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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Brady

She’s with him.

She’s with him and that should be perfectly fine.

It should be, so why exactly does it feel like I swallowed a balloon that’s blowing up inside me, taking up all the room, until all the air from my lungs is forced out like a solid hit to the chest?

That’s just fucking…weird.

I swallow, offering my best grin, and watch as Cameron’s posture pulls in, her shoulders hunching a bit.

Feeling guilty, baby girl? Why would that be?

I slide into the booth across from them, and Alister’s head snaps my way, only now realizing I’ve joined their little party. “Howl. Cammie Baby. What are we up to?”

I cringe on the inside, the notebooks right here, laptop open and blocking my fake girlfriend’s body from my view.

Okay, I guess I’m just out here sounding like a jealous boyfriend.

Which I’m not.

My eyes fall to Cameron’s phone, sitting right there on the table beside her. Not two inches away from her, face up and all.

She must see me looking, because pretty purple-colored fingernails tap the screen, and in my periphery, her head snaps up. “Holy shit, it’s already one.”

Yes. You forgot our lunch plans because you’re busy with him .

I shrug, keeping my grin in place when really, I want to show teeth like an animal and piss on what’s mine. I mean, for now, but mine nonetheless. I flick my hand toward the plates with nothing but a few crumbs on them. “It’s all good. Just glad you had time to eat.”

“Shit, Brady. I’m so sorry.” She starts shoving her things in her backpack hastily, and slowly, very fucking slowly, Alister does the same.

“Don’t be.” I knock my knuckles on the table, looking over as my boy Xavier steps up to the counter to order, his bat bag on his back.

“I’m with X. We’re just coming to get a shake before we hit the cages over at FunWorks.

I didn’t even know you were in here. Happy accident. ” Fucking cringe again, my man.

I climb out of the booth, and her baby blue eyes follow me the whole way, narrowing slightly. “I’ll call you when I get back, see where you’re at,” I decide to add, because I think that’s what a real boyfriend would say—not that she seems too worried about pretending she has one at the moment.

“I’ll come with you,” she rushes to say, looking at Alister expectantly.

He stares, like the fucker forgot he has to move for her to be able to, having caged her in like a smart little prick.

“Nah, it’s good. Stay. Looks like you guys were getting some good work in.”

Why the fuck did you say that?

Cameron quickly drops her attention to her backpack, long, golden hair hiding her face as she moves a few things around to slide her laptop in with ease.

“I am coming with you, Brady,” she says, laying down the law.

Straightening, she offers Alister a small smile.

“You did more than your half. Let me finish the section and we’ll start the next one together in class on Thursday. ”

I can’t believe he joined her class as a late add. The dude is taking fifteen units now. That’s rough with the already-crammed schedules football gives us .

He nods, gets out of the way so she can exit the booth, then goes back to packing his shit.

Cameron comes up, pushing into me, and I give her hip a little squeeze.

“Sorry,” she mumbles quietly.

“For what?”

She gives me a little glare, so I give her hip another squeeze.

“You’re all good. You don’t have to leave just because I came over and showed my ass.”

She huffs. “No, I’m glad you did. Come on.” She grabs my hand and leads me toward the door, where Xavier is already waiting with our shakes.

“I’ll see you later,” Alister calls.

“Sure,” Cameron says at the same moment as I call out, “Yep.”

Both our heads yank toward each other, small frowns written across both our brows.

Xavier chuckles, pushing the door open, and we step out into the chilly October air.

“Why are you seeing him later?” she wonders.

“Why are you?” My delivery and grin are all teasing.

Huh. Would you look at that? All that tension my body was holding went away in the fresh air. Nothing to do with seeing them sitting there alone, looking at each other and touching and eating.

“I’m not.” Cameron frowns. “I just said that to be nice.”

“Maybe I did too.”

“Oh, please. You’re more likely to tell him to kiss your muscly ass.”

“I knew you were looking this morning.”

