“We’rethisclose to being champions.” He used his thumb and index finger to demonstrate how the distance between the Larkin Lions and an NCAA championship was little more than a hair.
“Trust me, I know it.”
“And you know what’ll happen if we aren’t all working as a cohesive unit, right?”
“Gee, Braxton, why don’t you tell me?”
“We can kiss it goodbye.”
I wanted to tell Braxton that he was crazy. And he was. Think about it: I’d carried the team on my shoulders for an entire game. We’d eventually won the conference title. I didn’t care that Kayden had made a stink about it. The only thing stopping me from doing it again would be if Kayden indulged in some game of sabotage.
And whose fault would that be?
For now, I would put the horse before the cart, like my ex-boyfriend liked to say. I would appease my teammate.
“I think we’ll be okay one way or another,” I said.
“But willyoube okay?”
“Of course.”
Braxton paused, his eyes fixed on me, but he didn’t dare say whatever he was really thinking.
“Sometimes you’ve got to swallow your pride, no matter what,” he said. “And no matter what the other person has done.”
“But the guy showed up at my house. It was weird. The whole thing happened, right after I?—”
I stopped myself, realizing I’d nearly given away far more than I’d intended. Also, I wasn’t doing myself a damn bit of good trying to explain it to him. If anything, I should try to reassure him that everything would be fine.
“It’ll be okay,” I said. “Seriously.”
“You mean that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s good, because for a while there, it really seemed like you’d gone through a breakup or something.”
He started laughing, thinking he was so funny, but not realizing that he’d pretty much hit the nail on the head.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve broken up with a girl before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“This is kind of like that.”
“How do you figure?”
“Come on, you know. It’s always a little miserable for the first few days. Maybe longer. You don’t sleep, and if it’s really bad, you don’t eat either. I know what your appetite is like, but you do look really tired.”
I shut my mouth, knowing in what direction he would take this conversation if I gave him the opportunity. But I should’ve known better. Once a teammate got going on something you don’t want to hear about, you’ll never shut them up.
“It’s a little different in this case,” he said. “For the team, I mean. Usually, you just deal with one person that’s been through the breakup. We’ve got to deal with both sides of it.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m going to keep things in check, I promise.”
Until then, I hadn’t thought about it that way. Braxton Wilson was right. For now, I needed to get away from the topic as soon as possible.
