Page 168 of Scrimmage

“On that, we can agree.”

Someone off camera hands him a box. “Man, Armory, you missed a hell of a dinner. Who the hell are you talking to?”

Alexi appears behind Koda’s chair. When he sees me, his face lights up, and he grabs Koda’s phone. “Ashland? If you werethatbored you could have just called me.”

I laugh. Alexi’s eyeball is in the camera, and I can hear Koda fighting him. “Fuck off.”

“Did you miss dinner? I thought you weren’t doing anything?” I ask when Koda finally wrestles the phone back into his hands. His face turns red. I didn’t even know it could do that. He glances quickly at Alexi before shoving him away.

“Fine, geez. Hey, Ashy,” he calls out. “When you get tired of him just know that my phone line is open just for you.”

Koda hits him again, and Alexi runs off laughing.

“I didn’t really want to go to dinner. It’s always boring and just a lot of bullshit about prospects for the NFL,” he explains.

“Isn’t overplanning the future your entire brand?”

“There’s nothing wrong with a plan.”

I jab the fork at the camera. “That’s what boring people say.”

“It’s not.” Koda opens his container and unwraps his plastic silverware. It’s so careful and concise that it makes me laugh. “What’s so funny?

“You’re always just so particular.”

“You mean that I’m not messy.”

“I mean that, I bet you’re the kid who carefully unwraps his Christmas presents and saves the wrapping for next year.”

He chokes on a bite. “I am not, but there’s no point in making a big mess.”

“I bet you’d have a brain aneurysm just tearing open a package.”

“It wouldn’t be that severe.”

It’s nice just eating dinner and talking to Koda. He’s curious, like me. We both finish, and he heads up to his room. When he gets into the elevator some of the other players are in there.

“Ooh, Armory is on the phone.” They make kissy sounds. Koda looks like he might deck them in the face.

“Who is it?” Barnes peeks over his shoulder.

“My girlfriend. Fuck off.”

Barnes' eyes widen. “Ashland?”

It’s weird to hear him say it. I don’t know how to be someone’s girlfriend. I’ve been with exactly one person since I started having my own life, and that was never going to be normal or healthy. It kind of feels nice though, even if it sounds like a foreign language.

“Ashland is your fucking girlfriend?” Barnes continues.

Koda leans his head back against the elevator wall with regret. “Can you mind your own fucking business?”

The elevator dings, and he shoves Barnes out of the door while he protests.

“Sorry,” Koda mumbles.

I start washing dishes. “Really abusing the whole ‘girlfriend’ thing.”

Koda looks like he just shot himself in the foot. “Why does it bother you so much?”

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