Page 63 of His Team

Not that girls aren’t always throwing themselves at me. I ignore them all. Kay doesn’t even go to my school, but everyone knows she’s my girl.

Heck, I have to beat the girls off when we stay overnight for an away game. If I wanted to cheat, I’d have plenty of opportunity. Yet, I’m always faithful.

I would have told her about Amina a long time ago if we weren’t keeping our friendship from everyone. To this day my daddy is the only one to know anything about Amina. He asks after her every now and then, but he’s never revealed anything about her to another soul.

“The movie is about to start,” Caleb says as he holds Nicole possessively to his side.

I really like her for my brother. That morning after the party, when I caught her watching him, I wasn’t sure she was going to stick around. I had known right away that she figured him out, but I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to handle it.

She’s proven me wrong. Seeing her patience with him gives me all kinds of hope for his future. This was the goal.

He’s on a date with someone who gets him and he’s happy. Kay sighs beside me, reminding me my brother is the only one happy these days.

“I don’t know what you want from me. I told you that bracelet belongs to a friend I gave a ride to after her car broke down. We’re friends. We’re not fucking and I’m not cheating.

“At this point, it feels like you’re trying to force a fight. I thought double dating like this with Cal would make you feel like a part of the team. Isn’t that what you wanted?” I say tightly, annoyed with her attitude at this point.

She blows out a breath and looks down at her feet. When she looks back up, she has tears in her eyes. I throw my head back and groan. Dear Lord, not this shit.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s go see the movie. I’ll pull it together. Thanks for the snacks,” she says.

I nod and collect our things to follow Cal and Nicole into the theater before she changes her mind. However, I can’t shake the feeling that she’s been looking for reasons to fight and argue. I’ve never given her a reason not to trust me.

Kayleen

I feel like complete trash. I’ve been blaming Cam for cheating when I’m the cheater. I’m the one looking for a way out.

If Cam breaks up with me, I won’t have to face our mamas. I’ll be able to give things a chance with JR and find out if we truly work better together. If this is on Cam, then I won’t be the one who hurts him.

It all makes sense in my brain, but it’s making me sick to my stomach. I don’t think he’s been cheating. I know Cam.

If he says the bracelet belongs to a friend, it belongs to a friend. When you’re a friend of his, there’s nothing he won’t do to help you. I could totally see him giving some girl a ride to campus and her bracelet popping off in his car.

“I like Nicole,” Cam says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I’m staying over tonight after feeling bad about being a bitch all this time. Cam has been trying. The more he tries, the more I’ve been pulling away and that’s not fair.

It’s not his fault I don’t know what I want. He doesn’t even know that all this time, I’ve been sleeping with and seeing someone else. I’ve made so many trips to Louisiana to spend weekends with JR while Cam was either training or away at a game.

“Yeah, I do too,” I say as I swallow down my guilt. “Cal seems to be crazy about her. I can see how hard he’s trying.”

“Yeah, he’s amazing. I can tell he’s falling hard for her. I hope she doesn’t break his heart,” he muses as he strips from his clothes.

I look away from his hard body, feeling unworthy of getting to see him like this. While he’s concerned about his brother’s heart, I’ve been doing all the things to break his.

“Do you miss it?” I whisper.

“Miss what?”

“That feeling. You know, the one you have in the very beginning. The excitement of getting to know the person you’re falling in love with and all that.”

“Kay, I knew you from the time I was in diapers. I don’t think we had that. I mean, it was exciting to see you every day at school and all that, so I guess I get what you mean.”

My heart sinks because he’s right. I don’t remember a time like that either, not like I remember it with JR. I, too, remember the excitement of seeing him in school each day, but it’s nothing like the feeling of getting to know someone new.

Cam climbs under the covers and I go to climb in beside him. I snuggle into his warmth and sigh. This does feel right to me. It’s my place of comfort.

As he wraps his huge arm around me and kisses the top of my head, I try not to burst into tears. I didn’t think things would turn out this bad. The four years are coming to an end, and I feel like I’ve made all the wrong decisions while Cam has stayed true to his word.

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