17. Lee

CHAPTER 17

LEE

Lee thought he saw Drew in the viewing area above the field, but by the time he'd finished the drill, his friend wasn't anywhere to be seen. Knowing Drew was supposed to arrive in the afternoon to see Dr. Rosie had him on edge, and he already had the job. Still, he kept glancing at the windows and over toward the tunnel.

It was enough that Yowie called him out on it. "Loverboy, head in the game, please." His teammates snickered.

Lee blushed. "Sorry." He focused on running Coach's drills for another few runs before his brain shifted away from the practice again.

"Seriously," Yowie said, hip-checking him before throwing an arm around Lee's shoulders, "unless you want Anders to take top spot, you gotta keep your eyes front and center."

"Like that kinda front and center," Jakes muttered, wandering by and jerking his head toward the tunnel.

"Jeez. Okay, I admit, he's hot stuff, but remember, you're here to do a job, and the coaches expect you to earn every one of those dollars they're paying you."

"I know," Lee said. "I'm trying."

"And you're doing great." Yowie clapped him hard on the back. Hard enough that Lee stumbled. That was the difference between a nearly three-hundred pound tackle and a rookie safety that needed to be light on his feet. "Keep up the good work!" he cackled as he jogged to the middle of the field to set up for the next play.

Lee did the same, but not before glancing at the tunnel one more time. Drew waved before Cutter pulled him into the shadowed opening. He tipped backward with an indignant squawk that Lee could hear across the field. Laughing, he turned his attention to the opposing quarterback—Cal in this case—and the undrafted wide receiver he'd lined up against.

After stripping off his sweaty compression tee, Lee grabbed his cell from his stall and let his ass hit the bench with a thunk.

Sorry if I interrupted your flow earlier.

Nah. It's fine. The guys are being… guys. But it's cool.

You told them you're out?

Yeah. They know. They're fine with it. There are a couple guys who are either out publicly or at least to the team. It ended up being this whole group bonding thing when you showed up the last time and distracted me.

Lee snorted quietly, remembering how they went around the circle and ended with Coach.

Oh fuck. I'm so sorry.

Don't worry about it. Are you still here?

Lee hoped so. He wanted to hear how Drew's final exam went and how his first day on the job was.

I'm not. Sitting in my car at the diner, atm. Join us for dinner?

Sure! Gotta hit the shower, though. Could be an hour depending on traffic.

Np. We'll wait. See you later.

Lee tossed his phone back into his stall, fished out his towel, and took the fastest shower yet. He was in the middle of dressing when Addy chirped from his spot in front of his stall, "Hoo-rah. Someone's got a hot date with the new med student."

"Physical therapy," Lee corrected, heat flooding his cheeks. Again. This was why he didn't bother to stay in the closet. His facial expressions and lack of filter gave everything away. He tossed his dirty clothes in his bag and hefted it to his shoulder before he turned around and faced the suddenly quiet locker room.

Everyone stared except the punter, Garrett Stevens, who said, "Leave the kid alone. You're all just jealous he's scoring."

Gasps filled the room before Garrett got pelted with rolled socks and smelly jocks. Lee used the distraction to escape, silently thanking Garrett and telling himself to make sure he got the guy some cake or something.

He saluted Tom as he jogged by, slid behind the wheel, gripping it tightly as he faced his next adversary: Austin traffic.