Ivori lets out a low whistle. “Time has done the dude well.”
I scoff, my ponytail smacking me in the face as I whip my head to face her. “Can you not?”
She holds up her hands. “Sorry, sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Evan chimes in. Then he lifts his hand and waves at Landon. “Hey, man.”
I choke on my spit. “What the fuck?”
He squeezes my shoulder. “You need this.”
“What I need are new friends.”
Fucking traitor.
Landon walks around the corner of the bar and takes the stool next to Evan. Their palms clap as they shake hands. “Good to see you, Fletcher. Been a while.”
“Seriously, it feels like a lifetime ago.” Landon shakes his head. “We’re old now.”
I dig into my wallet and pull out a couple of twenty-dollar bills for the wings I didn’t eat and the beer I drank. I’m not sitting here while my best friends chum it up with my enemy.
Ivori tugs on my hand as I push back my stool from the bar. “Come on, don’t leave. I just got here.”
“I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
Evan ignores the fact that I’m standing with my car keys in my hand. “How did the first day of tryouts go for you both?”
Landon’s brown eyes meet mine. “We have some talented girls to choose from.”
Nope, not doing small talk.I cross my arms over my chest, putting my weight on my left leg as my hip cocks. “Why are you doing this, Fletcher? Seriously, I need to know. Are you bored, and figured it’d be fun to ruffle my feathers after all these years? Is this how you get your rocks off? High school wasn’t enough torture for one lifetime?”
He lifts his chin. “Why doyoudo it? Why did you take this coaching position?”
I roll my eyes. “Please, I was here first. And trust me, I wouldn’t have taken this position if you were part of the coaching staff. Why don’t you go find another school?”
“Pfft. This isourschool. We have history here. Why would I go somewhere else?”
“It’s true,” Evan offers.
I point my index finger in his face. “You keep quiet, or I’ll take Lucas to get his tattoo myself.”
The fucker laughs.
Landon gestures to the three of us. “It’s nice to see you guys are still close.”
“Do you still talk to anyone from high school?” Ivori asks.
Landon shakes his head. “Not really, aside from a few people on social media.”
“Aww, what happened?” I ask, not actually caring. “Did you all realize you peaked in high school and had nothing to talk about without lacrosse?”
“Yeah, something like that.” He chuckles, but there’s no humor behind it. “Listen, I came here tonight looking for you. We should squash whatever happened in the past, and try to be professional on the field for the sake of the girls. Today was...messy.”
“Becauseyoukept testing me.”
“As if you planned on sharing that field with me.”
“Like you did for me back when I joined the team, right?”
