Page 57 of The Forever Play

Fuck. That must have destroyed her.

I was on that bed with two chicks I don’t even remember.I was oblivious to the only one who meant anything to me.

If I’d known she was there, I would have dropped everything, chased after her, done all I could to make it right.

But I was such a fucked-up mess that year.

Going to Kelsey U was the biggest mistake I ever made.

That, and breaking up with Sienna.

But maybe if I’d come straight to Nolan… if I hadn’t gotten roped in by my reckless roommate and the rest of the team…

Don’t blame them. You were the one who gave in to the pressure.

I shake my head, my mind jumping back to that first night I boarded a one-way ticket to my own demise…

I was missing Sienna like crazy, doing everything in my power not to text her every minute of every damn day. But we’d agreed on a clean break. I was here to play football and study hard, to prove myself—and show Coach Watkins from Brighton College that not wanting me was the biggest mistake he’d ever made.

It was my time to shine and be the best. I was only a freshman, but I’d get time on the field. I was determined to get noticed, to fit in with the team and do everything in my power to make my reasons for breaking up with Sienna worth it.

Dad—my entire family, really—had convinced me that I was too young to be tied down in a serious relationship. It was holding me back. We were holding each otherback. And I was out to prove that they were right, even though everything inside me was pining for her.

I’d already made the decision that if I was missing her this badly when I went home for my Christmas break, I was going to get in touch with her, see how she was doing. Maybe talk about trying the long-distance thing. Would she be into it?

I may have missed my chance.

Shit, I probably had.

She was the hottest catch in the school. Some other guy had probably swooped in and stolen her from me.

“Fuck.” I banged the desk, growling as I pulled my textbook toward me and tried to wrap my head around stuff I didn’t even care about.

“Just leave it.” Miguel slapped me on the shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s go. Party’s started.” My roommate opened our door, and I glanced over my shoulder at him.

“I have to get through this shit. The test is next week.”

“Fuck that.” Miguel laughed. “We’re college athletes. We don’t have to pass tests to be here.”

“But Coach Jones told us?—”

“Screw Coach Jones. That guy has his head up his ass.”

I frowned. “I don’t want to be riding the bench all season. I came here so I could get some field time.”

“And you will… as long as you don’t isolate yourself from the team.”

I swiveled in my seat to face him. “What do you mean?”

Rolling his eyes like I was a clueless loser, my sophomore roommate walked back over to me and rested hishand on my desk. “Coach Jones doesn’t run our team. He’s not even the head coach.”

“He’s the offensive coach,” I softly argued. “He’s pretty damn important.”

“Coach Filmore is the only one who really counts. And he likes to give Cap as much responsibility as possible. He’s always consulting with the players and making them feel like we’re valued members of his team, you know?”

My eyebrows wrinkled, uncertainty swirling through me. I’d never played on a team like that before. Coaches ruled. That was just the way it went.

“You want field time, you need to get in good with Williams and Hodgkins. They’ll be the ones telling Coach to give you a shot. If they don’t like you, you’ll be riding that bench, dude. I promise you. Just ask any of the guys who are warming that seat every damn week. It took me a while to figure it out last year, but I’m telling you, after one party with Williams, I was in. You have to prove yourself tothoseguys if you want to get on that field.”

---