Page 57 of Cross-Check

“That doesn’t surprise me actually,” I say when I think about it.

Her father hates unnecessary drama, and his daughter living with not only her boyfriend but a house full of guys would be seen as such.

We pull up to the local burger joint and get out. After going inside and placing our order, we sit.

“So are you going to tell me what kind of list you were writing?” he asks as he straightens the number placed on our table so the server can easily find us when she brings our food out.

“Do you really want to know?”

“I don’t know if you’ve figured this out yet, but I don’t talk just to make conversation.”

I tip my head toward him. I have noticed that about him. One thing about Wyatt Scott is he’s comfortable in his own skin in a way that I’m not. The guy doesn’t try to be someone he’s not, and I admire that about him.

“I need to make amends with people so I can move forward in the right direction.”

He nods. “Makes sense. Who do you have down so far?”

“Cora, Grace, and Clay. I’m sure there are others, but I don’t know.”

“What do you have to make right with Cora?”

“It’s not necessarily amends with her but reassuring her that I’m with her for her. That I have no other ulterior motives and shit.”

“Makes sense. Grace?”

I fight the urge to rub my chest as I think about her. “I need to make things right with her. Not because I’m in love with her but because I miss my best friend. I realize that I fucked a lot of shit up where she’s concerned. Shit, she’s practically a saint for dealing with me as long as she did.”

“I don’t think you can be a saint and have the kind of mouth she does, but continue.”

I fight back my smile. “She can be mouthy, can’t she? I just want to apologize to her. I don’t know if we will ever be friends like we were at one point, but I would like to try.”

“And if she lets you, are you going to be a self-centered dick again?”

“Fuck, Wyatt, you’re not pulling any punches, are you?”

“Not my style.”

I wait for the server to drop our food off and walk away before I pick back up where I left off. “I hope this time our friendship won’t be so one-sided and all in my favor.”

“What about James?” he asks about Clay.

I pick up a fry and roll it between my fingers. “I need to apologize to him for the disaster that was last year. I didn’t bow out gracefully when it came to him getting Grace. Then he stayed instead of being drafted, taking away the possibility of me being the youngest captain the team has ever had. I wasn’t a team player, and I fucked it all up.”

“You know you were never going to be captain this year, right? Coach only chooses juniors or seniors for a reason. That’s just not how it’s done,” he says bluntly, making me wince.

“Yeah, pride and cockiness can be a fatal combination.”

Wyatt chuckles and takes a bite of his food. Picking up my burger, I do the same.

“What about that girl you dated last year? I’ve heard she’s still hung up on you,” he says after a few moments of silence.

I remember the two run-ins I’ve had with her. I did say I needed to make amends with her at some point too. She might be acting like a bitch right now, but she wasn’t always that way. At least from what I can remember.

“You’re right. I thought we ended on okay terms, but if the way she reacts when she sees me is anything to go by, I guess I was wrong.” I rub my forehead. “Maybe I should add a few of those exes to the list. Grace always did say that I tended to date women until I no longer liked them, then I would drop them. Fuck, I was so selfish.”

“Women can be messy.” He nods. “At least you understand you were a dick and changed.”

“Working on it at least,” I mutter. “Enough about me, what about you?”

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