Page 92 of The Late Hit
“Quinton, I’m proud of you. I’m being hard on you because I care. You’ve never used your name to get you anywhere. Who you are today is solely because ofyou. That’s something to be damn proud of. And I’m proud to say that I get to coach you.”
And with that, he lets go of my arm and makes his way to the exit.
I just stand there. Frozen in time.
It feels so goddamn good to be recognized like that. People on the street and in the media all want to chalk my success up to being a Boyd, to being Howard’s son. But he’s not the one putting in the work.
I am.
Stepping into my bedroom, I find Brynn lying on her side of the bed. Yeah, her side. Since we’ve made things official, I find her sneaking into my room more times than not. There’s just something special about starting and ending the day by each other's sides. We still find ourselves doing our own thing. One thing about Brynn is that she’s independent, and being in a relationship isn’t going to stop her from doing her own thing. But at the end of the day, she’s crawling in next to me.
Quietly, I drop my gym bag down next to my desk and stand there, watching her sleep. She’s curled up like a cat on her side, body facing the side where I sleep. One arm is propped under her head, and the other is stretched out, searching. Searching for my body to touch. My girl isn’t a cuddler when she sleeps. Thank fuck. After we have sex, she wants a few moments to lay together, but before long she’s turning onto her back and reaching for her phone. She scrolls Instagram like it’s a post-sex smoke. Meanwhile, I roll in the opposite direction and drift off. But just as I’m about in a deep sleep, I feel her roll over to face me. She scoots close enough to have a body part barely touch me. Usually, her foot or a hand grazes my body. But it’s like her security to know that I’m still here. That I’m not going anywhere.
“What are you smiling at?” Her voice breaks me from my thoughts.
Glancing at her, I see that her eyes are still closed.
“I didn’t know you were awake.”
Reaching behind me, I pull my shirt over my head in one swoop before tossing it in my laundry basket. Striding over to her, I place my knee on the bed before leaning down and giving her a kiss on her forehead.
Rolling over onto her back, her hands seek out my neck. Finding it, her fingers clasp onto my neck, pulling me toward her for a long, deep kiss.
“Hi baby, I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I say against her lips. “I’m going to shower.”
She nods her head and rolls back over. Striding over to my dresser, I open a drawer and find a pair of loose boxers—the only way to sleep.
Moving into the bathroom and stripping out of my sweat-soaked clothes, I reach inside the shower to start the water. Climbing in, I let the water run down my body, mind replaying my conversation with Coach Campbell.
ThedaybeforeThanksgivingis here, and we are three days away from our rivalry game. Tonight is the annual pep rally. Each year, CTU hosts a tailgate before the big game. Coaches talk, local restaurants cater food for people to buy, the band performs, and the players get to mingle with the crowd. It’s a ticketed event, which helps keep the crowd down.
On stage, Coach Campbell stands at the microphone while some of the starting players are seated behind him, the rest of the team is off to the side. The cheerleaders are in front of the stage, chanting cheers and doing flips and shit. It’s a cool event and gets us all even more hyped for the game.
As if the game wasn’t big enough already, this year both teams are going into this matchup ranked number one and two. The stakes are high.
Searching the crowd, I look for bright blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The team had to be here early, and I didn’t get a chance to see Brynn before I left. Therefore, I have no idea what she’s wearing. Knowing her, it’s something crazy. An elbow hits my arm as I'm looking through the crowd. Tipping my head to my left, I see Grant leaning toward me.
“Dad told me he talked to you.”
“He kicked me out of the damn weight room,” I retort, eyes not leaving the crowd.
There are hundreds of people here. My parents are out there somewhere. Boosters, press, alumni, and other students are all here, dressed in their red, white, and powder blue. It makes finding anyone almost impossible.
But clearly, not completely impossible.
Brynn is pushing her way through the crowd with Chloe, Cody, and that girl from the Union, who has her arm wrapped through Cody’s.
Grant nudges me again, getting my attention. “He’s worried about you.”
That snaps my head toward Grant. “What do you mean?”
Sighing, Grant glances around the crowd before leaning closer to me. “He just wants you to make it. We’ve been tight since we both started here. Which means Dad is even more protective of you. Not only are you his player, but you’re a friend of his son’s. He just wants the best for you. He wants to see you succeed.”
Eyes finding him, understanding passes through me. Nodding my head, I raise a fist for Grant to bump it. Words aren’t needed. I get it. It’s a big fucking deal and I need to keep my head right.
Interrupting our conversation, Coach Campbell turns toward us. “And now let’s meet some of the team.”
