Page 23 of One Day

“DeLuca is upstairs.” He lifts his spatula in the direction of the stairs. “Soupy isn’t home yet, but I’ll let him know to head up when he gets here.”

“Thank you!” I say, heading for the stairs. Dylan’s room, like mine, is the first door on the left and hangs ajar. “Hi, Dyl.”

Dylan looks up from the heavy textbook sitting in his lap. “Hey,” he says, patting the empty spot on his blue comforter. “How’d the rest of your class go?”

“It was good. Informative,” I say, crawling into bed next to him. “Are you aware your teammate is downstairs contemplating murder?”

“Already?”

I snicker, burying my face in one of his pillows. “He’s going to love this semester. Do you think they did it on purpose? Cause Professor Andrews has definitely already picked up on Topher’s sucking up. You should have seen him at her guest lecture last year.”

“Honestly? Probably. There have been whispers about our next captain since Denver’s graduating this year and it looks like Fitz is the front runner,” he shares. “Coach is probably testing him to see how he holds up.”

“That’s a little mean.”

“Yeah, well, Coach is a bit of an asshole.”

“And clearly your favorite person,” I say with a smile, turning over onto my back and tangling my fingers in my hair. My thoughts drift back downstairs to what Fitz said about meal plans from the team’s nutritionist. “Do you have a hard time keeping track of your meal plans?”

“They can get a little lost in the fold. Why?”

I shake my head, biting down on my bottom lip. “Just something Fitz said downstairs. What day works for you to sit down with me about this app?”

“We’ve got games back-to-back this weekend, but anytime next week should be fine. I’ll have to double check with Soup, see what his schedule’s like.”

“I can always sit down with you guys separately if we can’t find an overlapping time,” I tell him and let go of my hair. “How are you feeling about your games?”

“Good. We’re playing Detroit, and they’ve been playing worse than us,” he says, sinking into bed to lie down next to me. “I’m a bit bummed I’m missing Evy’s showcase because of it.”

I frown. “You’re okay that we’re all missing the game to go?”

“Yes, I’m begging you to miss it. You guys are always coming to support me. I think I can give up one day for you to go and support Evy on his big day.”

The juggling act Dylan and all his teammates pull off has always been impressive. Between trying to find a balance between classes and all that comes with being a D1 college athlete, I truly don’t know how they do it. Even though Dylan does it with a smile, I can see how much it weighs him down. He rarely has free time, and when he does, it’s spent catching up on sleep and schoolwork. This project will only add to that stress, so if I can take some stress off both his and Campbell’s shoulders and adjust my schedule, I will.

I can’t say the same will be said for Topher with Fitz and his other player. By the looks of it, Topher is going to run them into the ground with the circles he will have them chasing. Or, at the very least, trying to. Something tells me no one tells Fitz what to do. He is the leader, not the follower.

“I’ll be cheering for you from the showcase,” I say, reaching for his hand. “Always am.”

He squeezes my hand tight. “I know you are, and I appreciate it. Make sure you give that energy to Everett. He deserves it.”

“I will make sure to cheer him on for the both of us. He’s going to love it,” I say, grinning big. “Make sure to embarrass the hell out of him.”

“Maybe keep it to a minimum,” he says with a chuckle. “Got to work up to scaring the shit out of him with your overbearing excitement.”

I shake my head and smooth my hand down my torso, pulling at the hem of my shirt. “He’s already embraced it. He’s stuck with me now,” I inform him. “You all are.”

“Promise?”

Dragging my finger over my chest, I grin at him. “Cross my heart.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WALKER

“This is a bad idea,” Flynn says next to me, reaching for my arm and pulling me towards her before either of us can get too close to the gallery doors. “We should go home. Why did I let you talk me into this? What were you thinking?”

“Me? You’re the one that asked me to come.”

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