Page 84 of The Love We Make

Never got to make the JV team as a freshman.

A boy that never got to tell the girl about his crush.

My phone started ringing and I answered it without knowing who was calling. I just hoped it was Madison.

“Yeah?” I said, the obvious sadness in my tone.

“Hey buddy, it's Tim,” my agent said, even though I recognized his voice. “I just got a message about a kid you met back in New York. His mom reached out to the media who reached out to me.”

“Yeah,” I croaked, letting him know I knew.

“You already heard?”

“Yeah,” seemed to be the only thing I could say.

“What do you need me to do man? Want me to give a statement on your behalf?”

I shook my head but he couldn’t see me.

I wasn’t sure Tim would understand, but he gave me a few minutes to get my head together before pressing me to talk again.

“What do I do?” He asked again.

“Get me a few days off, a flight to New York, and tell Madison about Ben for me.”

“Um, ok? Why do I need to call Madison?”

“She was there, she will want to know. But I can’t call her for another few days. Just do it.”

“I have no idea what that means, man. But I will get it done.”

That is why I loved Tim as my agent and manager. He did what I needed whether he knew why or not. I hung up and started packing a small bag for a quick flight to New York. I knew the funeral had happened, I knew I didn’t have to go up there, but this felt like something I needed to do.

Besides, I was useless to my team.

It was only a few hours before Tim had everything arranged. My coach sent me a quick text telling me he was sorry about the kid and to do what I had to do. I sent him a quick thanks back.

Then I was off to the airport.

Chapter 28

Madison

The days that passed since I bolted from 678 were slow and did nothing to help my sadness over losing Ethan.

Because losing Ethan is exactly what happened. I lost him.

For good.

I could never go back to the way things were before our weekend in New York. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t separate sex and friendship, but I couldn’t. I wanted his friendship and I wanted his body just as much. I even found myself wishing he actually loved me, that we could be together.

A couple.

But I had promised him I wouldn’t lose sight of our friendship if he helped me lose my virginity and I did. I lost it. So once he realized it, he would never forgive me.

I knew what happened at 678 was nothing more than a result of tension between us. Whether it was sexual tension or not, it didn’t change how meaningless it was.

For him.

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