25. Jacob

Chapter 25

Jacob

A s far as first days go, this hasn't been a horrible one. I only have three classes today and the last one's with my girl; Calculus. I groan at the thought of math, but having her by my side as my own personal tutor will be worth it. Maybe we can even act out that scene from that Adam Sandler movie my mom likes to watch, where his girlfriend strips if he gets answers right. All I need is for this English class to be done with.

"Hey," a deep voice whispers from beside me as the teacher rambles on about the syllabus and what's expected.

"Yeah," I answer in a hushed tone, not even bothering to look in the direction of the person trying to start up a conversation.

"You're Jacob Stoll, right?"

"I am. Why?" I'm not going to let my head get so big that someone knows who I am. Did they go to school in my area, or did we play against theirs?

"I'm Henry, captain of the lacrosse team. I saw all the new players' names on the roster, just didn't expect to have one in my class."

"Cool, nice to meet you. I can't wait until practice. It's been my dream to play here." For the first time, I look over at him. He's sitting hunched in his seat, his legs extended on either side of the chair in front of him, and shaggy hair hanging in his face. I laugh a little on the inside, knowing Coach Blue would've had a meltdown about his hair.

"How did you know who I was?" Curiosity gets the better of me. Does this roster have our pictures on it? Might make their meeting Dylan go easier. I know how some guys can be about a girl on the team.

"Saw Coach watching some footage of you playing at the end of last year. Your face stuck out. I know we have five new players this year. Just wanted to say hi and welcome you to the team."

"Sweet. Nice to meet you. Always good knowing your captain." I go to direct my attention back to the instructor, but he leans back over his seat and taps my arm.

"Hey, a bunch of the team is meeting at the lacrosse house for lunch. Join us? It's a good opportunity to meet more of the guys before practice."

My spidey sense starts to tingle off the chart; they don't know that Dylan Murphy is female. The first practice is going to be interesting. A smug grin wants to spread across my face, but I contain it. It's going to be fun watching my girl school these men.

"I can't. I'm having lunch with my best friend and my girlfriend. Another time?"

"Sure thing, man." He gives me a nod, then sits back in his seat, picking up his pen and scribbling something on his paper.

I turn my focus back to the professor, who's droning on. His monotone tone is going to kill me this semester. It's only day one, and it's already sucking the life out of me. Picking up my highlighter, I make sure to notate the exams and project due dates. I don't want to miss anything that would put my scholarship or place on the team in jeopardy.

Before I know it, class is over.

"See you on the field!" Henry reaches out, giving me a fist bump before slipping his bag over his shoulder and heading to the door, where not one but two blondes are waiting for him.

I take my time, opening my bag and placing my papers inside. I'll get everything organized tonight. Right now, I have a date with my girl for lunch. I'll just deal with the fact that Matthew and Ford will be there, too. We decided to eat in the student union. We debated keeping our relationship a secret for a while, at least until we acclimated to college life, but Dylan was firmly against it. Her words, "Best the pansies know we're a thing, especially all the skank stick bunnies." Matthew got a good laugh out of that.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out, barely containing the laugh that erupts from me. In the group chat for the four of us is a picture of Ford and Dylan sitting at a table in the food court, each holding a popsicle stick with a picture of Matthew and myself on them.

Dylan: We're starving. What's taking the two of you so long?

Me: Class just got out. On the way.

Matthew: Just outside the door. Are we sure we're ready to go public?

Ford: More than you know Matty boy.

It takes me about ten minutes to walk from the English building to the student union. When I step inside, they're all huddled around the table, food sitting on it just waiting for me to arrive.

I weave my way through the tables, already tasting my girl's lips on mine, craving the real thing. My focus is on her, and only her. She's seated between Matthew and Ford, but stands, placing her hands on the table, leaning over as I crush my mouth against hers.

