Page 37 of Diverge

“I’m coming out! Everyone’s clothes must be on!” he yells, and I giggle as I place my hands on Nate’s chest.

“We’re decent!” I yell back.

Noah’s head pops around the wall, then he walks into the living room and plops himself on the lounge, scrolling through TikTok. I give Nate a peck on the cheek and tell him I’m going to shower and change into something comfy. He agrees and lets me know he’ll have dinner ready by the time that I’m done. Music to my ears. I am starving!

After showering, I quickly throw on some comfy clothing and head back out into the living room. Nate and Noah are now sitting at the large dining table, waiting for me. Nate laughs at something Noah has said, and he’s still bloody shirtless. “What have I missed?” I smile, taking a plate and filling it up with the lasagne Nate has prepared.

Yes. He indeed does cook, too.

“I was just telling Nate about my math teacher and how I saw her at one of the clubs I was at last week.” He snickers.

I cringe on his math teacher’s behalf. “Really? How old is she?”

He shrugs. “She’s pretty young, kind of hot, too.”

Nate laughs as he takes a bite of his lasagne. “Get your head back in the game, mate. The US scouts will be here next week to watch you play.”

“Aw, are you doubting me, brother?” Noah smirks.

“Just saying, don’t fuck it up.” His tone is playful, but I can sense he means a little of what he says.

Cutting in, I ask, “Have you thought about it all, though? I mean, moving to another country without anyone there with you will be a huge change.” I don’t want to discourage him, but at the same time, I would hope Nate has spoken to him about things like this.

“Yeah.” He begins to nod.

“I have thought about it, and I know it’s going to be hard at first, but I think once...ifI do end up moving, I’ll be doing something I truly love, and that means so much to me that I’m prepared to be on my own.” He glances at Nate.

“As much as I love my big brother, he does get annoying sometimes.” He snickers.

Nate taps him softly behind the head, and I laugh. We talk more about Noah and his obsession with basketball. He says he can't wait to meet all of his heroes, and Nate says something about “you should never meet your heroes.” After dinner, we clean up and get cosy on the lounge. Noah disappears, saying that he’s meeting up with a friend in the city, so it’s just me and Nate.

We put on a movie, and a quarter of the way through, Nate shifts in his seat, facing me. “We need to talk about Riley.”

The way we left things with Riley really didn’t sit well with me either, but I mean, there’s only so much I can say. I don’t completely understand Riley’s reaction, so I have been meaning to talk to him about it, but I’ve just been so busy with everything else that’s going on that I completely forgot about it. I feel like a horrible sister. “I know. It didn’t sit right with me either.”

“He hasn’t shown up to training since the night at the club.” Concern is etched in his beautiful green eyes.

“That’s really unlike him. I’ll call him tomorrow and find out what’s going on.” I can tell Nate is worried, and I feel like an ass for making him lie to his friend for me.

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