She shakes her head with a smile, and when her blue eyes meet mine, I realize I was waiting for one. Sort of like when you haven’t had something for a while but you know it’s coming soon, so you look forward to it. Fucking strange .

“You guys are cute. It’s gross.” Xavier winks at Cameron when she looks his way. “Wanna take my car since we have a third wheel?” he jokes.

“Nah, she can sit bitch.” I glance her way. “You really don’t have to come with us. I can drive around campus, drop you at your dorm. I think Paige is still at Payton’s if you want to go hang with the girls and play with the baby?”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

I shake my head slowly, tugging her hand to get her to stop walking and wait for Xavier to get a little farther ahead. “Cameron.” I hold her gaze. “Why did you leave just now? You do realize that wasn’t necessary, right?”

“Yeah.” She nods a little too hard. “But no, it’s fine. We were only supposed to spend a couple hours working on our assignment. I completely lost track of time.”

“You lost track of time because you were enjoying yourself.”

She starts shaking her head. “It wasn’t like that, Brady.”

I study her, words I can’t quite form working their way up my throat before knotting there, forcing me to swallow so I can speak them. “Tell me you know it’s okay if it were.”

A gentleness falls over her, and she steps into me, her warm palms moving to rest on my chest as she raises on her toes. She presses a kiss to my lips—a quick, barely there peck—with another smile to follow, and suddenly I really wish I hadn’t said that at all.

“I know, Brady. Now come on. Let’s go hit some balls.”

A low chuckle leaves me, but for some reason, my feet feel a little heavy as I lead us toward my truck.

A few minutes down the road and we’re climbing out at FunWorks.

Xavier runs in to add some money onto his players card, so I unpack his helmet and bat, setting it up against the fence of the fastball cage.

“Don’t we have batting cages on campus the baseball team can use?” Cameron asks, picking up the highlighter-green bat and inspecting it.

“Yeah, but there’s something about the good old-fashioned cages at a place like this. Remember when me and Chase played baseball that one year? What was it, seventh grade?”

She smiles. “You literally tried to quit after the third game, but your dad wouldn’t let you.”

“No way he was going to let his son be a quitter.” My words settle in my chest, a mix of pride, love, and sorrow creating a whirl of emotions within me. “He always said don’t commit to something in life you’re not one hundred percent sure about and can’t give your all to.”

The rest of his words run through my mind.

No one deserves half-assed, even if that’s all they offer you. Be better. Do better. Be the reason someone else smiles, even if all you want to do is cry, and you can cry, Son. All good men do from time to time.

Cameron looks over her shoulder, a soft tip to her lips, somehow sensing I might need it.

Turns out, I did because the heaviness falls away, and I grab a pink helmet from the cubbies along the fence line, tugging it over her head.

She puts her hands on her hips as if to pose. “How does it look?”

“Perfect, Cammie Girl.” I toy with the hair sticking out the bottom, my eyes meeting hers. “You look perfect.”

And she does. Her eyes are bright, her cheeks a little pink from the chilled air, and that smile—all wide and true and pointed at me.

I want to kiss her, pull her close, and be the reason for a whole different sort of flush to her skin.

I want to thank her for choosing me, promise her things and deliver on them, because that’s my job as her man.

’Cause, fuck me, I think that’s what I am. Hers.

And she’s mine.

If only for a little while …

Cameron

“No, don’t drop me off!” I slap at his arm quickly when he flicks on the blinker. “I don’t want to go home alone.”

“I’ve got a training session, but I can come over after if you want?” he offers, rolling into the middle lane, intent to ignore my request.

A scowl builds, and I unbuckle, scooting over into the seat Xavier just vacated.

Brady looks over, doing a double take. He frowns at first, then with a hesitancy I don’t quite understand moves back into the regular lane and heads straight.

We follow the road down and around the block and turn into the parking lot of the training center. Not twenty seconds later, a second familiar vehicle pulls in two spaces away.

“Coach asked me to go through some routines with Alister a couple times a week. Since I work with Mason all the time, he figured I was the man for the job.”