Snickers and mumbling erupt behind me, but I tune it out. We knew coming out about our poly relationship would bring all the haters and mockers out. Back home, we dealt with it some, but we weren't fully out as a triad at the time. Now we have Matthew, who's not only older, but our coach.

"Ignore them," Ford snarls when I feel Dylan tense beneath my touch. "They're just jealous skanks."

It must have been some girls making the snide comments. I glance back over my shoulder at the table slightly behind me and see a group of four women leaning in close to each other, whispering. While outwardly they're attractive, all shapely and appealing to the eye, their cattiness makes them ugly and undesirable.

"We have pizza, cheese fries, wings, and salad. Let's dig in because we only have forty minutes before Jacob and I need to get to Calculus." Dylan's vibrant voice pulls me from my anger toward the bitches. She knows how to get me out of my mood; food and her.

"Are the three of you ready for your first practice?" Matthew asks, taking a couple of wings and a slice of pizza, putting them on his plate before reaching for the salad.

"I can't wait. How about you, Coach? Ready to show us what you got?" Dylan laughs, bumping her shoulder playfully against his.

"I'm more nervous than anything. I've never been a coach, and it's been so long since I've played. I just hope I do the team justice." I look up and take Matthew in. He's picking at the cheese on the edge of his pizza as he chews on his bottom lip. If I were to look under the table, I'd bet I'd see his knee bouncing up and down.

"You're going to be great. I've seen some old footage of you from college and high school. You're an amazing player." I don't have to look to know that Ford's and Dylan's eyes are both on me, jaws dropped, much like Matthew's.

"Have I entered an alternate reality or something? Am I being punked? Is Ashton waiting to jump out at me?" Ford slams his hands down on the table, causing us to gain more attention from the other students. Dylan slaps him across his chest as Matthew shakes his head.

"Nah, I was interested in what our coach had to offer us and I looked up some videos. Simple as that. I can acknowledge a great player when I see one. Besides, he's one of us and it was my way of accepting him," I confess as I pick up a piece of pizza and take a hefty bite, cheese trailing from my mouth to the slice.

"Are we finally becoming a family?" Dylan draws out in a sing-song voice as she places her hands over her heart. God, I love this woman.

"We need to have a family meeting and decide how we want to handle things. I know there are times I'm going to want to have a solo date with you, but I think we should do things as a unit also," Ford says, as he takes some of the cheese fries and places them on his plate. Looks like he plans to be the family lead, or some shit.

"I've kind of already claimed a date." Matthew clears his throat after speaking.

Both mine and Ford's eyes jump to Dylan.

"He asked me if we could spend some time together after the dinner I have to give the speech at. I guess I should've let the two of you know." Dylan's face pinkens as she shifts her gaze to her plate.

"It's not just on you, Dylan. I should've mentioned it to the guys as well. I do think we need a calendar. That way, we can keep track of dates and events. It'll make it easier to schedule dates and everything. I can pick up one and bring it over to the house tonight with some dinner," Matthew offers and I have to admit, he's not the dick I thought he once was. "I also know that Dylan will need some girl time with her friends and we can use that as time for us to bond, even air any grievances we may have between each other without Dylan around. That way, she doesn't feel like it's directed at her."

"I like that," I boldly state as I lean over, kissing Dylan on her cheek.

"Disgusting," one of the bitches says snidely, loud enough for us to hear.

Ford goes to stand, and Matthew places his hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

"Let them talk. The more we entertain it, the more they'll talk. Besides, I'm a coach. I can't exactly have you getting in a fight with me present."

"Fine," Ford huffs, crossing his hand over his chest as he pouts. "But when you're not around, don't think I won't be setting the assholes straight."

"So, Matthew's getting the calendar. We're having a family dinner and planning date nights and sharing our schedules. Sounds like we have a plan for tonight. Right now, we need to eat, because unlike the two of you, Dylan and I have a class to go to," I remind them as I take another bite of pizza.

For the first time, I really feel like we're a complete family. It's as it should have always been, the four of us.