The Endgame Is You (Rixon Raiders #4) - L A Cotton Page 0,14
first in almost a decade. It means a lot to the team, to Coach.”
“And it should,” Asher said, taking a long pull on his beer. “Just don’t let it go to your head.”
“Fat chance of that.” Cam shot me a smirk, and I flipped him off.
“Between classes and the team there isn’t time to let it go to my head, trust me.” The bartender pushed a beer toward me, and I nearly drained the thing in one.
Fuck, I needed this. A night shooting the shit with my friends; friends who didn’t want to talk plays or game tapes or team stats.
The girls had gone to a fancy spa in Michigan to celebrate Mya’s birthday in style, while we’d decided to join Asher at his place. Thanks to his sizeable trust fund, their apartment building was like a five-star hotel, complete with a fully equipped gym, bar and restaurant, and roof top terrace.
“So, I was looking at your stats,” he piped up. “You know Heisman could come knocking this year.”
I snorted. “There hasn’t been a Heisman Trophy winner come out of the Ivy League since the fifties.”
“It could happen. You’re dominating ESPN chatter.”
Yeah, when hell froze over.
“I’ll just be happy to see us maintain our perfect record and win the league.”
We fell into easy conversation. Time and distance didn’t sever our bond. If anything, our friendship was stronger than ever.
“So my mom is having a Thanksgiving thing,” Asher announced. “She’s keeping it low key. She wants to invite Kent and Denise; your mom, dad, and Xander,” he said to Cameron.
“Yeah, sounds good. What about Mya’s aunt?”
He let out a weary sigh. “It’s a work in progress. She and Mya got into it the other week, don’t ask me what about. Probably me or the fact that Mya is getting too involved in her studies.”
“Isn’t that supposed to happen?” I asked.
“Yeah, but she’s volunteering at a community project and she comes home with all these stories about the kids...”
“She wants to save them all,” Cameron said, and Asher nodded.
“And she can’t, ya know? I’m just worried she’ll get too attached.”
“Nah, she’s strong,” I said, “and she wants to help. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Mya had grown up in a rough neighborhood. She’d witnessed firsthand what deprivation, crime, and drugs could do to a person. So the fact she wanted to be a social worker and try to make a positive impact was commendable.
“Says the guy who’s been spending more time with his team than his girl.” Asher’s brow quirked up.
“She’s always with tutor boy.” I bristled. Darcy’s name was becoming a regular mention in our conversation. I fucking hated it, but it wasn’t like I could complain, not when Asher was right. I was spending more time with the team than Felicity. But it was only for another few weeks. Once the season was over, things would settle. We could be us again.
“Dude, you’re not seriously jealous about a guy who enjoys talking about animal science all day?”
“You’re forgetting that Felicity also likes talking about that stuff.”
“He’s her tutor. You’re her... person.”
Cameron chuckled. “He’s right, you know. You and Felicity are going the distance. All couples have highs and lows.”
“Well being in a low fucking sucks.”
“You’re still... doing it, right?”
I gawked at Asher. “What are we, five?”
“I’m just trying to help.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, well maybe we should change the subject.” Dissecting my relationship with Felicity was making me cranky.
“If you make it as one of the Heisman finalists, we can take a trip to New York for the weekend to celebrate.”
“Seriously, Ash, the chances of me getting shortlisted are almost non-existent.” I rubbed my jaw.
“Still, I’ll ask my old man if we can reserve the penthouse for the weekend. That way, even if you don’t shortlist, we can still go, but it can be a commiseration instead of a celebration.” A shit-eating grin tugged at his mouth.
“There’s something very wrong with you,” I grumbled.
“But you love me.”
Yeah, I did. He might have been like sunshine on a fucking rainy day, but Asher was my best friend. Cameron too. Almost fifteen months had passed since we left Rixon for college, but they were still my guys.
Always would be.
He pulled out his cell phone and I frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Texting my dad.”
Cameron smothered a chuckle and I rolled my eyes. “Of course you are.”
Felicity
A weekend with Hailee and Mya had been just what I’d needed. We’d spent an entire day and night being pampered and primped, finishing off the day with cocktails in