Page 3 of End Game

Barrett tightens his arms around me. “You’re not getting away from me that easily,” he says lightly.

“Wasn’t trying to.”

We watch in comfortable silence as the guys play video games, trash-talking each other. Barrett’s hand tangles in my hair, coiling the messy waves around his finger. I relax into his chest, resting my head on his shoulder. It feels so easy, so natural.

It’s never been like this before. We don’t do this. We don’t touch. We don’t cuddle. Usually, he can barely stand to hug me hello and goodbye. I don’t know what’s gotten into him since he went away to college, but I’m liking this side of him.

“Soon we can do this all the time,” he says.

I turn to him with a question on the tip of my tongue.

“Hang out. Spend time together,” he clarifies, like he’s read my mind. “Video chats aren’t the same as really being here in person.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I tell him.

And it’s only half a lie.

Chapter 1

Diana

“So this is the place.” My mom looks around the house with a pinched look on her face. “It’s awfully small, isn’t it?”

“It’s student housing, it’s fine,” my dad says, carrying a box into the house. “Upstairs?”

I nod. “Put it on the desk.”

Some of my new roommates were here when I got here. They said hi and left within five minutes of my arrival. I’m not sure what to read into that.

I never thought I’d be here. I never thought this would be how my life would turn out, giving up a full ride at one of the most expensive private schools in the country to go to my safety school an hour away from home, a second-rate program with a losing record the last three seasons.

It’s for the best. I know this is what I need to do. Still, it rankles.

There’s a knock on the open door.

“Hey, Dee,” my best friend says, like he shows up on my doorstep all the time.

“Barrett!” I run over to him and wrap him in a hug. I’m glad to see him, but I’m more thankful for the easy safety of his presence. “I’m so glad you’re here.” I lower my voice: “Save me!”

He forces a smile, clapping a hand over the back of his reddening neck. “Thought I’d see if you guys need any help.”

“That’s so sweet,” my mom says, looking between us with interest. She’s never believed that he and I are just friends, encouraging me more than once to pursue him romantically. I never have, though.

“We’re almost done,” my dad says, coming back downstairs. He claps Barrett on the shoulder. He’s always liked the football player, sometimes more than he liked me, his only child. “You’re going to take good care of my baby girl?”

“Always, sir,” he says seriously.

“Come on out to the car with me,” Dad says. He steers him towards the front door to talk “man stuff.” “How’s the team shaping up?” I hear him ask as they walk outside.

My mom nudges me. “It was nice of Barrett to stop by.”

“It was. He’s a nice guy.”

She raises her eyebrows. “And you’re going to be spending a lot of time together? A lot of late nights studying?”

I roll my eyes. “We’re just friends, Mama.”

“I know, I know, just friends.” She holds up her hands. “Things change. You’ll need your friends.”