Page 18 of Away Game

Fin

I letthe chill of the ice settle deep down into my aching body. Our first game of the season kicked my ass, or should I say, the opposing team kicked my ass. College football was no joke, especially as a freshman.

While I thought I was in top shape before arriving at Willow Bay, I severely misjudged how big the seniors whose job it was to tackle my ass would be. Here I was, the new quarterback out to prove himself, and I didn’t do that in our opening game.

My phone pinged from across the room with my dad’s distinctive tone, letting me know it wasn’t worth getting up from my bed to read the message. I already knew what it would say. It would say how I was a disgrace to the family name after getting sacked twice and multiple incomplete passes to both West and Ford. I didn’t need to hear it from my father after listening to Coach Kyle ream my ass for half an hour after the game.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried my hardest, but I quickly learned my best wasn’t good enough at this level. I needed to step up my game by working out more, practicing after hours, and eating better. Eating at The Bar every night wasn’t doing my body any good with the greasy bar food. Instead, I was going to start eating the meals Coach had set up to be sent to the house.

At least I wasn’t out every night partying like most college students were. Coach had someone that wasn’t West take a headcount every night at ten o’clock on the dot, and if we weren’t here without his express consent, the entire team had to run extra, and no one wanted that. We didn’t leave after the headcount either. Coach wasn’t stupid and knew we’d sneak out or start our own parties afterward. He had people on rotation who came by at all hours of the night to make sure we were home. He had us on lockdown.

A soft knock at my already open door had me rolling over to see who it was. If it was Oz, he’d walk right in and throw himself down on the bed next to me, disturbing my peace. I was shocked to find West standing there looking as good as ever. Which, of course, only set to piss me off. Why was I so damn attracted to Weston Jackson?

I’d been slightly attracted to guys in the past, but nothing like West. With him, it took everything in me to hold myself back from giving in to what I wanted, which was a foreign concept to me. Still, I’d let myself slip a couple of times, and when I did it, was both heaven and hell having his hard body so close to mine. The feel of his full lips under the harsh slant of my own.

I sat up in a rush to hide what West did to my body and flinched at the pain.

“Here,” he strode into my room with his hand outstretched, “Oz was looking for painkillers and couldn’t find any.”

Snatching them up, I popped them in my mouth and waited for him to leave. Only West didn’t leave. He continued to stand at my door.

“What?” I barked out and decided to lie back down. I didn’t want to look at him any longer. If I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to control myself.

“I wanted to ask if you’re okay but wasn’t sure if I should or not. You took a nasty hit today,” West confessed, looking unsure. He examined my room, not making eye contact.

My usual harsh tone was absent as I spoke. “Since I need ice and ibuprofen, I’m not a hundred percent, but I’ll live.”

“Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me.” West paused at the door as if he thought I’d call him back. If I was going to do anything, it would be to banish him from my existence.

“I won’t,” I muttered, turning away onto my side.

The room was quiet for a minute, then I heard the soft click of the door shutting as West left the room. A sigh of relief left me, knowing I was alone. Even if it was Oz, I wouldn’t have wanted to hang out. From now on, I would work harder than ever before. There was no way I was going from the elite to the loser quarterback on the bench. My world had tilted on its axis today, and the realization that I was no longer the top athlete at my school ate at me.

10

West

Bloody hell,what had I done in a past life to warrant Fin Huntington to be my tormentor?

As if it wasn’t bad enough that we lived in the same house and on the same floor, we were on the football team together, and he was in three of my classes. I tried to ignore him as much as possible for both our sakes and sit as far away from Fin as I could manage, but of course, I had to be running late because of a problem at the house on the first day of statistics. What were the odds the only seat available was right in front of him? I had no idea, but they weren’t in my favor. If this were The Hunger Games, I’d be the first one out with my lack of luck. I could hear the noise telling everyone I was dead before my body hit the ground. Our teacher, Mr. Randell, passed out a seating chart stating we would be sitting in those seats for the duration of the semester. Lucky me.

From the moment I sat down, I could feel Fin’s glare on the back of my neck. I tried to take notes and focus, but it was hopeless with his heated gaze beating down on me.

Turning around, I narrowed my eyes at him, only to find him looking down at his phone with a look of devastation on his face. It was strange to see anything but malice and hatred tarnishing his handsome features.

Before I could turn around, Fin looked up, and our gazes locked. A mask of indifference slipped over his face. The only thing he didn’t or couldn’t hide was the fire blazing in his dark eyes. A shiver ran through my body, and goosebumps erupted along my arms as I tried to rip my gaze from his.

“Turn around if you know what’s good for you,” he said under his breath so quietly only I could hear him.

Jerking around, I sat forward and focused on Mr. Randall as he droned on and on for what felt like hours when instead, it was only the standard fifty minutes. With Fin’s attention off me, I thought I’d feel better, but instead, I was worried about the asshole. Fin didn’t seem like the type to let anything get to him, so whatever it was had to be immense.

By the time Mr. Randall dismissed us, I was starved and ready to eat. I wasn’t sure what compelled me to look back, but when I did, Fin hadn’t moved from his spot. He was staring blankly ahead as if in a trance. It probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I trudged my way back up the stairs and stood outside his row of seats. With how hostile he normally was with me, I wasn’t sure how to proceed.

“Fin,” I called his name quietly, “class is over.” When he didn’t react, I moved closer and closer with each attempt to get his attention. Finally, I placed my hand on his shoulder and spoke his name one final time.

He wrenched his head my way and scowled. “What?” He looked around the room and then back at me. “Where did everyone go?”

“Class is over, and you were… wherever you were. We should probably get out of here before the next class comes in.”

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