Brady’s heavy exhale fills the cab, and I watch as Alister unfolds from the driver seat. “So that’s what he meant when he said see you later. He was talking to you.”

“Disappointed?”

“What?” My head yanks his way. “No.”

Brady’s smile is tight. “I’m only playing, but yeah, I’ve got to train with him for a little over an hour. You want to bring your bag in or anything? Work on some school shit?”

“I’m schooled out for the day. I’ll just play on my phone or something.”

Brady’s brows drop low, but he nods, climbing out, and I follow.

We walk into the building, neon lights and a giant AU sharks logo greeting us. You can hear the clink of weights from here, and I look through the thick glass of the hall as we pass the different rooms, spotting several others in with trainers or teammates, working on various things.

Brady leads us all the way to the end, and we step into a wide-open space. There’s a giant strip of blue turf lining the floor, markings like a standard football field made across it with a dusty yellow.

Alister is standing in the center, setting out some bright orange cones. He puts the last one down and looks up, eyes instantly snapping to mine. He smiles, and I can’t help but smile back.

An echoed thud sounds, and I turn to see Brady crouching down to grab some things out of the bag he just tossed to the floor. I walk over, drop beside his bag, and lay my head back on it as he digs in the other side.

He raises a brow, and I grin up at him.

“Got a hoodie in there?”

“For you?” He digs around, tugging one out and tossing it at my face. “Always.”

I sit up, pulling it over my head. It’s so big, it’s like one of those blanket robes. I tuck myself all up, inhaling his cologne and rubbing my cheeks with the thick cotton of the inside. “Oh, this is a new one.”

“Coach just passed ’em out yesterday.”

“Okay, so tell him you never got one, and let me keep this one.”

Brady chuckles, stretching to his full height, and chucks his hoodie over his head, tossing it in my lap. He had no shirt on underneath, and in the next breath, he pushes his track pants down his legs until I’m staring up at him in nothing but a pair of briefs.

My eyes fall straight to his package, but he’s already bending and tugging on a pair of athletic shorts.

Brady laughs and my eyes meet his. “Don’t pout, Cammie Baby. You know this is all yours anytime you want it. ”

He’s teasing—I mean, he has to be because he’s Brady Lancaster, but my blood decides to heat at his words anyway.

I chew on my inner cheek, looking down at his massive legs. They’re like tree trunks, thick and protruding, dusted with hair that’s a few shades darker than the shade on his head. Curious, I look to his stomach.

I never noticed his happy trail before, at least I don’t think I have, but he does have one, and it’s not that sandy-blond color either. It’s darker, which seems so fitting for the love machine that is my boyfriend.

I mean friend.

My eyes snap up to a pair of bold brown ones. “Your jewelry is black, isn’t it?”

Brady throws his head back and laughs, his muscles bunching as he does, and now I’m looking at his abs.

It’s really not fair how cut and carved he is.

They’re so perfectly sculpted, they defy the laws of physics…

or I bet they would if I understood the subject.

They’re sharp as granite, yet there’s this smooth, velvet-like quality that’s inviting all sorts of curious thoughts to my little, inappropriate mind.

They’re otherworldly. Godly. World champs.

I mean I’m not saying he’s part superhero, but those abs could save the world, one glorious flex at a time.

Those masterpieces start to constrict even farther.

He’s bending down again, and this time, his smirk is downright dirty. “Tell you what: I’ll tell you what color mine is if you tell me what color yours are.”

“Oh my god, your gift!”

His brows jump. “Gift… Wait. What’s that got to do with body jewelry?” he asks.

I cross my arms, smirking up at him. “I’ll tell you what it has to do with body jewelry if you tell me?—”

He leans in so quick, I don’t even see him coming, cutting me off with a quick press of his lips to mine, only he doesn’t pull back—he keeps our mouths pressed together and whispers against mine, “Nice try, Hellcat.”

Heat.

It slithers down my spine and back up, tingling the nape of my neck the way a blush might, but I’m not blushing.

There’s absolutely zero reason why I would be.