Page 34 of Game Plan

I tied my hair in a messy bun at the top of my head, trying to look as if a conversation between the two of us was just a normal occurrence. “Mase? Why are you here?”

“Finishing my run. I had a quiz to prep for this morning and ended up almost being late for practice, so I decided to run tonight instead. I saw you through the window when I jogged by and thought I’d say hi.”

“Still running every day?”

“Yep. If you wanna join me sometimes, that could be fun.”

“You’d still request I call you Coach Pierce?”

A smirk drew on his lips. “Always.”

“That’s what I thought.” I mirrored the tilt of his lips before pointing to my left. “I’m exhausted. Night.” I ambled in the direction opposite from where he stood, but seconds later, the sound of his footsteps echoed on the sidewalk behind me. Soon, he moved in front of me and stopped my retreat. I was curious if he would mention our last heated encounter, but looking at him, I could tell he didn’t hold a grudge over how it had gone south.

“Mel…” He scratched his temple. “You never answered the question.”

I frowned, not sure what he meant. “The question? Was I supposed to answer something?”

“Yeah, well, I asked you if you wanted me to walk you home.” He rocked on his heels, and for an instant, I thought Mason might be nervous. I shook my head. No, Mason Pierce didn’t do nervous. Then I remembered how he would drop the pretense around me, keeping his cocky suit on for almost everyone else. This meant Mason was indeed nervous. I felt bad for sending him away once again, and I didn’t have the energy to fight with him, so I nodded. “Sure.”

We strolled in silence for a minute before I decided we could be normal around each other—or at least try to be.

“Where are you staying?” I asked, deciding that talking about our lives at Crestwood was a safe bet and wouldn’t create more awkwardness between us.

“A townhouse with Craig and two of our teammates. It’s about a fifteen-minute walk that way,” he said, gesturing to our right.

“Cool. It must be fun to live in a house. I like the dorm, but sometimes, I feel like it’s too full of people. After days spent in class, training, meets, and working at Lola’s, I would enjoy some place where I’m not always surrounded by a bunch of students and can just be. And have my own shower and living room. Do you have like a backyard?”

He bobbed his head. “It’s small, but it’s ours.”

“What are your roommates like?”

“Rutherford is a running back on the team. He’s pretty chill. He’s dating Amber, and I think they’ve been together forever. She’s nice. You would love her. She spends a lot of time at our place, but so far it hasn’t been annoying or anything. She even cooks sometimes when we have late practice or away games. She reminds me a bit of Paige, but more assertive and outgoing.” He glanced at me sideways, and I believed it was to check if it was okay to bring my ex-best friend into the conversation.

I offered him a tight-lipped smile, and he continued.

“Bailey is a goofball. He looks like he doesn’t take anything seriously and is always ready to party but has been mostly locked in his room since he moved in. He’s struggling with dyslexia, so I think he likes the peace and quiet when he does schoolwork. He doesn’t really confide in us about it, but I know Craig helps him prep for tests. They kinda have their own bromance going on. Bailey has a hamster, Seven—his jersey number—and that little creature brings out his caring side, a big contrast to his persona on the field. He always walks around the place with that thing perched on his shoulder.”

“Ohmygod, how cute. I’d love to see that.” I clamped my mouth shut when I realized I’d spoken too quickly.

Beside me, Mason tensed for a fraction of a second before he relaxed his shoulders. “You’re always welcome to visit.”

The air around us crackled with something I couldn’t name. It swept away the easy camaraderie we’d been experiencing so far tonight. I racked my brain, trying to come up with a new topic of discussion, but I was so tired that it felt like my mind had gone on a break.

“Can I ask you a question?” Mason asked after a few minutes of silence

“It depends…”

He rubbed his hands together and looked like he was fishing some courage from deep inside of him. “How’s your health?” He halted on the sidewalk and spun to face me. “I’m not sure if we’re allowed to talk about this, but I’ve been worried, and I kinda need to know where you stand and how you’re doing on that front. And please, don’t lie to me. Not this time…”

I cast my eyes down, not sure where to start, before bringing my gaze up to his. “I’m doing great. It’s not a lie. I know you don’t wanna hear about him…”

“Don’t say his name.” Mason spoke under his breath.

“But he helped me a lot through this. He didn’t know me before that episode, since we met after I had hit rock bottom. From there, I built myself back up little by little. It took a while, but I’m finally in a good place. I really am.”

Mason nodded once. “Good. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. How’s training?”

We resumed our stroll.