Chapter Nineteen

Tatum

"Have you decided if you're goin' to the game tomorrow?" Everly asks.

My head is buried in my textbook, so it takes a moment before I realize she's talking to me. Between drowning in assignments and playing catch-up, I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"I mean, I planned on it. Why?"

She drops her bag onto the empty chair next to her and takes a seat across from me.

"Your ex, he plays for Rixton, right?" Her brows furrow.

She glances around the student center to see if anyone might overhear us.

"Yeah." I nod. "He plays defense for Rixton U. Why? I thought they didn't play us until later in the season?"

"Reed didn't remind you?"

"It's tomorrow?" My jaw drops.

Everly grits her teeth and nods slowly. "I'm surprised I'm the one who's telling you."

All week, people have been talking about the game this weekend. While I've spent almost every night next to Reed, he never mentioned anything about playing Rixton.

Me: When were you gonna tell me you play Rixton this weekend?

The message changes to read as soon as the text is sent, and the bubble appears, indicating he's typing.

"Why wouldn't he think to mention it to me?" I ask, holding my phone up to show Everly the text I sent him.

Reed: I thought you knew already.

Reed: I figured you weren't going, and I didn't want you to feel pressured to come, so I didn't bring it up.

Me: You didn't think we should talk about my ex being in town?

My phone vibrates, and Reed's name flashes on the screen. I glance around the empty student center and lift the phone to my ear. There's a rule about using the phone here, but rules seem to be out the window with Reed.

"Hello?" I whisper. "I can't really talk right now. I'm in the student center."

"Yeah, well, I'm sitting in the locker room before practice."

My stomach churns. He must be worried enough to call me right now if this couldn't wait until later.

"I should've mentioned it to you," Reed groans, sounding frustrated with himself. "Dammit, Tate, I'm sorry. I thought you knew and didn't want to talk about it anymore. You don't have to come to the game, though. Hell, if you ask Everly, I'm sure she won't mind hanging back at our place so you're not alone."

"I wouldn't ask her to miss her boyfriend's game." I scoff, my eyes flicking over to Everly.

"You don't have to ask. I would've offered to stay with you," Everly says. "I didn't think you'd be there anyway."

"Did you want to go?" Reed's voice filters through the line.

The familiar knot of anxiety tightens in my stomach, and a wave of dread washes over me.

"I planned on coming until I found out you're playing Rixton. Now I'm worried. What if someone notices me, and the word makes its way back to him? I don't want him to find out where I'm staying."

"If you're concerned, I could lend you one of my stocking caps, and maybe you could wear sunglasses during the game. Willow can sneak us in through the side entrance the media uses," Everly suggests.

"That's a good idea. Mostly the team, training staff, and media personnel come through that way. You could sit in the Braysen student section, so you're less likely to run into anyone from Rixton," Reed adds.

I exhaled a shaky breath. "You wouldn't mind if I skipped the game, though?" I ask, my voice dropping to a whisper.

Everly smiles, not even pretending to ignore our conversation.

"Not at all," Reed mumbles. "There will be thousands of people at the game too, sweetheart. Not only would I not let anything happen to you, but you'll be surrounded by people who know you're with us, and they wouldn't let anything happen. If you want, I can ask Zane if his brother, Miles, will be in town. That way, you have some extra muscle, and it won't be just the two of you."

"I can hold my own too, Reed. No one will dare mess with us." Everly smirks, flexing her arm and pretending to brush off her muscle.

"All right, I'll go with Everly's suggestion and keep a low profile with her hat and my sunglasses. Hopefully, I'll blend in with the rest of the crowd."

"I'll sneak my phone out on the sidelines. If anything comes up, you can text me too."

I don't bother pointing out that he wouldn't be able to do shit, and besides, Wells will be on the field with him anyway.

I let Reed go so he can return to practice. We agree to meet up after he gets out of class this afternoon.

After submitting my assignments online, I pack up my books and decide to skip my last class of the day—Hospitality Management. My head has been pounding for the past hour, and as much as I hate skipping class, I can't muster up the energy to focus or give a damn.

The house is empty when I get home. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and chug it down before climbing the stairs and collapsing on my bed.

With the constant juggling of work, catching up on school assignments, plus helping around the house, and late nights with Reed, I'm starting to feel worn down.

Reed has tried several times to stop me from picking up the slack around the house, but I made an agreement with Colter and Beckham when I moved in. I promised to contribute around the house, not only to earn my keep but also to reduce their stress so they could focus on football.

Even though Reed offered to cover my portion of the rent, I don't like the idea of relying on him or breaking the promises I made when I moved here.

Something had to give, and as much as I hated to admit it, the only area I could give was in my time with Reed.

We hadn't talked about what would happen when our friends-with-benefit arrangement ended. I'll be honest, I was hoping to stick my head in the sand when it all went down.

Right now, I have too much else going on anyway, so it wouldn't be hard to distract myself.

The dull pounding in my head blends with a faint knocking sound. Only when I hear Reed's voice shouting my name do I realize it's coming from outside my room.

