JAX (The Beckett Boys #2) - Olivia Chase Page 0,114

was expressionless as he moved his arm— until he was able to feign health.

My chest tightened and I felt tears stinging my eyes.

I felt words bubble up, the desire to call out, to tell him that was ridiculous, that he could hurt himself permanently if he tried to play on a still-injured arm.

But then I thought about his parents, and all they’d said that evening. That boy Adams is hot on your tail, son. Get back out there, or this’ll all have been for nothing. Sitting on the sidelines is every bit as bad for you as an injury is.

He’d told his father he’d be back in by the Clemson game— a week from tomorrow. I knew, without doubt, that he was going to play in that game— but also knew, without doubt, that he shouldn’t.

Chapter 17

Piper was with Adams— not dating him, exactly, but with him in a way that meant other girls admired and hated her at the same time. It was clear his star was rising; he was a frequent topic of conversation on sports shows, in the school’s newspaper. Side by side charts compared him shamelessly to Jacob, and while the pros typically considered Jacob better overall, they always noted that Adams was stronger in his junior year than Jacob had been— which they speculated meant that Adams’ senior year would put Jacob’s to shame.

The additional playtime was giving the rest of the team a chance to adjust to Adams’ leadership style, and I heard grumblings that the freshmen players who had been relegated to serving seniors beers at parties were delighted to see the old guard taken down a notch.

“It’s all just stuff to fill air time,” Jacob said when we passed a bar after the homecoming game— Harton had won by a landslide— where two different college sports stations appeared to be doing profiles on Adams. “Once I’m back in, it’ll all fade. He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve got experience on him. That’s where it’s at, with quarterbacks.”

“Of course. Plus, I think Piper is actually pretty miserable with him,” I said, nudging him, and Jacob smiled. We were walking the same path we’d taken all those weeks ago, when I’d met him at the club and he’d left his friends behind. It wasn’t intentional— it was just a nice evening walk. As we neared the Manhattan, I saw that it was full of athletes once again— beefy football players had spilled onto the street, and inside, I could see the compact women of the gymnastics team, all wearing their Harton athletic gear.

“What’s going on there?” I asked.

“They do penny PBRs for Harton players in uniform if we win the homecoming game,” Jacob said, grinning. “It used to just be for football players, but someone ages and ages ago pointed out a while back that it just says “players”, so now everyone in the athletic department comes out. It’s a tradition, now.”

“Want to go?” I asked, though what I really wanted to ask was “why aren’t you there?”

Jacob hesitated— I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him hesitate like this, like he was uncertain. Like he was worried. “Yeah. Yeah, of course,” he said swiftly.

He guided me over to the bar; once he was within everyone’s line of sight, they began to call out greetings. The football players standing outside jostled toward him, looking like they wanted to clap him on the shoulder but were worried about picking the wrong one and exacerbating his injury. They knew me by name now, too, and smiled at me, which felt strange but also nice.

“Here, man, it’s on me,” a player— it was Greene, I realized, then realized I knew the names of all the players nearby from watching the games. Greene reached into his pocket and slapped a handful of pennies into Jacob’s hand, lettings dozens fall to the ground.

“You’re too kind,” Jacob laughed, and pocketed them. “See you guys inside?”

“Nah, Adams is in there being a dick,” Greene said under his breath.

“Perfect,” Jacob said darkly. He took my hand and together, we walked into The Manhattan.

The bar was so similar to the way it had been the first time I met Jacob here that it almost felt like I’d stepped back in time— only now it was Adams in the throne, taking visitors. Piper was by his side, leaning against him possessively, but she didn’t look particularly happy to be there. She looked even less happy when she saw me and Jacob