“You made it,” Karter said.
Letting out a long breath, I stayed near the stairs. “You ignored my text.”
“Words are cheap,” Karter replied. “I saw it pop up, threw my phone on the bed, and came out here. I needed to see you actually walk up those steps to believe it.”
My duffel bag hit the floorboards a beat later, and I walked over to him. I so wanted to rush over, drag him up from the floor and bury my face in his neck. But I settled for sliding my back down the chipped plaster wall and taking a seat right beside him. Keeping a single inch of space between our shoulders required grinding my teeth together.
A door slammed two floors down. Muffled laughter and the loud thud of feet carried up the stairwell, but the noise faded toward the first-floor kitchen. Everyone else still awake in the Ice House was staying downstairs.
Staring at the scuffed baseboards across the hall, I refused to hide behind excuses. “I thought packing my bags fixed the problem. But I just messed everything up instead.”
The floorboards creaked as Karter shifted. “You left me. Left me behind.”
“I know.” The words scraped out before I could dress them up. “I saw what you’d lose. Decided for you.” A beat of silence filled the narrow hallway. Karter’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. “I figured if I ended it first,” I continued, “they couldn’t take you away from me.”
A full minute of silence passed after that. Unable to hold back any longer, I slowly reached out, my fingers hovering over his arm. I braced myself, waiting for him to pull away from the contact. But when my hand rested against the thick hoodie material, Karter let out a shaky breath. A second later, he leaned against my side.
“Corby called me,” I said, keeping my voice low. “He told me exactly what you did. So, guess Trenton is off the roster.”
Karter stared down at his hands. “Yup.”
“And your dad?” I asked, tracing the side of his face. “Guessing he knows the whole story now.”
“He is furious,” Karter admitted. He picked at a frayed thread on his jeans. “He is threatening to freeze my accounts and pull my tuition for blackmailing his friends.”
I stared at the opposite wall. “Then we protect your tuition.”
Karter stopped picking at the thread. “How?”
“Your dad wants this quiet. You’ve got the recording. He’s got the money.” I kept my voice low, even though the hallway was empty. “So we give him quiet. Let the rumors die. Keep our heads down in public.”
Karter narrowed his eyes. “So I just pretend you’re nothing?”
“You let him think he won.” The words tasted like ash, but the math was simple. “He pays your tuition. My roster spot stays intact. Behind closed doors, we do whatever the hell we want.”
A sharp scoff cut through the dark hallway. His shoulder bumped hard against mine. “No. I’m not shoving you in a closet every time a donor walks by.”
That heated edge in his voice made me smile at how stubborn he was being. I turned to face him. “Karter, going after them right now just hands your dad more ammo.”
“Then hiding in this attic forever is your brilliant solution?”
“Playing it smart is the solution.” I held his gaze. “And we get to keep what’s ours in here,” I tapped a hand over my heart. “That’s how we last through the rest of this season. And even if it doesn’t, I’ve got you covered.”
Karter’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means when I sign a contract. Some team picks me up.” The confidence in my own voice caught me off guard. “Then your dad’s checks don’t mean a damn thing. He cuts you off? Fine. I’ll pay your tuition. Every semester. Room and board. You finish pre-med on my dime, not his.”
Karter went still against the wall. “You’d do that?”
“I’m not asking to hide us away forever.” My palm found the plaster beside his head. “Just until I sign. Until it’s real. Then we never need to pretend again.”
He stared at me, throat working.
“You’re serious.”
“Well, you did call me a coward.” I tapped two fingers against his chest. “So, I thought you’d appreciate me planning ahead for once.”
Karter stilled and searched my face. He made me wait. One beat. Two beats. Then he grabbed the collar of my jacket and hauled me forward, crashing his mouth against mine.
