Page 51 of Trust Me Always

She laughs, but I’m already jumping down, having only been teasing.

“Gotta go. Don’t let my hot body distract you from studying too much, okay?”

“Oh, however will I manage that,” she teases, still looking at me as I turn around and finish my lap.

We run a few more plays, Mason back out on the field this time before practice is called.

I drop onto the bench, tearing my helmet off, and take several long pulls from the water hose. I sit back, swiping a towel across my face and neck, my chest heaving from exertion.

I fucking love this feeling, the hard work, the grind, day in and day out.

A ball hits me in the chest, and my head snaps forward to find Alister stalking over.

A grin splits my lips. “Uh-oh, pretty boy’s pissed.”

“Fuck you.” He frowns. “You’re the one acting like a dick because you’re pretending to date my fucking?—”

I’m on my feet in a second flat, bent at the knee to make us eye level. “You’re…what, huh?”

He seethes, lip curling, but says nothing.

“Your biggest regret? Your biggest fucking loss?” I press my forehead hard into is, driving him backward. “’Cause we both know that’s all she’ll ever be to you now.”

He pulls back and swings, clipping me across the jaw.

My teammates rush in, pulling us apart, and I let them, keeping my eyes locked on his with each foot of distance put between us.

I shake the guys off, glaring at the asshole who made my Cammie Girl cry. I knew I’d hit a nerve with that one, but at least I know for sure now Cameron is right: he’s decent enough to feel bad about what he did.

“That was your one free shot, Howl,” I warn with a grin. “You won’t get another.”

He opens his mouth, but Coach appears, and he clamps his mouth closed like a good boy. Coach looks between us, eyes narrowed, but when no one says a word, only going back to cleaning shit up, he doesn’t ask.

“Harper!” Coach calls out instead.

I look over just as Chase lifts his head.

“Coach?” his brows pull.

“My office after you’re all done out here.”

Chase meets my gaze with a slight frown, his chin jerking in a nod as he looks back at the man. “Yes, Coach.”

With that, he walks away, and we hurry through our tasks,cleats crunching against the concrete as we head back into the locker room.

It’s not until I get back to my locker, Alister’s shit still hanging in his, that I realize he didn’t come in when we did.

No. He stayed out on the field, and I only need one guess as to why.

Determined little dickhead.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Cameron

“What’s the matter, baby boy?”I ask Deaton, slowly lowering onto the couch beside him, little Abby in my arms.

He rubs his eyes, tears smearing across his cheeks as his lip starts to wobble.

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