"What?" I groan, pulling myself from beneath my pillow. I buried myself here to shield myself from the sun streaming through my window. I made a mental reminder to order blackout curtains online for days like this.

"Tate, are you in there?" Reed shouts, his fists banging on my door.

I fling my legs over the side and drag myself out of bed. "Will you please stop pounding? I'm coming."

I unlock the door, something I've only started to do since Reed and I began sneaking around. His eyes are wide and frantic on the other side.

"What's wrong? Is the house on fire, or is the world ending? What's with all the commotion?"

"I've been looking for you for the past hour. When you didn't answer my calls, I started asking around campus. I even stopped by Sweet Tooth, thinking maybe you had to work. No one had seen you, and I was told you skipped class."

I rub my forehead. My hair, that was once pulled up in a bun, flops to the side of my head. I turn and collapse on my bed, pulling the blanket up to my chin.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just wasn't feeling well, so I skipped class to come home to nap. What time is it anyway?"

"It's almost eight o'clock."

My eyes widen as I scramble for my phone. I have over twelve unread text messages from Reed, Beckham, and Hayes, and twice as many missed calls.

"Jesus, you sure called in the cavalry, huh?" I drop my phone on the bed and cover my eyes with my arm.

"I guess I thought you would've told me you were skipping class and coming home. I was waiting to give you a ride home."

"Oh, you mean like how you forgot to tell me about Braysen playing Rixton this weekend?" I mumble.

Reed falls silent. "Is that what this is about?" he asks after a long pause. For a second, I thought maybe he left.

"No." Yes.

"You don't sound very convincing."

"I guess I figured, after everything I told you about my ex, you would've thought to clue me in about the game. Especially after I told you how he terrorized me for months after we broke up. It never occurred to you to check in on how I was feeling?"

"I should've told you. I assumed you weren't going to come, and I wasn't going to push you to go with Everly. Besides, you're free to do whatever the hell you want. We're not together, so why is it my responsibility to tell you who we're playing this weekend?"

I should've expected that one.

"Got it. Noted. Can you turn off the light and shut the door on your way out, please?"

The door clicks, but when I peek from beneath my arm, the light is still on. Instead, my eyes lock on a frustrated Reed, standing at the foot of my bed with his arms crossed.

"Did you not hear me or…?"

"Oh, I heard you, all right. I'm just choosing to ignore you and your little tantrum. So I'll stand here until you're done."

Tantrum? Certainly, that's not what he thinks I'm doing here, right?

I sit up and crawl toward him. He drops his arms, expecting that I'll curl into his arms and all will be forgotten. When I hit the light and turn around, diving onto my bed, he grabs my foot and drags me toward him again.

"Gosh dangit, Reed. Will you just let me sleep?"

"Not until we talk about this. You're being a pain in my ass."

"Yeah, well, you're a real pain in mine too."

He rolls me over onto my back and leans over me, his fists planted on either side of my head, pinning me beneath him.

The move positions him between my legs, and I press my lips together, trying not to show how much his closeness affects me.

"I should've said something. Even if I thought you knew we played them, I should've talked to you about how you were feeling and made sure you felt safe knowing he's in town. I'm sorry," he whispers.

My chest tightens. Maybe a part of me is making it a bigger deal just to see how he handles this.

If I were with Wells, the smallest disagreement would've led to him ignoring me and my feelings entirely. He would've turned the tables and made me feel like shit for being upset to begin with. Never, in a million years, would he apologize for something he said or did. Even if it was a misunderstanding or if he hadn't intended to hurt my feelings.

I wrap my arms around Reed and pull him closer. He brushes my hair away from my face and leans in to kiss me.

"Do you forgive me?" he asks when we break apart.

"Yes," I mumble. "I knew you weren't trying to hurt my feelings. It's just, I guess I would've thought you'd look out for me."

"You might not think I was, but I'm always looking out for you. Next time, though, I'll make it clearer. I never want you to doubt where I stand or whose side I'm on."

"Mmmkay," I hum, kissing him again.

We stay like that for a few minutes, and I enjoy the warmth of his body and the taste of his lips.

"The guys are starting a bonfire out back. You up for hangin' out for a little bit? I'll even lend you another one of my hoodies so you can keep my other one for the game tomorrow."

"What makes you think I'm wearing your hoodie to the game?"

"Tate, don't argue with me again."

I smirk. "Oh, so this is serious, huh?"

"Listen, we can blow off the bonfire if you want. I have no problem putting you on all fours again and spanking your ass until it's red. I'll have you know, that's another fantasy of mine lately."

He pulls away, reaching to fist his hard dick through his shorts.

I sit up on my forearms and stare down my body at him.

"Get your ass up," he groans. "You keep looking at me like that, and there's no way we're going outside. We're not arguing about the hoodie. You're wearing it tomorrow. End of story."

I grin, playing it up like I'm dragging my ass out of bed. I pull my sweater over my head, leaving me in nothing but a bra and leggings in the middle of my room.

"Whatever you say, bossy."

His brown eyes darken, and I turn, folding my arms beneath my chest to push up my breasts.

"Keep up with the sass, and I'll have your ass red sooner than you think." He grins.

"Promises, promises."