Page 38 of Call the Shots
“June?” Miles stopped us. “Can I ask how you’re doing?”
“Oh, good.”
I realized Miles wasn’t asking to ask like so many other people did. He wasn’t like that. He arched a blond eyebrow in my direction, patiently waiting.
A flush crept up my neck. “Cleo talks to you, doesn’t she?”
“Yep. You guys are my reality TV.”
I knew he was trying to keep it light, but I didn’t want to worry him. Whatever I told Miles would get back to Cleo and she and I had been friends for so long. We were both Marrs legacies. Her family knew my family, and she took me under her wing when I stepped onto campus. I didn’t want to worry her.
“It’ll be fine at the end of the summer,” I promised. “This’ll be worth it.”
Montoya squeaked from the benches, “Miles Locke?!”
Some of the guys caught on that a wide receiver from the Texan Hounds dropped by. They left practice, coming closer to see.
“Hey, I’m Miles.” He grinned, shaking hands. “Cleo’s fiancé. We’re getting married at the end of the summer.”
“No, we’re not!” Cleo shouted, following us. “I don’t want Gladiators at my wedding!”
“Whoops. Forgot we got married this morning.”
Denali reached to shake Miles’s hand. “What are you doing here?”
“Summer training doesn’t start until July, so I have a new project.” He motioned to the arena. “I was told after practice, you’re free labor.”
The hockey players shifted together, confused. Bear frowned. “We’refree labor? Like…we’re fixing the arena?”
“We’re doingwhat?” Riley shoved past the crowd. “This is bullshit, I didn’t volunteer to paint some fucking walls?—”
Miles’s laugh boomed. “I’m not asking.”
Riley scowled. “Coach said we’re not allowed to spend?—”
“I’m also free labor,” Miles corrected him, amused.
Bear broke away from his teammates while they left for the locker room. Their introduction would come eventually, and Miles knew all about Xavier. I motioned towards Bear. “This is Bear Moreau. My roommate.”
Bear rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t have said something nicer?”
“What’s a better one?” I wondered. “This is Bear, the guy who flooded our dorm?”
“This is Bear,” Bear mocked. “The guy whose clothes I dropped makeup on, who puts up with me shedding like a cat, who lost his refrigerator because it’s full of?—”
“Keep it nice,” Miles warned. “That’s my family you’re talking to.”
My protector. I smirked while Bear rolled his eyes again. “Oh, great, another June fan,” he muttered, following the others to the locker room. “Just what we need.”
We hadto see how extensive the Colo’s damage was and that meant diving into the equipment rooms, meeting rooms, and gyms, which were just as dystopian, if not worse.
“June!” Nick shouted. “I’ve got the Gladiators’ new catchphrase!”
“What is it?”
“If we don’t kill you on the ice, the black mold will!”
“No.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Please. We don’t have mold.”
