Page 15 of Hard Hitter

“Sure, be there in a minute.” I grabbed my bag and dug through looking for my earbuds, desperate for some alone time where I didn’t have to hide my reaction every time someone mentioned Chloe’s name.

Mac whistled on his way to the locker room, but I wasn’t in the mood. I found a relatively empty corner of the weight room and sat on a chest press bench with my phone in my hand. Even with my earbuds in, I could hear the conversations of the guys who hadn’t finished their workout yet, quieter now that Mac had left.

Five minutes. I just needed five minutes to gather my thoughts.

I scrolled through my playlists, not sure what I was searching for, but a call came through before I could pick something. My jaw tightened at the name scrolling across the top of my screen.

Craig Olsen.

My finger hovered over theDismissbutton, but he’d simply leave a passive aggressive message and call again later. Might as well get the frustration over with now.

“Hello, Uncle Craig.” I defaulted to the neutral tone I’d used for most of my childhood.

“Noah. How are your classes?” He sounded distracted, and the gentle clink of glass in the background told me he was probably out to his usual lunch at the club.

“No trouble so far.”

“No trouble is not the same as excelling.” I could practically hear his frown. “You’re not slacking after the championship win, are you?”

“No, sir. I’m sitting at As in all my classes, and I just finished up with training for the day.” It didn’t matter that classes had just started. We’d only had one assignment so far, but Craig didn’t want to hear that.

He always went straight to the point, no use wasting time discussing logistics or asking howIwas doing. As far as he was concerned, my grades and my stats were the only important parts of me. I needed to maintain a certain level of achievement to protect his reputation, and he ensured that expectation by checking up on me with his golfing buddy, the dean of the athletic department.

Craig had raised me, after all. Any failure on my part reflected back on him.

“Good. Good. Not getting distracted by girls?”

My jaw clenched as I thought of Chloe, but no way in hell would I subject her to my uncle’s brand of judgment. “No. Too busy.”

A voice murmured something in the background, and Craig sighed. “It shouldn’t be this hard to find good service.”

I made a noncommittal noise because he wasn’t talking to me. He certainly wasn’t listening to me either. These calls were purely a way for him to be sure I wasn’t following in my old man’s footsteps. Easier to cut me off before I drew too much attention if he knew I was on my way down.

The background noise muffled for a second, then Craig was back. “I’m glad to hear you’re being responsible. Remember, controlling yourself is a sign of strength.”

A bitter laugh escaped, but I managed to choke most of it back. He was referencing my temper, but he was closer to the mark asking about girls. If only he knew how irresponsible I wanted to be—how much easier it would be to take what Chloe offered rather than holding myself back.

Chloe didn’t want me for her future, and I couldn’t blame her. My own family hadn’t made me a priority, maybe ever. Only D and our crew had done that. My promise to D held me accountable, and my feelings for Chloe—because I sure as hell had them—made it impossible for me to walk away.

Of course, Craig wasn’t interested in my messy inner dilemmas. “Do you need anything else, Uncle Craig? I need to hit the showers.”

“No. You sound like you’re on top of things, as usual. I’ll talk to you next month, Noah.”

He hung up before I could say goodbye, not that I cared. We’d never been close. Craig’s schedule as a surgeon kept him too busy for more than a monthly check-in, which was better than his constant monitoring in middle and high school.

At least I didn’t have to worry about him coming across the video with Chloe. He didn’t concern himself with such pedestrian pastimes as social media. My aunt Melissa might find it—or someone might send it to her—but she’d become an expert on ignoring the events of my life to smooth over her relationship with Craig.

I hadn’t said two words to Chloe after my little show in Wildcat Coffee, and my resemblance to Craig’s dismissive attitude bothered me.

Suddenly, I was sick of my own company. I didn’t really know how to reach out to people, let alone make connections with them. If not for D, I wouldn’t have any of the tight friendships I’ve made over the last few years. He’d brought me into this group—made it a family Iwantedto spend time with—and I was failing at doing the same for his sister.

She deserved better. I scrubbed a hand down my face. Maybe I could be the one to make it better for her. The first step would be to stop avoiding her.

Mac came out of the locker room, hair still damp from his shower, and pursed his lips when he spotted me. “Your slow ass missed the chance to get clean. Pizza waits for no man. Let’s go, Stinky McStinkface.”

The big metal doors clanged shut behind him, and I pulled my shirt up to my face for a sniff test. Sweaty, yeah, but not bad. Mac would wait long enough for me to change at least, but what was the point?

I didn’t give a shit if I smelled at lunch, and Mac would be busy on the other side of the room with Alex. My job was to guard his pizza, though I was just as likely to eat it if he left me at the table alone too long. I tapped the side of my phone with my thumb.

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