Page 100 of Saving the Halfback

“Bullshit,” Chase said, just as I spat out, “Fuck you.”

“I just want to lay this all out right now,” Chase said. “I screwed up. I should’ve said something, I should’ve stopped Trenten. When my father pulled us into the office and told me I had to choose—the inheritance or you—I should’ve immediately told him off. I’m sorry, that’s on me. I hesitated. But this shit with you not being the ‘real deal’ with us? That’s on you. I know your dad is so fucked up that he can’t see you clearly, but we made a blood pact, Eth.”

“Yeah.” I held up my doobie. “A paper cut blood pact. But it’s the thought that runs deeper.”

Chase opened his mouth to continue but stopped, turned, and looked at me with the utmost confusion, and then burst out with a full-on belly laugh.

“You’re an idiot,” Ethan said, rolling his eyes. “Give that to me.” He snatched the doobie from my hand and took a hit.

“Holy shit!”

“Yeah, it’s the one and only time. And you better not get too high. We will see Coach in a few hours.”

Chase sat back, wiping the tears out of his eyes. “True. We should crash before we head to Bailey’s for breakfast.”

Ethan handed the doobie back to me, and I stubbed it out before tucking it away. “Does this mean we’re good?” I asked the two of them.

Ethan shook his head, looking at Chase. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Am I really worth it? Losing out on all that?” He stood up, walking next to Chase as they went back into the house.

Chase patted Ethan’s back. “I sure hope so. I lose all of it on my birthday.”

“Welcome to the club,” Ethan said back.

I stood up and stretched, turning to look at the sunrise. My heart was heavy when I thought about all that had happened to us. To our group. When we’d been apart, we’d suffered, so deeply. And all for what? Maybe this was a step in the direction of getting back together, of being family again, but I didn’t settle in the thought. The more we gained with one another, the more we had to lose when the outside world found us.

34

Chase

When Bailey told me she didn’t want to talk about the events of the party, that she was going to forget it, I didn’t think she actually would. Lachlan, Ethan, and I were completely bagged when I drove all of us over in the morning. But Bailey…she looked as beautiful as ever, with her hair pulled out of her face and into a braid. She still wore my sweats, her own hoodie thrown over. And she was smiling as she and Nolan set the table for breakfast.

Her amber eyes filled with happiness as she watched Nolan’s and Lachlan’s antics. I could still feel her lips on mine. It was something I hoped I could never forget. I’d goaded her, pushed her, more than the other guys thought I should’ve, but I’d known Bailey could handle it. Bailey always had a fire in her eyes. Growing up, she’d been a stick of dynamite. No one messed with her, and no one messed with us because of her. I had been watching that fire grow dim. Become snuffed out.

Last night, I’d been selfish. I’d wanted—needed—that fire. They had no idea how truly messed up I was, how cold I felt all the time. I needed that fire to keep me warm, and when she’d bowed her head to me, I’d thought I would lose it. So, I’d pushedher, and she rewarded me with an inferno. Flames consumed us as I held her against that tree. As my tongue dove down her throat while her fingers dug into me, anchoring me. My cock pushed and strained against my pants, aching to feel her heat. That…I knew that would’ve been too far. I was glad the guys interrupted us, because if she had kept going, I wouldn’t have stopped her. I would take anything she gave me without a second thought.

She sat next to Ethan, and I watched as she leaned into him, her shoulder brushing his. Neither seemed to react. They were drawn to one another, and they didn’t even notice. And when Lachlan reached under the table and squeezed her leg, Bailey smiled and nodded to him, some sort of silent communication between the two.

Bailey’s parents accepted me in and treated me as if I hadn’t disappeared over the last three years. Why? The ache was heavy in my chest, so much so that I found myself rubbing it now and then.

“Shi—” Lachlan looked up at Bailey’s mother. “Shoot, I said shoot.” He smiled and she shook her head at him. “We have to get going soon.”

The guys began shoving down as much of the eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast as they could. I tried to keep up, but there was a rock in my stomach. The same rock that rolled into a boulder when I saw them all together. The boulder that told me, again and again, that I didn’t belong. It wouldn’t matter how much I smoothed things over with Ethan or Lachlan or even Bailey.

As we got ready to leave, Bailey’s mother handed us each a muffin for the road. “Ethan, are you coming back tonight?”

Coming back?

“I should probably get home. I can’t stay away too long,” he said.

She nodded to him. Bailey’s Dad stepped up. “I know you’re working over at the shop, but if you need some extra cash, I have a few spots open for farm hands.” He placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “You’re a hard worker, son. You’ll have a job here, and room and board will be included.”

Son.

I stepped down off the porch, toward my car.

“Are you carpooling with us?” Bailey asked.

I turned as they were all getting into the truck. “Nah, I’ll meet you there. I have stuff to do after.” Her eyes searched my face, but I quickly looked away, getting into my car before she could see anything.

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