She’s here? I look up at the stands. They’re emptying out, and the crowds squeezing through the exits are intense. If she didn’t search me out, there’s no way I’ll track her down now.
When I reach the locker room, I try to call her, but there’s no signal. I can’t reach her until I’m nearly to the parking lot. “Mags, hey. You came.”
“Of course I went to your game.”
“But I didn’t play.”
“Does that matter? It’s your team. Your sport. It’s what you do morning, noon, and night.”
Is it me or does she sound irritated? “Listen, I’m headed to dinner with my parents, and I wanted to invite you.”
There’s a beat of silence. “I’m pretty wiped out. It’s a hike from the car to the stadium, up those stairs, and back again.”
“Of course. Okay, well, thanks for coming. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yup. See you then.”
I want to tell her I love her, but the words get caught in my throat. Just as I cough and try again, she hangs up.
I don’t know when things got so awkward between us.
Actually, I do. When Bash got a bug up his ass and decided he needed to defend his sister against my nefarious behavior.
It doesn’t help that my schedule is jam-packed. On the nights I’m able to be home, Maggie’s always asleep when I get there, so there’s no time to talk. Because I have to get up early to weightlift in the gym, she’s still sleeping when I leave. I never see her on campus. It’s almost as if in the span of one morning, our entire relationship evaporated.
And I don’t know how to get it back.
52
OLLY
Once again, I’m staring at my ceiling, but tomorrow is my first game back. I can’t afford a sleepless night. There’s really only one place I sleep well these days—curled up with Maggie.
Fuck it.
I leap out of bed, toss some clothes in a duffle bag, and head downstairs. The house is relatively quiet. I’ve already threatened my roommates’ lives if they do something dumb between now and the end of the season.
The ethics committee finished reviewing the swimming pool incident. Although we were given a citation for throwing such a big party and have been formally warned that if we get a second, more severe measures will be taken, the guys had the good sense to card everyone who drank. That went a long way to assuaging the committee’s ruffled feathers. It also helped that once those videos were reviewed, the committee found those “orgy” headlines to be an exaggeration, because it was really a skinny-dipping situation.
When I get to Maggie’s, Billy and Cam are playing video games in the living room.
“Is Mags asleep?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Cam points to the kitchen. “She made a killer lasagna, though, if you’re hungry.”
My mouth waters at the thought of a homecooked meal.
“Actually, I finished it,” Billy says. “Sorry. Didn’t think you’d be stopping by. It was pretty damn good.”
“She made it to celebrate her promotion at work,” Cam explains.
I scratch my head. “Is it weird that y’all spend more time with my girlfriend than I do?”
“Yup.” Billy fires back at Cam on the screen. “But she feeds me, and really, that’s all that matters.”
I don’t totally understand his line of thought. “She didn’t tell me about the promotion.”
“You’re never around,” Billy says.
