Page 9 of Unrivaled

I don’t hide Ben’s existence. But I don’t necessarily volunteer it either. Being my age with a three-year-old gets varying reactions, from pity to disapproval and everything in between. I learned a long time ago that navigating that minefield is more trouble than it’s usually worth, so I avoid it when possible.

Ben’s preschool starts at 9:15, so while I don’t have to be up super early, getting him up and ready to go is a lot more work than just getting myself out the door. But Jackson knows the real reason I wouldn’t want to stay too late is so I can get home and put my kid to bed.

“Well, it’ll be super fun,” Autumn says. “I’ll be there, my roommate and her boyfriend usually go, and there are a few other girls who show up as well. Plus Jackson, of course, his roommate Eli, and various other football players.”

“Oh, yeah?” I ask, trying to be as casual as possible. Because if a certain football player goes, I will definitely not. “Like who?”

Autumn waves a hand airily. “I dunno. It varies, doesn’t it, Jackson?”

He nods. “Yeah. Just Eli and me are the only fixtures. And Dani, Eli’s friend. Sometimes she brings her roommate, who’s lately been bringing her boyfriend, McAdam.” He gestures at Autumn. “If her roommate’s coming, Hindley will be there too.”

I have no idea who any of these people are, but I’m not sure it matters. I doubt I’ll be going. “I’ll see what I can do.”

CHAPTER THREE

Gray

I let myself into Jackson and Eli’s place, giving the door a courtesy knock as I open it. Eli waves from the kitchen where he’s dumping chips in a bowl. There’s more junk food at these things now that the season is over. Not that I can afford to indulge.

Returning Eli’s greeting with a jerk of my chin, I nod at a few other people as I make my way to the kitchen to deposit my offering of flavored sparkling water to use as mixers.

“Hey, man. Thanks,” Eli says, tearing open the plastic and displaying a few of the bottles on the counter near the alcohol while sticking the rest in the fridge.

“No problem.” I grab a cup from the stack on the counter and pour myself a drink. No alcohol for me tonight, though. Not during the week, and not with drills in the morning. Even if I don’t drink a lot, the next day’s workout always feels like a slog. I wouldn’t care if I were in the off-season like these guys, but with the combines coming up in just over two months, I’m not taking any chances. I have to be at the top of my game to make sure I secure my future.

“There’s a veggie tray on the coffee table,” Eli offers as he pours himself a drink as well, his with a generous helping of vodka added to it.

“Sounds good. What’s everyone playing tonight?” Eli and Jackson’s video game nights have become something of a tradition since last semester. They started inviting a friend or two over—at first just my sister Piper and her roommate Dani, because Dani and Eli are friends. But somehow it’s expanded, one time turning into a full-blown team-wide single elimination tournament. Tonight the crew includes Piper and McAdam—I mean Cal, the second-string quarterback—plus Simon Hindley, the left tackle, and his girlfriend, Ellie, who’s apparently now friends with Piper as well. There are a couple other chicks I recognize, plus a few more sophomores and juniors from the football team.

“We’re going old school with the originalSuper Mario Brotherstonight. Head over if you want to play. The usual rules apply.”

Since the crowd has expanded, the game picks tend to be things that can cycle through everyone who wants to play pretty quickly. It’s still fun, but it doesn’t have quite the same energy as when there were only a few of us actually playing. We could spend longer on each turn, so we had a wider selection of game choices.

I guess the point is more social now than gaming. Sipping my drink, I head for the living room, parking my ass on the edge of the couch near my sister. I flip her ponytail, and she looks up, the consternation on her face smoothing into a polite smile when she sees it’s me.

“Hey, Gray. How’s it going?” It sounds like a normal greeting, and it shouldn’t make me grit my teeth, but things between us still feel strained, and I really hate it. A couple months ago, she’d reach up and pinch my side and call me buttface instead of Gray. The fact that she’s still using my first name means she hasn’t forgiven me for trying to protect her from Cal McAdam.

The fact that I was actually right about him using her to try to get in my head and make me fuck up on the football field so he could regain his starting spot doesn’t seem to matter. According to her, ‘He’s not like that anymore,’ and that makes everything okay between them I guess.

And to be fair, their relationship does seem like something deeper than what she told me it was multiple times last semester—fucking, and lots of it. Which …shudder. I’ve never needed to know that about my sister.

The fact is that he’s part of her life, and will be for as long as she decides to let him. It’s up to me to make peace with that, and I have. Mostly. What I haven’t made peace with is her insistence on still holding me at a distance. We’ve always been close, and since Thanksgiving, we’ve barely spoken. And when we have, it’s been these stilted, polite, perfunctory exchanges.

“Good,” I answer, needing to keep up my end of the show. I can’t just demand that she go back to treating me like she always used to. For one, Piper’s never responded well to being bossed around. And for two … well, who would that work on anyway? “How’s your semester?”

She makes a face. “Busy. Another full schedule.”

“You know you don’t have to punish yourself by grinding yourself to death, right?” I ask before I can think better of it.

Her eyes flash, her mouth flattening into a thin line as she burrows closer into McAdam’s side. His hand tightens on her shoulder in a gesture of support. “Thanks, Gray. I’m well aware of what I do and do not have to do without you explaining it to me. I’mchoosingto work hard so I can finish sooner rather than later. I’m aware of my limits and capabilities, thanks.”

“That’s not …” Trailing off on a sigh, I happen to catch McAdam’s eye.

He gives me a sympathetic look. “I think your brother just wants to make sure you’re not overloading yourself. But he’s well aware that you’re smart and capable and wouldn’t take on more than you can handle. Right, Gray?” He gives me a significant look, and I dip my head in a nod.

“Yeah,” I croak. “Yeah, that’s all I meant.” It’s weird having McAdam call me by my first name when he’s called me by my last in varying tones of irritation and disdain for months.

Piper narrows her eyes at me. “Then maybe try saying that next time instead?”

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