Page 9 of Call the Shots
“They’re moving me to another sport. I don’t know anyone there. Or…anybody I like. It’d mean so much if you came aboard. It’d be free housing, a meal plan, a small but steady paycheck?—”
I hesitated. “What sport?”
CHAPTER 4
BEAR
OH. STICKY. LOVELY.
The smoothie messwas a bitch to clean from the carpet. When I finished, I bought another one and lingered outside Xavier’s office. It was really nice, with a huge wooden desk inside and a waiting area decorated with fake plants and bookcases lined with expensive hardcovers. People poured inside and his staff asked endless questions about June’s behavior. Xavier was way nicer than I would’ve been.
“This is why the housing department offers mental health days,” he urged. “If you need time off? Take it. I’d rather have you give your brain a rest than crash a golf cart and fail your classes.” He sighed. “I only wish we could’ve offered more for June.”
One of the girls patted his arm. “You’re so kind.”
“That’s what we do. Choose kindness. Every day.”
I held up the smoothie when the last of them left. “Man…what the fuck?”
He motioned for me to close the door, and when it shut, he put his head in his hands, groaning. “June’s fucking crazy. She totaled my car in January.”
“What?” My mouth hung open. “That’s what happened to the Clemenza? What’d the police say?”
Xavier was quiet for a moment. Seconds passed before he reached for a glass award behind his desk, crafted to look like a piece of pottery. He rubbed it with a cloth. “They can’t prove it was her, there weren’t cameras, but tell me it wasn’t June.”
“No, I believe you, man. That’s fucked.”
Xavier nodded with ayep, what are you going to do?shrug. This was the easiest conversation we had in a long time.
It’d always been awkward between us, and that was on me. Our parents got together when we were in middle school, but I had back-to-back hockey camps and tournaments most of the year. Always on the road, barely at home. It was a major reason why I transferred to Marrs. Now that I was here, I wanted to be a real brother to him.
His eyes flicked to mine. “Do you need something?”
“Are you free for lunch?”
“Uh…one of my assistants picks it up for me.”
“It’s no problem. I can grab something if you want to eat here.”
He exhaled through his nose. “Bear, I work with the housing department, the homecoming committee, the sustainability board, the feminism forward commission—I’m not an athlete. I don’t get to pick and choose while everybody waits on me. I can’t just ‘get lunch.’”
“Yeah, I get it.” I cleared my throat. “When our coach comes back, my schedule will get way busier. He’s in the Bahamas. Isn’t that nuts?”
Xavier continued polishing his award.
“We have this freshman on the team,” I added. “He looks like he just crawled out of the womb.”
“Hm.”
“All my teammates hate each other.”
“Cool.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “So—uh—what do you want for lunch?”
“Bear. I’m busy.”
“We don’t have to do it today. I’m free this week.”
