Page 46 of The Golden Receiver

What was appealing was a burger from the dining hall, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to eat that burger alone. I found Evander while we were leaving the locker room, and an idea formed in my head.

I liked the time we spent together on Sunday. Not just the sex, but the stuff that came after. I’d liked talking to him, which wasn’t something I could say about most people. With the exception of my roommates, there weren’t many people I cared to have a conversation with off the field. I wanted to spend a little more time with Evander. It took no time at all for the idea to go from thought to action.

“You hungry?” I asked him as he fell into step beside me.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I didn’t blame him. He’d always been the one to instigate anytime we hung out together.

Evander nodded, and I went on. “You want to get a bite to eat? I was thinking of hitting the dining hall. Not really feeling microwaved ramen tonight.”

“Who is ever feeling microwaved ramen?” he asked. I could hear the disgust in his voice, and I took it as an insult. There was nothing wrong with microwaved ramen noodles. “You know there’s a kitchen in the dorm, right? You can make better ramen noodles.”

I laughed. “I know, but that takes time. I microwave them up and study while I eat them.”

“Boring,” Evander groaned. “Please tell me you do more than football and study?”

I couldn’t tell him that. It wasn’t like I had a lot of time left after I did my homework after practice. I knew he didn’t care as much about his grades, but I didn’t see how he could have much time left for socialization. But I didn’t like that reality. I didn’t like the idea that he was judging me for not doing more in my social life.

“I talk to Teagan, Zay, and Ryker,” I countered. He raised an eyebrow, and I realized that while he’d seen Ryker the day before, it was likely he hadn’t actually been introduced. Not if Ryker was in full bodyguard mode. “They’re my roommates. Ryker was the one that showed you to my room yesterday.”

“Is he always that serious?” he asked.

I choked back a laugh. Serious was one way to describe Ryker. Teagan said that he wasn’t always like that, but I hadn’t seen it. “He’s Teagan’s bodyguard,” I told him. “He takes it seriously, but he can be a chill guy too. And Zay, he’s really into football. Hasn’t missed a home game yet, and we watch pro games when I have the time.”

Now that I was saying it out loud, I really did sound like I had more of a social life than I thought I did. The realization hit me strangely. I had actual friends at Creelin, and that wasn’t something I was thinking I had just a few days ago. It seemed like Evander’s question had made me learn something about myself, mostly because I didn’t want to sound as lame as I felt with my lack of a social life.

Interesting how that worked sometimes.

Evander and I made small talk while we walked to the dining hall. Most of it was about practice, and I wondered if we’d be able to hold up a whole conversation when we were eating. If we couldn’t, at least we’d have food as a distraction. Something to make it all feel that much less awkward until we finished eating and could go our own separate ways. It was possible that the only things we had in common were football and hooking up.

Guess we’d find out.

We joined the line when we got into the dining hall. I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised by the food Evander put on his plate. He’d gotten two burgers and some chicken tenders. When I gave him a look, he sighed and reluctantly grabbed a side of french frights and a fruit cup. My meal was a lot more balanced. I’d gone for the burger and french frights, but I’d also grabbed a small bowl of peas and a side salad.

We paid and found a table. “Is there a reason your plate looks like a vegan’s worst nightmare?” I asked him as I started pulling apart my burger to get it dressed the way I liked: ketchup and pickles only.

“I’m a werewolf,” he reminded me, as if it should mean something. When I didn’t nod or act like I understood, he let out a put-upon sigh and shook his head. “I eat a lot of meat. It’s a diet thing. Kali used to get on me and tell me that werewolves are not full carnivores and made me eat my vegetables.”

“When you were a kid?”

“When I went over there a few weeks ago.”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. I didn’t know why I was imagining a younger version of Evander that refused to eat his vegetables when there wasn’t a bit of green on his plate. “My pops used to have that same problem.”

“With you?”

I shook my head. “No, with him. I remember when I was really young, my mom used to get on him about not eating any vegetables. He got better at it when Mom died. Guess he thought someone needed to be a better influence on me.” The moment I mentioned my mom passing away, he gave me a look that I’d seen a thousand times over: pity. I could almost predict the next words out of his mouth. Some kind of apology about losing my mom when I was a kid. I knew people always meant well when they said things like that, but it always bugged me anyway. I wanted to cut it off before it could happen. “Of course, there were a bunch of line cooks at Pops’ bar that always made sure I had carrots or celery with my wings when I was there after school.”

“Your dad’s bar?”

The distraction worked.

“Yeah. My dad owns a bar back home. I wasn’t old enough to be left home alone, so I spent a lot of time hanging out there.”

Evander looked really interested in what I was saying. He seemed almost as interested in what my childhood was like as I was his, not that I thought mine was anything special. I hadn’t grown up in a warehouse surrounded by other werewolves. I had the same story as probably a million other people: raised by a single dad who just did what he could to make sure I had what I needed from life. I didn’t think my life was all that interesting in comparison.

But Evander was looking like I was telling him some kind of exotic story. “What was it like?” he questioned.

I tried to think of a way to tell him what it was like growing up the way I did. What it was like growing up spending hours doing homework at a bar, how I fell in love with football watching it on the bar television. I tried to think of how to word stories about spending time in my dad’s office while he did paperwork or about the time I watched two of my teachers get so drunk they were falling over.