Page 30 of The Comeback Pact

“You’re not trying to back out of our deal, are you?” I attempt to tease, but it comes out all wrong. My voice is hard because I don’t want her to back out. I like spending time with her.

“Ah, yes, football practice.” She looks down at the toe of her shoe digging into the sidewalk.

I take a step closer to her, drawing her attention back up. I wait until our gazes are locked to say, “I have a confession to make. I don’t care whether you come to practice or not.”

Her forehead wrinkles. “But—”

“Yeah, Coach will be mad, but he’s been mad before. I hate what happened to you. It wasn’t right. I don’t exactly agree with what Coach wants you to do.”

I watch her take my words in. Eventually, she lifts her chin. “So, now you’re trying to get out of our pact? A deal’s a deal, West Brooks.”

A genuine smile crosses my face. “Will you come to my game?” I ask, my heart in my throat. It feels like I just threw myself off a cliff. I used to get this way when I asked my father to come.

“I don’t know,” she says.

My stomach drops a little. “You don’t have to.”

She shakes her head. “I have a meet the same day. It’s away, and I think I’m still allowed to travel with them. I don’t know if I’ll get back in time. Or if, you know, if I really want to.”

It’s like she’s kicked me in the balls. I guess straight up saying no is better than the false promises my father always gave me.

“It’s nothing against you,” she says quickly. “Or Aidan, or some of the other guys. It’s just—” She tugs on the sleeves of my hoodie. “Fuck. Listen, things are really fucked right now, West. My mom doesn’t even know I won’t be diving. You’re you…but you’re a football player, and this…” She gestures toward her face.

What a cruel joke it would be if I found the one girl who could get me to open up, but she can’t stand to look at me because of what I represent to her. To her, football is everything that’s wrong. And not just with this town, but with society today. At least, that’s what her parents said every chance they could get.

“You don’t have to,” I tell her again, my mind and my mouth already closing back up. I can feel the velvet curtains being pulled across my fake bravado. End of act.

“It’s not about you,” she says.

I stare back at her, but I don’t say anything because there’s nothing much to say. Iamfootball. It’s what I know. It’s what I do. It’s what I’m obsessed with.

Football changed my life.

And now the one thing about me that makes sense—the one thing about me I actually love—might be the one thing that turns her off from me.

“See you tomorrow,” I tell her before I spin around and walk away.

I hear her call out, “Your hoodie!”

But the moment I put it around her, I knew I never wanted it back. Even if this doesn’t go anywhere, she’ll have a little piece of me.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Kenna

West Brooks smells fucking amazing.

I bury my head in the side of his sweatshirt for the hundredth time. Sure, it’s more like a blanket on me, but his scent…damn. They shouldn’t make guys who smell this good. Especially guys with bodies and personalities like West Brooks because he’s making me rethink everything.

Like, everything.

I pull open the door to the trampoline party place and take a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves skittering in my stomach. Sydney wants me to officially ask West to her Lip Sync Contest as my date. I told her it was unnecessary since he’s probably already coming with Aidan, but then she gave me a look. He might be coming, however he’s not comingwith me. If I ask him, it means I want him there. She also gave me shit for not having a naked West Brooks in my room when she got home last night. Like I’m going to just jump into bed with him because he stuck up for me in front of that small-minded jersey chaser.

That was before I smelled him, though…

“Hey.” His voice surrounds me like a warm hug. I turn, finding him standing from a bench and putting away his phone.

“I didn’t think you were here yet,” I tell him. “I didn’t see your car.”

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