Page 94 of Slew Foot
They didn’t even feel true anymore.
Did it evenmatter, really?
Like, Rafe could keep telling himself and Mickey and everyone else that he and Mickey weren’t dating but did it change anything? Rafe still felt all of the same things. And maybe itwouldbe even worse if he and Mickey were officially together but maybe it wouldn’t be.
Rafe didn’t know anymore. Honestly, he didn’t feel like he knewanything, anymore. Everything was a big ol’ confusing question mark in his head.
Rafe said goodbye to Zach, and he was still thinking about all that when he went to find Mickey. Unfortunately, he crossed paths with Coach Rasmussen in the hallway. He was staring down at his phone as he walked, typing something on it, and Rafe debated if he could get away with sneaking by his coach.
Probably not. And it definitely wouldn’t be worth it if he got caught.
“Uhh, did you want to talk to me about something?” Rafe blurted out.
Rasmussen looked up and blinked. “Uhh, yes. But maybe not tonight.”
“Why?” Rafe asked with a frown. Not that he wanted to get lectured, but he might as well get it over with. But what if …
He blurted out, “Is—is Mickey … is he not okay or something?”
Rasmussen’s face softened. “He’s okay. I was back there with him and Bradley a few minutes ago. I was going to ask if we could talk tomorrow after practice though, actually. I’m meeting up with a former teammate for dinner tonight and …”
“Oh,” Rafe said. It took him a moment to remember Bradley was Dr. Pope’s first name. “Yeah, okay.”
“You should go check on your … teammate though,” Rasmussen said.
Rafe opened his mouth to protest he and Mickey weren’t dating when he realized what his coach had actually said. “Uhh yeah, I will. Have a good night.”
“Good night, Moon.” He made a funny face. “That sounds odd, doesn’t it? I used to read the book to Leif when he was small.”
Rafe shrugged because he’d heard people say that for his whole life, practically. And yes, he’d read the book as a kid, but no, it wasn’t his favorite.
He had much more important things to worry about than some old children’s story anyway. Heneededto check on Mickey.
He needed to see with his own eyes that he was okay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
By the time Mickey was done going through the concussion protocol with Dr. Pope, he was thoroughly tired of people staring at him with worried frowns and asking him a bunch of dumb questions.
It didn’t help that Coach Rasmussen had come to check on him and so had Connor and Tanner. But Rafe was nowhere to be found.
Mickey knew he had plans to meet up with his friend Zach tonight, so maybe they’d already headed out?
It was fine. Mickey didn’t feel any differently than he ever did after a game, so it wasn’t like he needed Rafe here fussing over him or anything. It was surprising, that was all.
Mickey would have expected him to pop his head in or something.
He was surprised by the wave of relief that washed over him when Rafe appeared a few moments later. But maybe heshouldn’t be. His feelings for Rafe didn’t seem to be getting any easier to deal with. In fact, they seemed to be growing.
And Mickey didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do about them.
“Can I come in?” Rafe asked.
Dr. Pope nodded. “You may. We were wrapping up here.”
Rafe’s gaze flickered across Connor and Tanner before landing on Mickey’s face. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Mickey said automatically. “I don’t have a concussion.”
