Page 9 of Kickoff

“Shut up. My mom owns a dance school.” Seth twirled. “She’s been teaching me since I was a kid. Said it would help with football. Just sayin’.” He moved into another position. “You guys should try it. As Rusty said, it’s all about flexibility.”

“Stop making fun of me,” Rusty growled, pushing Seth in the chest. “You’re stealing my show.”

Everything happened in slow motion. Seth’s ankle rolled on a rock, and he lost his balance. He flapped his arms on each side of him, worry entering his gaze. His lips rounded in an O. Before any of us could react, he fell backward.

Rusty shook his head. “Good riddance.”

“Didn’t he say earlier he couldn’t swim?” Craig asked.

We heard water splashing down below.

“Oh.” Rusty neared the edge of the cliff. “He’s not coming up for air.”

“What are you all still doing up here? I thought some of you would have jumped by now.” Sheldon, who had hiked back, was now standing next to us and staring down at the water. “What are we looking at?”

I didn’t think. I just reacted. No way would my friend drown. Not on my watch.

“Masssse.” My brother’s worried voice was all I heard as I plunged forward, headfirst, with no safety net to hold me back.

The sound of bones and rocks colliding reverberated through me. This was bad. I resurfaced and spotted Seth holding on to a rock, his face white as a ghost. Thank God, he was alive. I tried to move my shoulder to swim in his direction and winced as pain radiated across the right side of my body. No, this couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not months before the last year of my high school football career. Not when scouts were coming to our games to watch me play, and I was at my pinnacle.

Tears prickled the back of my eyes. I clenched my teeth, doing my best to keep the pain away. In vain.

What did I just do? Did I mess up my entire future?

2

Last night was a mistake

Present

Planting my feet on the hardwood floor of my bedroom, I buried my face in my hands, debating what my next move should be. I glanced over my shoulder at Lydia, the girl in my bed, tangled in steel-blue sheets, her blonde hair spread on my pillow. I would have to wash them later today. No way could I go back to bed tonight with her scent lingering on my sheets. We were done and over. Hooking up with Lydia was just one amongst a lot of bad decisions I had taken over the summer.

I inhaled, never enjoying the next part. “Hey, wake up. You gotta go.”

A low snore exited her mouth, and she stirred in her sleep, eyes still closed.

I pushed her bare shoulder with my fingers. “Hurry. You need to leave. If my parents catch you here, this won’t end well for either of us. You know the drill.”

It did the trick because her eyelids fluttered open and she stared at me, her brain clearly not registering my desperate tone. “Your parents? I’ve never even crossed paths with your parents the four times I was here in the past.”

From the pile of clothes we discarded on the floor last night, I found my neon-colored boxer briefs and pulled them up my legs. Now on my feet, I spun to face her. “Huh…yeah…my parents. The people who own this place and sleep down the hall.”

Stretching her arms while she sat, Lydia eyed me as if I was speaking in another language.

“You, here in my parents’ house. You, so need to be not here. I’m not interested in getting caught, and I have other plans today.” I swooped her clothes from the floor and placed them on the bed. “Here. Get dressed.”

She shaped her lips into a pout and batted her eyelashes. “Mase, I thought we’d get breakfast and spend the day together. Isn’t that what it should come down to between us? We’ve done this dance often enough. When are we gonna take the next step?”

I shook my head, erasing the images forming in my brain, and sighed. “Huh…us? Like you and me?” Yes, I was acting like a jackass on purpose. Blame it on the lack of sleep or the early morning hour that cast last night’s actions into a new perspective, but I couldn’t wait to be alone. Since I couldn’t leave my own house, Lydia had to go. “You serious?”

She bobbed her head, watching me.

I frowned, pretending not to get what she meant.

“We’d be good together, Mase.”

Lydia stared at me with eagerness, but wariness entered her gaze now that I locked eyes with her in what I was sure looked like a don’t go down this path expression. “There is no us, and there will never be one. It was clear from the start. You said that’s what you wanted too. A few unattached nights of fun that came with no promises. You agreed to it. I never promised more than that. I can’t…I just can’t. Anyway, you’re using me.”