“Oh man, here we go,” Nate says, downing the rest of his beer in one gulp.
Layla’s coming our way, tugging Grant behind her. I giggle into my glass, finding Nate’s hatred toward Grant a bit silly, but endearing all the same.
“There you guys are!” Layla throws her arms around me in a bone-crushing hug.
The alcohol hasdefinitelykicked in.
“Whoa!” I steady her when she wobbles, pulling back. “Seems like you’re having a good time.”
“Even better now that I’m hanging out with my besties!” She squeezes between Nate and me, putting an arm around both of us.
Despite the happiness radiating off of Layla, Nate and Grant are locked in a silent standoff, glaring at each other.
“You guys okay over there?”
“Peachy,” Nate tips his empty beer bottle toward Grant, and Grant nods,whatever that means. Layla doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe she’s ignoring it.
“Oh! You never gave me the tour of your house,” I say, casually, meeting Nate’s eyes. “Why don’t we leave them to talk about guy stuff, and you can show me around?”
His brows lift, unimpressed.
Layla, oblivious to the tension, gasps. “Oh my God, you’re right! I totally forgot. I have to show you the bathroom, it’s insane. Come on!”
She links her arm through mine and pulls me toward the house, and I go willingly, glancing back once to catch Nate’s scowl, but there’s a spark of amusement on his face.
Like he secretly enjoys it.
Grant’s already turned away, looking down at his phone, uninterested. “Have fun,” I mouth to Nate as Layla drags me up the porch steps.
Layla is pointing out decor items throughout the house, talking about this and that. And I realize I never asked Nate about something he said earlier.
“Hey, Layla?” I interrupt while she’s talking about a dog statue she bought, even though Grant hates dogs.
“Yeah?”
“Nate said he lives with a teenager. Does he…” I pause, considering that I might be overstepping, but the question slips out anyway. “Does he have a kid?”
“Oh! That’s Alex. He’s not Nate’s kid or anything, so don’t freak. He’s his brother. Their mom died a long time ago, and Nate’s been looking after him. He’s a sweetheart, nothing to worry about.”
Nate raised his brother?
Layla carries on about wall colors while my mind is stuck on Nate. And Alex.
Nate Wesley just keeps surprising me.
Nate
The locker room’s louder than usual, with Cam’s music blasting, and a couple of the guys whipping each other with sweat towels like overgrown kids.
Homecoming is tomorrow, and we’re playing against our biggest competition in the state.
“Y’all actin’ like we already won,” I call out, tossing a rolled-up towel at Jamal’s head.
“We are gonna win, Coach,” he fires back. “We’re undefeated!” The boys shout in agreement.
Even after a brutal practice, they’re buzzing. And hell, I can’t blame them. We’re having a damn good season so far.
“Don’t go getting cocky, you’ll forget how to run a clean play.” I scan the room out of habit. It’s chaos, but the good kind.
