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Murphy
Thank God the walk to the football house is a quick one. Living off campus means we’re close to all the parties. None of these houses are sanctioned, campus housing. Those houses are on the other side of campus. That area is called Greek row and gets monitored by the campus police. This side of campus isn’t technically on campus, so since we’re officially in the city of Philadelphia, their police monitor this area, and they’re way too busy to be bothered with underage college kids walking the streets with beers in their hands.
Most of the athletes are smarter than that. We can’t afford to get caught. But you still see crazier things along the way. The smell of fall is in the air, and it’s mixing with the strong smell of weed coming from the backyard we just passed. There are at least three other parties I can see happening on the same street as the football house. They’re overflowing with college kids looking to have some fun and de-stress any way they can.
My typical coping mechanisms for dealing with post-game pain are getting drunk and getting laid. Getting high isn’t an option for an athlete. Not when it can cost you your place on the team and your dreams of the pros. Drunk, I can do tonight, but I’m standing by my decision to take a break from women. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had sex, and my willpower is already being tested.
Bash and I are walking behind Sabrina and Chloe, and I can’t help but enjoy the view. The two girls have their arms linked together as they try to not get caught on the uneven sidewalk. This is an old part of the city and the giant trees lining the streets have destroyed the pebbled sidewalks with their massive roots. When Chloe trips, Sabrina holds her up before Bash or I can even help.
Nice reflexes. Maybe she isn’t as drunk as I thought.
We walk up to the old three-story football house a few minutes later, and if there was any doubt where the party was, it’s gone now. There are people spilling out everywhere. Tonight’s victory celebration is in full swing. You can feel the bass coming through the windows and the sound of celebrating coming from the backyard.
Bash gets caught by a little blonde hottie on the prowl while the girls head into the backyard.
“You girls know not to take an open drink from anyone, right?” I call out to Chloe and Sabrina, not knowing why I suddenly feel the urge to not let Brina out of my sight. But there it is. Annoying as fuck, but right there.
Chloe rolls her eyes at me so hard, I’m surprised they didn’t fall out of her damn head. “Yes, Dad.” Her tone changes, from placating to annoyed. “What the fuck, Murphy? Don’t go all serious on me now. Just point us in the direction of the keg, and we’ll be good.”
I start to answer my friend’s smart-mouthed little sister, but she keeps going.
“And we know to watch them pour it too. Come on, Brina. I don’t want to be here when Murphy stalks his next conquest.”
Chloe grabs Sabrina’s hand and pulls her away from me. I see a flash of disappointment flutter across those chocolate-brown eyes before she turns away and wonder why.
Does she feel the same pull I’m feeling?
My defensive captain, Jamie Dawson, walks over with his brown and white English bulldog, Rocky, drooling at his side. Jamie looks like he just stepped off his parents’ farm yesterday, all he needs is a plaid shirt and a straw of wheat sticking out of his mouth. With blue eyes and blonde hair, he’s a little bigger than me, but he’s got that farm boy strength. It wasn’t earned in the gym but in real life. He was offered a full wrestling scholarship to the University of Iowa but turned it down to play for Coach Barnett at Kroydon.
Coach is a legend in college football and playing for Kroydon is a big damn deal. The team’s won five bowl games in the last eight years.
Jamie is one of those guys who always seems easygoing and laid back until he’s not. It takes a lot to flip his switch, but I wouldn’t want to be on the other end when he gets pissed.
He hands me a bottle of good beer, not the piss that will be coming from the keg in the backyard. “Cheers, Murph. That was a hell of a game today. You’re lining yourself up to fill the hole I’ll be leaving after this season. Way to go, man.”
Rocky sits his ass down on the ground, his pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He’s watching the two of us intently, as if he understands every word we say.
Jamie’s a good dude. Some of the upperclassmen on the team were assholes to the freshmen at the beginning of the summer. They looked at us like we were new guys wanting to steal their positions and fuck up their legacies. But not Jamie. He took me under his wing right away. He’s been helping me read the plays and react better than I ever have.
Read the quarterback, the center, and the running backs. Not just one of them but all of them. He’s a tough captain, but he’s made me better already. No doubt he’ll get drafted in the spring.
The two of us clink bottles. “Cheers, man. Thanks.
We walk into the backyard to a cheer, and bottles being lifted into the air. Jamie lifts his bottle toward me. “That’s all for you, man. Enjoy it. You earned it.”
I shift my feet, looking for a place to sit. I’m not feeling it tonight. I don’t want everyone’s eyes on me.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Praise doesn’t usually make me uncomfortable.
Seeing an open spot, I take a seat at the old wooden kitchen table the guys use outside and lean back in my chair. Conversation continues around me, and I take it all in.
Bash makes his way to the back yard, and the hot little blonde from earlier sits on his lap. Before long, Brady and Natalie join us too, and more celebrating ensues. Brady is the best quarterback in our conference. Everyone loves him. He may only be a freshman, but he’s our quarterback, and we’re his team.
Eventually, a gorgeous redhead with her tits falling out of a black Crusaders tank top sits on my lap. “You’re Aiden Murphy. Number fifty-one, KU’s starting linebacker,” She purrs as her fingers trace my bicep.
She’d typically be exactly what I’d be looking for tonight.
