Long: A Secret Baby Sports Romance(16)

I was even flirting with him despite myself. It was hard not to when he stared at me with those liquid blue eyes, so intense and deep. He was just too damn handsome, and I couldn’t hate him for very long before he pulled me back in with some dirty comment or joke that made me smile despite myself.

After a couple minutes he came back to the table, and I could instantly tell that something was wrong.

“I’m sorry to do this,” he said, “but I have to go.”

“Oh,” I said, disappointed.

“My tutor dimed me out,” he explained. “That was Coach. I’m in some trouble.”

“Oh,” I said. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

He laughed. “You didn’t. This was my idea.”

“Well, I’m sorry anyway.”

“Look, stay here. Tell Kelly I said you can have anything you want and to put it on my tab.”

“I can’t do that.”

“No, seriously. The university pays for it anyway, and I promised you a meal. Please, stay and eat. Hell, invite a friend if you want.”

“Okay,” I said. “Thanks, Gibs.”

He smirked at me then. “You’re welcome. See you later.”

He turned and quickly left, disappearing back into the crowd.

I had to admit, I was a little frustrated. Things had been going so well, and it sucked that he had to leave so abruptly. I wasn’t going to stay and eat on his dime, even though the idea of free food was pretty appealing.

Still, he risked getting in trouble for me. That was a pretty good sign. Though it was a sign of what, I couldn’t be sure.

Maybe I’d figure that one out soon.





7





Gibson





I didn’t normally start my Saturday morning out with wind sprints, but for some reason I didn’t mind it today. My legs pumped as I sprinted down the field, hit the ten-yard line, touched it, and then sprinted back. I did that over and over, getting farther and farther out until finally I hit the fifty-yard line and ran all the way back.

I was breathing heavily as I got back into the end zone.

“Two minutes. Then you do it again,” Coach said.

I nodded but said nothing. I knew he was punishing me for skipping my tutoring session, and I couldn’t really blame him. I had it pretty easy at MD, and the tutor helped keep me on track when I’d otherwise get derailed from all the practice I had to do. Coach took academics seriously, and I could tell he was pretty pissed off and disappointed in me.

I’d never skipped a tutoring session before. I knew that if I wanted to go far with this team, I couldn’t start pushing back against the rules, as much as they annoyed me. I wasn’t the type of guy to play by the rules normally, but I was smart enough to know that if I wanted to achieve my greater goals, I needed to play the game.

As the next set of sprints started, I couldn’t stop thinking about Avery. I kept seeing her face in my mind, the way she glared at me when I made jokes and the way she smiled reluctantly when she finally gave in to me. I couldn’t stop picturing her, even when I was exhausted, pushed to the limits.

After that set I got a longer break, and then I ran another rep. The sun was beating down on us and the morning session was getting close to an end. Fortunately, I didn’t have class today, which meant I got a little break in the afternoon before doing throwing drills for a couple of hours later on.

We were one week away from our opening game of the season. It was against some second-tier school, Blue Mountain State. We’d never lost to them in the years our schools had played, but they’d been getting better and better in recent years. I knew I couldn’t just blow it off.

Still, my mind was elsewhere as practice finally came to an end. I was dripping with sweat and breathing heavily as I hit the showers. I cleaned myself off and got changed before heading back toward the apartment.

I wasn’t in a talkative mood as I started back through campus. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but Avery and what I planned on doing for her.

“Gibson, man, wait up.” Hynes caught up with me. “What’s your deal?”

“Sorry, Hynes. Just not in the mood today.”

“I saw Coach riding your ass,” he said. “You piss him off?”

“I skipped tutoring yesterday.”

He laughed, genuinely surprised. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“I don’t tell you everything.”

“Maybe not, but damn, man, what were you thinking?”

“I wanted to see Avery.”

“And your baby.”

“Yeah, I guess so. You’re not telling people that, right?”

“Not my place to tell.” He shrugged. “You better be careful, though. You know how Coach can be when he’s in a bad mood.”