talking about the year of the wine, and I can’t pretend to care.”
“Who’s out there anyway?” Bailey asks. “We were told it was a party for some of Uriah’s friends.”
He grunts then drops his voice to a whisper. “Mr. Woodison is kissing ass. This dinner is all about sweet-talking Coach. I’m just here to make it less awkward, but Arrow’s mood is so foul you could have the whole team at that table and it would still be uncomfortable as fuck.”
I snap my gaze around to Mason. “Arrow’s in there?” Gwen’s comment about not looking at Arrow should have tipped me off, but I just thought he’d be around, not at the table. I don’t know why I assumed he’d stay in his room. He’s on house arrest, not solitary confinement. But I don’t want to have to look at him tonight. I don’t want his angry eyes watching me while I serve dinner and refill their drinks.
“I’d better get out of here,” Mason says. He gives Bailey a final once-over that’s so suggestive it makes me blush. “Stay out of trouble, sexy.”
“Fuck, he’s hot,” she says when he’s gone.
I should totally take this opportunity to give her the third degree about Mason. This time last year, they were still screwing like bunnies and insisting their relationship was “platonic.”
Everything changed after Nic was released from prison and Bailey’s head got all screwed up about him again. Now Nic’s gone, Mason seems as interested as ever, and I’m the world’s worst friend because I honestly don’t know where she stands with him.
I check my tray to make sure the snails didn’t slide around too much when I dropped it, and when I take a breath to broach the subject, Bailey smacks me between the shoulder blades. “I won’t ask you about Arrow if you don’t ask me about Mason.”
Our eyes meet and she gives me her special I’ve got your back smile. It’s not like the brazen grin she gives the world, and it doesn’t meet her eyes the way a smile should, but it’s the smile of the girl I’ve known since I was eight. The one who taught me to practice kissing on the inside of my hand. The one who left half her dinner on my deck when times were tight. The one who’d throw a punch to anyone who looked at me funny. It’s the smile of a friend who wants you to know she’s still there, and even when everything else changes, your friendship won’t.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Arrow
“Where’s Trish tonight, Coach?” my father asks.
Coach shifts his gaze to mine before meeting my father’s eyes again. “She had plans with some friends, I’m afraid.”
“We would have loved to see her, but I understand. Kids are busy these days, aren’t they?”
I guess I should count my blessings. The only thing that would make this night more awkward for me would be trying to eat dinner while having my dad play matchmaker. I’ve gotten the lecture already. He saw the pictures from New Year’s Eve. He’s on Facebook like everyone else.
“If you’re going to fuck around with the coach’s daughter, you’d better be planning to buy the girl a ring.”
It was never about Trish. Dad’s not that kind of guy. It was about football and how my relationship with Trish might be a politically risky move for my place on the team. My best friend was fighting for his life in the hospital, and my dad thought I needed lectures about keeping my dick in my pants.
A tall, bearded guy joins us in the dining room. Sebastian Crowe. He was my quarterback my last year at West High School. A year younger than me, he always had a chip on his shoulder. He spent his first year of college playing running back at Purdue. Recognition must flash across my face, because Coach gives me an apologetic wince.
“Uriah,” Coach says, his hand on Sebastian’s back. “This is Sebastian Crowe. He’s the transfer from Purdue, and we’re excited to see what he can do on offense next year.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Woodison,” Sebastian says, taking my dad’s hand.
My father is hosting a meal for the BHU coaches and a few of the starters for next year. I’m grateful to have Mason here, but seeing Sebastian Crowe is a kick in the nuts. And that’s exactly what my dad wanted it to be.
Sebastian transferred in this fall. Something about being close to his grandma, but rumor is he