Page 20 of Go Deep (A Bad Boy Sports Romance)
8
Cassidy
“So, how’s life down in the Deep South?” Shawn teased. He never let up on rubbing it in that I was still stuck in Louisiana and was beyond jealous of him for getting out and taking Pre-Med at Harvard.
“It’s the same ole same ole,” I told him. “Football season is in full swing. That’s about all there is to look forward to.”
“Yeah, I’ve been watching the games on TV,” he said.
“No, you’ve not.” Shawn wasn’t much of a football fan, so I didn’t mind calling him out on it. He always told me growing up that football was his brother’s thing and he didn’t want anything to do with it.
He chuckled nervously. “I’m not saying I’ve raised the football flags in my dorm or anything like that, Cassidy, but I put the game on here and there. It’s good background noise for when I’m studying.”
“Really? That’s a big step for you.”
“Yeah, well it’s the closest I can get to seeing you guys, so I don’t mind putting up with a little sports commentary once a week.”
I could hear it in his voice. He wasn’t kidding. He must have had a serious case of homesickness to have said that.
“Speaking of seeing us, I’ve got some interesting news,” I told him.
“Uh-oh. What did Slade do this time?”
“We got paired up to work on a project together for the one course we’re both in for this semester.”
“You guys are in a class together?”
“We both need it to graduate.”
“Well allow me to send you my condolences for your GPA. That’s gotta suck.”
“No kidding.”
“I’m surprised he has any requisite courses for that sports management degree he’s taking. It’s essentially the go-to degree that says‘I’m really only here for the football’.”
“Pretty much,” I giggled.
It felt so good to hear his voice again, after two weeks of settling back into school. Shawn had been my closest friend growing up. A lot of the relationship troubles I had over the years stemmed from how close we were. Everyone thought we were dating. Even Slade used to tease us until he met one of Shawn’s actual girlfriends.
“Sounds like you need to switch partners,” he warned me. “Slade can be a control freak.”
“Tell me about it,” I agreed, making a point of not admitting the part about making out with his brother. I still wasn’t sure how things had gone that far. It was best to forget it ever happened and never mention it again. As if Slade would ever let me. He kept reminding me that night was years in the making and there was more where it came from. The cocky prick.
“I mean, you’ll probably end up arguing over how to do most of the work. It’s always been his way or the highway,” Shawn continued, bringing me back to our conversation.
“I agree, Shawn. Except this time he’s actually gotten us off to a great start with the project already, and it looks like he’s going to continue contributing a lot to it.”
After hearing what I’d said, I put my hand to my mouth. I couldn’t believe I was defending Slade’s character.
“Wow, that’s surprising. What’s the project about?” I told him about Slade’s idea for the adoption drive company, how he’d done all the initial legwork to get a pretty good first draft of our business plan together, and about the site visit he planned. “That’s something… definitely not the slacker jock I remember from high school, but who knows, maybe he’s taking things more seriously now.”
“He seems to be.”
“Oh, that’s right, you have to see him all the time, don’t you? I mean, besides class, you’re on the cheerleading squad.” He laughed again. “How is it that you’re still on that team? I’ll never really understand it.”
“Have you seen my mom and sister lately?”
“Oh yeah. Right.”
