about him and Kai. Atticus shifted in his seat, a failed attempt to dislodge the discomfort that idea brought him.

“The timing isn’t great, Atticus.” Ivy’s voice had gone gentle, cautious, which was unusual for her. Atticus thought maybe she had a soft spot for him, if only because she was friends with his sister. He fought the urge to squirm as she continued.

“Your first game is this weekend. Everyone needs you at the top of your game. This isn’t a good time to let your love life drama get in the way of you playing your best.”

“I don’t know if this sort of advice is in your job description,” Atticus grumbled, pushing his hair back from his forehead with a huff. Ivy poked him in the back of the head, stepping in front of him after she finished applying his tape.

“Put your shirt back on,” she said, crossing her arms firmly. “I don’t know this guy. But I know you. And you’ve been pining over him for a long time now while he’s never given you the time of day.”

“That’s not true...” Atticus trailed off as she waved a dismissive hand at him .

“Just get past this week,” Ivy said. “Don’t let another hookup make you have a rocky start to the season. Now go tell Kieran I’m going to kick his ass if I don’t see him stretching in the next thirty seconds.”

Ivy smacked him on the back as she walked away. Atticus chewed on his bottom lip, thinking over her words. A part of him knew she was right, knew that he needed to focus on the upcoming game. That had never been an issue for him in the past. But things were different with Kai.

Maybe she was right about his mind wandering. Since the moment he’d left his house earlier, it had been as though his thoughts were spinning in the same circle, always landing back on Kai. Kai in his home. Kai wearing his sweatshirt. Kai curled up against him on the couch. Kai smiling at him.

Atticus didn’t want to get his hopes up. He didn’t want to be distracted from the other things in life that were important to him. He didn’t want to let his little crush affect his game like he was back in middle school.

As Atticus walked across the gym to deliver Ivy’s message to Kieran, who had only just arrived late to practice, something else she’d said pricked at his mind.

Ivy had called Kai another hookup. But nothing had happened between them.

Atticus didn’t know which rankled more, the idea that his relationship with Kai was stuck solidly in the friend zone, or the fact that his team was discussing his sex life so much.

“Kieran isn’t going out with us after practice either.” Eric bumped against Atticus' shoulder as he joined their group. “You sure you don’t want to come? My cousin looked you up and she wasn’t disappointed. She’s only going to be in town for a couple more days.”

Annoyance had Atticus tensing up, his shoulders rigid and his jaw tight. “Not in the mood, Carpenter.”

“Come on, man.” Eric grabbed a volleyball out of the cart, bumping it casually as he continued. “You used to be more fun.”

“It’s because he used to get laid more,” Bowen chimed in.

Atticus felt a muscle in his jaw twitch. So they had noticed that he wasn’t sleeping around anymore. They had noticed, but it still hadn’t changed how they saw him.

A shrill whistle echoed through the gym, pulling everyone’s attention toward Coach Rodriguez.

The conversation dropped off as everyone jogged over to where their coach waited.

Kieran pushed Atticus forward with a whispered, “Ignore them and focus on your game,” leaving Atticus alone with his thoughts.

It was hard to focus, though, as Coach Rodriguez went over their game plan, detailing what he wanted to see from them over the next two practices before the season officially started. Atticus couldn’t keep himself from thinking about what Ivy and Bowen had alluded to.

Kai wasn’t just some hookup. And Atticus didn’t need sex to help him keep his head in the game. It made something in him pinch with guilt, because he had been thinking about Kai in that way more and more over the last few days.

But it wasn’t because he just wanted sex. What he wanted from Kai felt so much bigger than that, even if sex was a part of it all.

Atticus had to pull himself back into the moment, his attention returning fully to his coach when he noticed Ivy glaring daggers at him.

Focus . He needed to focus, because she was right. Atticus couldn’t afford to let his messy love life get in the way of things. Not now, not when so many people were relying on him.

Those thoughts stayed with him though, all through the rest of practice, a constant, nagging whisper at the back of his mind .

Kai scrubbed his hands down his face. Answering emails for two hours straight probably hadn’t been a great idea after a migraine, but he hated to let them pile up.

He pushed away from his laptop, noticing for the first time just how dark the room had gotten. Light no longer streamed in through the window. He could hear crickets sounding off outside as evening set in.

Shutting off his computer, Kai sighed. He hated days like today. Days when he lost so much time to being sick. He’d fallen back asleep on Atticus' couch, exhaustion from the aftermath of his migraine pulling him under while they’d watched tv together.

He left the guest bedroom, checking the messages on his phone.

Atticus: Staying late with kieran to work on a new set we’re trying

The message had been sent an hour earlier. Kai must have missed the notification as he’d buried himself in catching up on some of his work. That meant Atticus would probably be home soon. Kai wondered why the other man felt the need to let him know that practice was running long.

He didn’t mind though, not really. It was comforting, knowing that Atticus worried enough to keep him informed. Not that he needed to.

Kai huffed out a breath at the circular and useless train of thought. Whatever reason there was for Atticus to feel the need to keep Kai informed, it didn’t matter. They were friends. Kai was staying at his house. Atticus just probably didn’t want him to worry. Because they were friends.

Another sigh escaped him as he heaved himself up onto one of the kitchen barstools. The kitten appeared out of nowhere, batting her small paws at his socked feet.

It had been nice, having a friend around that morning. Having Atticus around to help when Kai had felt so awful. Kai groaned as he let his head fall onto his folded arms. The kitten continued to bounce around his feet.