Page 4 of What are the Risks
Brady returned to the other locker beside mine, setting his towel on the hook. We had the same Richardson traits. The same height.The same brown hair. Not to mention we were both obsessed with football.
We’d been getting mistaken for brothers our entire lives. Our dads were twins, and Brady and I were born only four weeks apart.
Across the room, Kyler and Pat, my other two roommates, were heckling some of the freshmen. They were keen to keep the party going, never ones to pass up the chance for some fun.
Every weekend there seemed to be some kind of gathering at our college house. In the four years I’d lived there, I’d never once been home alone. Half the time, the guys hanging in the living room, watching football or playing video games, weren’t even ones who lived there. I swear the entire team had a key to our place.
“I’m fucking starving,” Evan grumbled.
“We passed a burger shop on the bus ride here. It’s probably only a five minute walk from our hotel,” Brady said.
I leaned forward, wincing as I did, to pull my phone from my pocket. “What was the name of it? I’ll tell Ruby to meet us there.”
Trying to locate family and friends in the arena after an away game could get hectic, especially when you didn’t know the right spots to avoid fans.
While I was usually happy to stop for photos and sign kids’ merch – something I still found strange that people even asked for from me – I wasn’t up for it tonight. My ribs were fucking sore.
“King Burger.”
I pulled up Ruby’s name, coyly hiding my phone so nobody called me out for breaking our team rule: No phones straight after a game.
Ryker: Where are you?
Ruby: At a packed bar near the stadium.
Ryker: Meet me at a place called King Burger?
Ruby: Okay. I’ll round up the girls.
Ruby’s three roommates, Bri, Jaz and Daisy, had come to the game with her tonight. Knowing she’d worked earlier today, I was grateful that Ruby wouldn’t have to drive home alone later.
Locking my phone, I dropped it on the bench beside me, just as Kyler and Pat ambled over.
“Shower up,” I ordered the guys. “Ruby’s meeting us at the burger place with her friends.”
That piqued Pat’s interest. “Are her friends hot?”
Kyler snorted. “I’m gonna guess yes since they’re friends with Ruby.”
I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“He means your best friend is smokin’,” Evan clarified.
Brady whistled under his breath. “Don’t do it, man.”
Evan didn’t cower. “What? It’s not my problem Ryker is blind to the fact Ruby is a dime.”
I rolled my eyes. Here we went again.
“I’m not blind to it,” I shot, defensive. “I just don’t see her like that. Same way I don’t check out any of you ugly bastards.”
Though the constant stream of girls always around the guys was a tell that none of them were below average in the looks department. Evan tended to have someone new on the scene each week, Brady had been dating the same girl since sophomore year, and Pat and Kyler usually didn’t sleep alone after any night out.
“I’ll bet Ruby gets hit on all the time,” Evan said.
I shrugged. “Can’t say I’ve noticed.”
“No shit. No guy is going to hit on her when you’re there. I’m talking about when you’re not glued to her side.”
