Page 103 of Out of Bounds

"Do we?" he grumbled.

"Here’s to hoping."

He slipped his phone out of his pocket. "Have you seen him?"

"Adam? He’s inside. I just saw him dancing with a new one, I don’t know her."

"I’ve got to talk to him before Ryan does." He took a long look at the double doors. "Because the bleacher bunny picture…Adam’s this close to fucking up for real. The coaches were pissed and Ryan had to cover for him again. But this time…" He ran a hand through his hair, irritable. "The coach’s stepdaughter’s transferring."

"Bet Lawson’s excited about that." It took me a second to comprehend the ramifications. "Oh. Shit.Adam."

King grunted in agreement. "Adam’s the only one stupid enough and if even tried to touch her…"

He wasn’t wrong - Adam Russell was like a kid in a candy store. He was never without a beautiful college girl on his arm that I'd definitely never seen before. If there was anybody who'd tempt the bear—Coach Lawson or Ryan himself—it was the Marrs Manwhore.

And even if Adam annoyed the hell out of everyone, Ryan and he were still best friends. You could take one look at the pictures in Coach Lawson’s office, Cleo’s War Room, or any of the articles and see it. If Adam went and messed around with the coach’s stepdaughter…

That wouldn’t be bad. That’d be catastrophic bad. Ryan wouldn’t just be yelling at a frat party. There’d be hell to pay.

At least Ryan could depend on King to help him out.

I craned my neck. "Where’s June?"

"It’s their anniversary." King shrugged, typing on his phone. "She skipped this one to be with Xavier. It’s fine."

"Anniversary?"

He continued typing with a frown until he glanced up, blinking in confusion. I suddenly connected the dots. The red blotches on his neck, the tousled hair, thetalking?Telling me confidential information?

King’s drunk.

The more I stared, the more embarrassed I became. Especially when I put two and two together.

June and King. The homecoming queen and the defensive end, the picture-perfect couple who everyone wanted to be. The dinners we had together, the movies, the stiff way that King kept to himself…it wasn’t because King was just that kind of guy. He was also out and about with a girl he wasn’t really in a relationship with. And she was…

Dating somebody else.

At the barbecue, June had been…trying to shoptalk about fake relationships.

Oh my god.

He cleared his throat. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—"

I was mortified and it seeped into my words. "No, I shouldn’t have…um…"

"It’s—yeah." King shifted, uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck. "I usually don't…drink at these kinds of things. I’m sorry. If you could…not tell anybody about—it's not like you and Ryan. I don’t want you to think that—June's great. There’s no…it’s fine."

I nodded like a porcelain doll, stiff and just as uncomfortable as he was.

"June's great. I needed her more than she needed me. See, I'm the problem."

It was like watching a train crash. I couldn’t look away. And the way he was so concerned that I’d think bad about June, it broke my heart in two.

King wasn’t just quiet. He was miserable.

And I couldn’t think of anything to say.

"Ryan and Coach Lawson helped me in my freshman year." King took a moment and shook his head. "Without Ryan, I wouldn’t be on the team. Kassie, I’m sorry."

---