Page 19 of Foul Territory

“She usually is,” Nash says with a deep sigh. Charlie may be the most unpredictable in their friend group but Sydney has always walked the line when it came to staying out of trouble. I’ve never seen her back down from a dare in the ten years I’ve known her.

“Charlie definitely made an impression on some of my friends,” Joe says.

“Sounds like my sister made one on you too,” Nash prods while I try to act disinterested even though I’m hanging on every word of their conversation.

“She did. Sydney’s great,” he admits.

Great? Great is how you describe your day when you want people to leave you alone but also be polite. That is not how you describe Sydney Pierce.

She’s a hell of a lot better than fucking great.

“We’ve been texting,” he continues. I give them my back otherwise I’m going to bite my tongue in half from holding in all the words I want to say. “We’re going out on a date this weekend.”

Releasing a quiet breath, I retract every nice thing I’ve ever said about this guy. I’m not jealous of him. I’m jealous he can say those words to Nash without any hesitation. It’s infuriating that he makes taking my girl out on a date look easy when I can’t do the same.

“Oh yeah?” Nash raises an eyebrow. I wait for him to tell Joe he’s not good enough forSydney.

“I’ve heard your warnings about Sydney being off limits. I know you don’t want any of your teammates dating your sister. I’m not looking for permission. I’m just letting you know,” Joe states.

“You don’t need my permission. Sydney makes her own choices. All I ask is you treat her right. She deserves the best,” Nash says. My body tenses as I absorb the impact of his words.

His little spiel shouldn’t surprise me. He’s only ever told the people closest to him that Syd is off limits. Or maybe it was a rule set specifically for me. Either way I’ve heard him loud and clear.

“I agree. She’s a cute girl. I enjoy talking to her,” Joe says.

The muscle in my jaw ticks. Nash doesn’t miss the change in my demeanor. It’s getting more difficult to hide lately.

“Sydney does like to chat. I need to refill my water bottle. I’ll meet you in the other room,” Nash tells him.

“Sounds good.” Joe nods and walks toward the football annex where we have an indoor field.

“You’re going to let him take Sydney out?” I ask as soon as he’s out of sight.

Nash shrugs. “I don’t control her life. She can date whoever she wants.”

I scoff. “Right. That’s why you’ve threatened all of us within inches of our life for even thinking about it.” I swallow all the bitterness like a daily vitamin.

“He isn’t my best friend. He’s got nothing to prove to me. It’s all on Sydney if she wants to date him or not.”

It’s bullshit. That’s what it is. What does that even mean?He’s got nothing to prove. What do I have to prove to Nash? My loyalty? I’d say I’ve done a pretty good job doing that. I’ve picked loyalty to him over my own happiness the duration of our friendship.

“Also, I know that guy is not the one for her. He might last a week and she’ll be done with him just like all the rest,” he says.

“She dated that Seth guy for over a month.”

“She tolerated him for a month. You never hung out with them together.”

“No, I didn’t.” I couldn’t. It looked like they were getting serious and that was hard to watch.

“He was basically friend zoned day one. He just didn’t know it. I have a feeling the same thing will happen with Joe.”

I nod in agreement but it still feels like the grains of sand are slipping faster through the hourglass and I’m running out of time. “Like you said, Sydney can date who she wants.” I try to act casual but my words are terse.

The idea of Sydney being with anyone but me is a knife to the heart every time I think about it.

“Exactly.” He slaps my shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight.”

I finish my workout, throwing the ball a little bit harder each rotation. I might have imagined tossing it at Joe’s head for a few rounds. I wonder if we could put together a friendly game of dodgeball. The athletic department gets together for a bowling night every month. Maybe we could do this instead. It would be a lot more satisfying.