Page 69 of Blitz'd

Colson glares at him for a moment longer, then faces the register, ordering his food. I put my order in as well and we take a seat on the opposite side of the cafe from Justin. I already have to deal with him at practice against my will. I’d rather not be anywhere near him in my free time.

My brother and I have a great time at breakfast, talking and laughing like we don’t talk on the phone every few days. But it’s been a while since we’ve sat down and had a meal, just the two of us.

“How’s Mom?” I ask, wiping my mouth with my napkin. “I miss her and her cooking.”

“She’s good. But she misses you too. Make sure you come home soon. You’re only an hour away, dick.”

I lower my head in shame. Since being with Kerian, I haven’t been home to visit. Hell, even before that. Megan used to bitch at me for leaving on the weekends to see my family, so to make her happy, I didn’t go as often. I shouldn’t have put her feelings before theirs. I haven’t asked Kerian to go home with me because he might say no as well.

“You’re right. I’ll come visit soon. I should have, with this bye week, but we have a long weekend coming up. Let me check my schedule and I’ll let you and Mom know.”

I feel Justin’s eyes on me, burning a hole in the side of my face, but I pay him no mind. He’s annoying as fuck, but easy to ignore. I think not giving him my attention is burning him up. His fingers fly across his phone, probably telling his bitch-ass special teams teammates some bullshit.

Brushing off his irritating-ass staring, I focus back on my brother, talking and joking. I’m sure Justin leaves at some point, but I don’t even pay him any mind.

Colson looks at his watch and sighs. “I gotta get back and get the job started. I swear, owning my own business was supposed to be less stressful.”

I make apsshnoise. “If you didn’t want the stress, you should have worked for someone instead.”

We take our time walking to the car, enjoying the cool weather and being together. Colson and I have always been close. Not being able to see my mother and brother every day has been hard, but when I graduate and sign to a team, they can live in my house with me so I can see them as often as I’d like.

“Good to see you, bro,” Colson says when we hug. “Come home soon.”

“You got it.”

I step back when he gets into the car and watch him drive away. I feel light and burdened all at the same time. Seeing him makes me miss home, but I’m thankful my brother and mother don’t hold it against me. I definitely need to get back home soon, though.

Now, I just have to convince Kerian to go with me.

As I’m walking to my dorm with my head down, deep in thought about how Kerian would fit in with my family, someone bumps me from behind, tweaking my shoulder. I hiss, grabbing the area. I meet Justin’s eyes, a dark look flashing in his gaze. He steps closer to me, as if to put hands on me again, but the door to my dorm building opens and Russ waves me over, glaring at Justin.

He steps back, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Better watch where you’re going, Z. Don’t want to ruin that arm because you’re not paying attention. That would be a shame.”

“Fuck you,” I growl, brushing past him.

“Everything okay?” Russ asks, still staring at Justin.

“All good. He’s just being a dick. Come on. The ass whooping in Madden has your name on it.”

Russ stares Justin down for a few more seconds, then steps inside behind me and we jog upstairs.

My fingers twitch, itching to tell Kerian about Justin’s bullshit, but I know he’ll snap and beat Justin to a pulp. I can handle myself. Justin is a bitch who isn’t getting the reaction from me that he wants. He’s unimportant.

“Ready to get your ass beat?” Russ says when we step into my room, flopping onto Luca’s bed.

“Yeah right. Pick up the control so I can spank that ass!”

Russ laughs and we spend the next few hours playing Madden. My day would have been better if I had spent it with Kerian, but I’m more than content to hang out with my best friend.

ChapterTwenty-Two

KERIAN

There’sa part of me that realizes whatever is going on with Zandercan’tbe a thing that lasts. I know I’ve always told myself I’m never going to care about someone, that I’m never going to let any other person be a reason I feel or needanything.

But for some reason, it’s been a few weeks since I snuck into Zander’s room and fell asleep… and it’s happened two more times since then.

I don’t sleep well—I haven’t slept well since I was a kid and it was dangerous to let my guard down—but there’s something about being in his room, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat, that makes it easy.Safe.

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