Fallen Fourth Down

“I’m going to piss his friend off.”

With the dark intent brewing in his gaze, I knew Logan was going to make enemies that night. I shrugged. It was going to happen. I flashed him a grin. “Looks like we’re getting a head start for next year.”

He grunted in response before we sat back and waited for Kris and Mason.

CHAPTER TEN

MASON

“Hey, man.” Drew came over and propped a hand on the top shelf of my locker. He had showered and dressed in jeans and a Cain University shirt. “I heard your woman’s in town.”

I narrowed my eyes and bent to grab my own shirt. Pulling it on, I asked, “Yeah?”

He ran a hand through his hair and bent over so he could see in my mirror. As he fixed his hair, he said, “A bunch of us are going downtown for Matteo’s birthday. He can let loose tonight. He mentioned that you’re going to a frat party tonight?”

“Yeah.” I watched as he moved his head at all angles to inspect his hair. When he saw a clump that was pressed flat, he bit his lip and lifted his hands to tug them apart. Logan did this shit. He had cut his hair so it was shorter, but there was enough for him to spike it like my quarterback. I kept mine in a crew cut. I didn’t want to waste time, and Sam seemed to like it. Good enough for me. As he moved to a new clump of hair, I told him, “You know my best friend is there. He wants to show the house off to my brother more than anything. I doubt we’ll stay late.”

“I’m surprised you’re going. Matteo told me you’re a no-nonsense guy. I would’ve thought Park Sebasstian would be road kill to you.” His fingers pulled apart two hairs that were sticking up. He rubbed them so they stuck up even higher, then nodded to himself. He turned to face me again and smirked, but when he saw the no-nonsense expression on my face, his smirk fell flat.

I said, “I’ll deal with anyone who tries to mess with me.”

His eyes narrowed and studied mine. He nodded. “Sounds good.” He pounded me on the shoulder. “We’re at Cliché tonight. Just ask for the Cain U footballer’s private box. They’ll show you the way.” He turned to go, but paused. “A lot of the guys from the team go there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry about age. They worked out a deal with one of the captains a long time ago. They don’t serve ‘alcohol’ to minors.” As he used his fingers for air quotes, I assumed that meant we could get alcohol just fine if we wanted. He added, “And don’t feel weird. A lot of the guys bring their wives too, you know, the guys in serious relationships like you.”

I grunted. “Yeah, okay. We might swing by. My brother would probably like the club.”

“Sounds good, man. Have fun with the wife and kids.”

As soon as Drew moved away, Matteo lumbered over to me. He had showered, but he only managed to get his pants on. Still shirtless, he was rubbing lotion over his chest as he said, “You coming out tonight?”

“I think so.” I jerked my head in Drew’s direction. “The wife comments, are those veiled insults?”

“What?” My roommate’s eyes got big, and he glanced where Drew was talking to two senior players. “No, man. If it is, I’ll be pissed. They call Georgie my wife too. That's what they call the serious relationships.”

“So there’s no shade with that?” I wanted to make sure. Drew had been smirking, but I knew he was still on an adrenalin high from the win. He threw four touchdowns, but I wasn’t going to stand and be laughed at without hitting back.

“No, no, no.” Matteo seemed taken aback. His hand paused in rubbing the lotion, but he started again a moment later. “They want us to be wifed-up. Girls can mean problems for the single guys. Hook-ups sometimes become baby-mommas. Some of that shit happens on purpose. You know how it is. They want the guys to have wives. They’re more stable. Those girls are rocks for some of us. I know Georgie is for me. If I step out of line, she smacks me back in, and I regret it for the rest of my life.”

I grinned, easing up a bit. “Good to know.”

“How about you?” He sat down on my bench. “You don’t talk too much about your woman, but you guys talk every night.”

“Me and Sam?” I grunted. “I guess I’m the rock.”

“She doesn’t smack you around if you step out of line?”

I didn’t step out of line. I never wanted to. Shrugging, I commented while I saw my phone buzzing, “No. We don’t really fight that much.” I read the text and saw it was from Logan. Get your ass out here. Mine is hungry and wanting sweet relief, if you know what I mean. Serious, tho. Get out here. Sam won’t look away from the hallway you said you’d be coming from.

I typed back: Coming. I said to Matteo, “I need to go. Happy birthday and I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Yeah, I want to meet your woman. She didn’t stop by earlier.”

I began backpedaling and lifted my arms up in a shrug. “They were late. Logan said there was some fight, but they’re here now.” As I moved through the main open area of the gym, I raised my voice and lifted a hand, “Happy birthday to Matteo! May your dick be tired tomorrow morning.”

“You douche,” Matteo called after me, laughing.

The guys who were still in the locker room called out their own cheers for him, and as I went out the door, I knew my roommate was soaking up all the attention