Page 21 of Away Game

“Like you want to be dragging ass to practice the next day with a hangover.” If we did, Coach would hand our asses to us.

“I heard one of the guys say he was going to leave after curfew one night, and when he looked out the window, there was some dude in a car sitting outside.”

Running my fingers through the strands of my hair, I let it flop in front of my eyes as I faced Oz, who was finishing up his food. “I don’t doubt it. I get why Coach is so strict with us, but damn, I didn’t think being on the team would be this hard.” I looked to Oz to find him looking down at his shoes, nodding. “I’m good to go whenever you are.”

“Cool, let me go rinse this bowl out, and then I’m ready to go.” He cocked his head to the side. “Should we pregame with shots before we go?”

If there was alcohol in this house, where were they hiding it? Because no one had shared with me. When Coach laid down the law on the first day of practice, all the new team members thought he was bluffing. That quickly changed when some unknown guy showed up while on the phone with Coach and did a headcount. Each night someone different came to make sure we were all home and not doing anything we weren’t supposed to. After that, we knew we were fucked.

“What do we got?” I asked as I followed him down the stairs.

He looked over his shoulder. “I thought Ridley was going to get something and bring it back, but I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“I don’t want to wait around, so let’s just go.” I didn’t know Ridley well, but he always seemed to have his head in the clouds. I couldn’t get a read on him, and I certainly didn’t want to waste time waiting around on him.

Once downstairs, I looked around and noticed how silent the house was. The only time it was like this was if you were up in the middle of the night. “How are we the only ones here?”

Oz came to stand at the opening to the kitchen with his legs wide, and arms crossed over his chest. “Because you took for fucking ever to work out, but it’s cool. It’s not like we’ve got far to go.”

True, Alpha Mu was only three houses down from us. I was surprised we couldn’t hear the music from the party with the unusual quiet of the house. Opening the front door, we could immediately hear the party, and stepping outside, we saw a crowd out on the lawn.

“I was starting to think coming to Willow Bay was a mistake.” Oz laughed as two girls came running out of the house topless with their tits jiggling and a chorus of guys cheering.

I laughed with him and knocked him in the shoulder.

Oz was a lot of talk with little action. It was fun to give him shit about his obsession with Lo. I kept thinking maybe with her out of the picture, Oz would open his eyes to all the many opportunities our new town had to offer. While he was a happy-go-lucky guy to everyone on the outside, once you got to know him and saw him around Lo, it was easy to see how much it killed him that he couldn’t have her. I wanted my friend happy one way or another.

“I don’t know about you, but if this is our one chance to party, I’m going to get my drink on.”

“Let’s do it,” I shouted as we moved through the open red door. Inside was a skinny guy with short hair handing out red cups.

“Kegs are that way.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder and then handed a cup to two giggling chicks who were behind us.

“Sweet,” Oz called out. It wasn’t about the free beer, though. He had his gaze fixed on three girls on top of a table, dancing in bikinis that barely covered their bodies.

As I looked around the room while we navigated through the crowd, I noticed most of the football team was already there with cups in their hands.

Even though I wanted to let loose and party, I was going to limit my drinking to one beer. There was no way I was going to ruin all the hard work I’d put in. Even Coach had noticed my improved performance and the changes in my body. Not to mention most of the female population of Willow Bay. So far, I hadn’t found a fuck buddy that interested me. They threw themselves at me every chance they got. For being the starting quarterback, and for my looks. Not that I blamed them, but girls were drama, and that was something I wanted to steer clear of during the season.

It didn’t help I had West everywhere I looked either. Stirring something deep inside of me and pissing me off.

Of course, it was then I spotted him swaying to the beat, eyes closed with a drink in hand. A guy with dark blond hair had his hands on West’s hips, and I wondered if it was his boyfriend, E.

I was all too happy when we stepped into the kitchen and filled our cups to the brim with beer. Out of sight, out of mind, I told myself, or at least I tried to convince myself that was the case.

“They finally let you out,” some douche canoe in an Alpha Mu t-shirt said to me over all the other voices in the kitchen.

My only response was to narrow my eyes at him. I didn’t like the vibe coming off him. It was desperate, and I hated nothing more than someone kissing my ass because they wanted something. I looked him up and down and sneered at his skinny jeans and boat shoes.

“Do you like your coach?” he asked after I didn’t answer him. I wasn’t sure why he kept talking to me. If he wanted to get buddy-buddy with someone on the football team, I was the last guy he should be talking to.

“As well as I can like anyone who has control over my life.”

“Right,” he shouted in my face, causing me to step back. I wanted to punch him for getting in my space, but I held back. There were too many witnesses, and I wanted to start on Saturday.

Clenching my hands into fists, I drilled the douche canoe with a look that said I was thin on patience and he should get lost. “Run along. I don’t play well with others, and if you keep trying to get to know me, you’ll soon learn it the hard way.”

His brown eyes nearly bugged out of his head while his mouth opened and closed a few times before he set his cup down and stalked off into the crowd.

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