Page 16 of Silent Count
Smiling, I shake my head and turn to open the door.
Those eyes, that smile, and that body of his could make a girl lose her mind. Except for me, of course. Because I know better. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself since he and I will be sleeping under the same roof.
CHAPTER
FIVE
BO
When I sawChelsea walk into the commons today, she nearly took my breath away. It reminded me of the first time I’d met her. It was last year, move-in day for her and Noelle into their apartment. I got out of Casey’s truck, and when I saw her, I’d nearly stopped in my tracks.
Like then, today, she was wearing cutoff jean shorts, a baggy T-shirt, and a pair of Vans on her feet. The only difference today was that her long, wavy hair was down instead of in a ponytail. She’s absolutely beautiful, and there’s no pretense with her. And her confidence makes her even more stunning.
The change between now and then is, I’m not as tongue-tied around her. And if I’m not mistaken, she was flirting with me earlier. To be honest, I’m not really sure why I haven’t taken a chance with her before now. Sure, I’ve been hyper-focused on football and getting to the next level, but I’m not a saint, and I’ve had some mutual fun with some lovely ladies around campus. Just haven’t found anyone really worth pursuing until her. But with her having to stay with us temporarily and getting assigned as my tutor … I feel like it’s a sign.
My stop at the coffee shop put me about five minutes behind schedule, but it was absolutely worth spending a few extra minutes with her. Standing at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change, I take another sip of the matcha and decide it’s just not for me, so I toss it in the garbage can next to the light post.
The light changes, and I start walking toward the field house, sucking down my energy drink quickly because once I get into the building, I need to hightail it to the locker room, where I’m supposed to be for my first interview for the first episode of the docuseries. I’m used to the media attention at this point, and I’ll try to use this opportunity to show the NFL teams that I’m ready for the next step, but now I’m just anxious to get home and see Chelsea again.
I pull the handle on the door just as Ace and Aston Griffith walk out.
“Sup, fellas.” I nod at them.
Their older brother, Archie, and I played together my first year here. He’s a beast, and he now plays for the Cowboys. These two are twins, but couldn’t be more different personality-wise. Aston is much calmer in person, but a terror on the field. Ace is a complete joker on and off the field. Both of them are amazing ballers though.
“What up, Callaway?” Ace holds out his fist for a bump.
“Bo.” Aston nods.
“Where are you two going? We have practice in an hour.” I stand with my back to the door, holding it open.
“We’ll be back before it starts. Ace wanted to try out the cryo chamber, even though I told him he should do it after practice, but he thinks he knows best about everything, so here we are.” Aston rolls his eyes.
“Oh, yeah. How’d you like it, Ace?” I ask him, smiling.
“Shrank my balls, dude. Not a fan of that, but I’m definitely doing it again after practice sometime.” He chuckles.
I look at Aston, who is shaking his head.
“I gotta head in. I’ll see you boys in an hour.” I turn to walk into the building.
“Later,” they both call out.
I walk down through the hall of champions toward the locker room. Trophies, various awards, and thousands of photos line the walls—all of Walker University’s greats, including photos from our championship win from two seasons ago, my freshman year.
Pushing the door open to the locker room, I see the camera crews already set up, and Casey is there, talking to Coach Pettys. He was getting interviewed today as well. He’ll be a number one recruit as a wide receiver this year for sure, so he’ll have a good amount of eyes on him.
I walk toward them to say hello. And I’m not really sure what the process is, so I want to ask Casey how it went for him.
“Hey, Coach. King,” I nod at Coach and fist-bump Casey.
“Hey, Bo. How’s it going?” Coach smiles and tilts his head to the side.
“Going good. Do I need to change?” I realize I might be underdressed in my sweatpants and T-shirt, but Casey’s fit is about the same as mine.
“Nah, you’re fine. They know they’re filming athletes.” Coach chuckles.
“Right. I just wasn’t sure if I should maybe put different pants on or something.” I honestly didn’t think about what I was wearing when I left the house today.
