Page 64 of Afterglow
We get yelled at for lollygagging and get thrown into the burpee corner of the field, and when the fifty-count punishment is completed, we lie on our backs against the grassy slope.
Not wanting to get sunburnt to hell, I crawl into the nearest shade, cast onto the lawn from the training facility. Jaeg takes off his shirt and basks in the sun, tucking his arms behind his head. Landon curls into a fetal position, the color draining from his face, threatening to vomit.
“Fuck you, you chatterbox,” Wade curses Landon. “Donny,” he heaves. “What’s going on with you?”
Might as well spill it. “Bea’s my girlfriend.”
Landon huffs. “Eh? I think I’m losing it because I thought I heard you say Bea was your girlfriend.”
“I heard the same thing,” Wade adds. “You delirious, man, or what?”
“Nope, this summer, well…long story short,” I stumble through an explanation, “we were temporary roommates, but shit happened and now we’re permanent roommates.”
The goalie lets out a weakwoo.“Fuckingfinally.”
“I’m so happy for you.” Landon crawls slowly closer to me, his face ashen with nausea. “So excited I could throw up. Know that in my head, I’m whooping and galloping around like a show stallion.”
“Has your dick fallen off yet?” Leave it to Wade to ask the important questions.
“Almost,” I pant, the heat clearly cooking all my brain cells. My mouth runs without any trace of impulse control. “God, she’s amazing. She makesmefeel amazing. I’m so fucking in love with her.”
Wade feigns surprise with a melodramatic gasp. “No shit? I never knew. It’s like all you had to do was give it a chance or something.”
“Blow me,” I retort.
“Hell no. I’m not doing your girlfriend’s dirty work for you.”
My girlfriend.Mygirlfriend. Mine. I’ll never get over calling her mine.
“What he means is” —Landon rolls to clap a sweaty palm to my shoulder— “we’re happy for you.”
“Thanks, man.”
“And welcome to the club.”
A whistle blows to call us back to the coaches. In the past few years, dryland training didn’t start until September, but two weeks weren’t quite enough to prevent injuries during exhibition games and prepare us for the regular season. Since we didn’t make it past the first round of playoffs, team management has us training in late July to give us more time to shape up post-vacation.
Damn. Only two weeks before Bea moves out. A whistle cuts my wallow short.
“We’ll meet at the CTC tomorrow. Stay hydrated and get ready for box jumps.”
We break from the huddle and move towards the parking lot. Landon shuffles back to his Range Rover, visibly stiff and sore. “I hate everything.”
Wade, the flexible bastard, stretches a leg on the hood of the Rover he got last year. I swear, goalies are built different. “Get it together, old man. This was only the first day.”
Jaeger holds up a hand to wave goodbye before wordlessly getting into his Jeep.
“Jaeg seemed quiet, even for him,” I comment.
“You’re right. Wonder what’s up with him.” Landon watches the captain drive off. “I’ll ask Indi if Skylar’s mentioned anything.”
I check missed messages when getting back into the cab of my F-450.
Gorgeous
All done for the day?
Me
