Parking up outside my house, I ran a hand through my short, dark hair. The lights are on and everyone is home tonight, the whole team is probably over drinking, still celebrating our performance this past year. It’s been years since Covey U has made it to a bowl game and we did it, thrusting me and the rest of the team straight in the sights of draft scouts and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.
Even though I managed 19 sacks this season, I am in no mood to celebrate. The mere thought of alcohol touching my lips makes me feel physically sick because it’s a constant reminder of my sister and how incapable I am of helping her. Partying in a completely different state while your family is struggling is harder than you’d think. I dropped my head to the steering wheel, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths like that yoga teacher Coach hired tells us to do when we’re stressed.
It’s no use though. My brain keeps going back to the last time I saw my sister. Her big doe eyes looking larger with mascara stains running down her cheeks, begging my mother to see things from her perspective. My mom can barely look at her anymore, too pissed off with the way she is handling her grief. I can’t imagine the kind of tension in that house while I’m not there. Why can’t my life be simple like Aiden’s? Why can’t I just let those memories go and get drunk guilt free? I know why. It’s because my sister’s drinking problem cost me my family. Now, I’m the only one who can save them.
“Damn it!” I yelled, banging my hand against the steering wheel in frustration. Pain ricochets through my arm and I mentally chastise myself while rubbing the injury. I can’t hurt myself. If I do, there’s no chance of making any money for my family and sorting our lives out.
Four more months.
That’s all it is. Four more months until the NFL draft. Since I’m a junior, I’m eligible and I’ve already informed Coach that I’m putting myself forward for it. He thinks I’m good enough to get drafted this year, if not, at least I’ll have another shot next year. Either way, once I’m drafted onto a team with a rookie contract, I’ll have enough money to move my mom and sister to whichever state I end up in and we can start fresh. My sister will have a new life, away from all her grief and all those idiot bad influences.
Cheers echo down the street from inside the house. I sighed thinking about the smile I’ve got to plaster on my face tonight. If Aiden’s parents didn’t own this place, and the rent wasn’t so cheap, I would never have considered staying in a house with a bunch of my teammates. Now that it’s offseason, it’s party central most weekends and I’m just not that guy. I need to stay focused because this could be my one shot at getting into the NFL and helping my family. Playing another year of college ball means risking another injury, a serious possibility since I’m a defensive end. I can’t blow it.
I walked to the front door with my pearly white teeth on display. The team thinks I’ve been out studying or something. None of them have any clue what’s going on back home and that’s the way I plan on keeping it. I don’t want to be pitied. I’ve come too far for that.
As I opened the door, the team cheer my entrance. There are at least 20 players sprawled out throughout the open plan kitchen and living room. Some on the sectional, other’s lounging on the kitchen counter and there are a few playing pool. Even though it’s a tight squeeze, this is a regular weekend for us. ‘Hey guys,’ I say to no one in particular, hoping I can sneak into my room without anyone noticing.
A beer is shoved into my face and the hand that’s holding it is connected to my best friend, Adam. The cold glass tickles my palm as I pretend to take a large swig, wiping my mouth as I pull the bottle away. If I don’t drink, there will be more questions. Ones that I don’t want to answer. The bitter taste still sits on my lips though.
‘Devin! Just who we’ve been waiting for.’ Aiden, the owner of the house and our Sophomore first-string quarterback smirks. His hand slid through his jet-black hair, and his voice commanded the room as he spoke. The very definition of a leader. Draping his arm around me, he leans in, ‘We were about to start another competition, but we obviously had to wait for you.’
He’s met with a crescendo of grunts, scoffs, and coughs as I rolled my eyes. For a guy who’s the face of our team, he has too much time on his hands. He’s also a child in an adult’s body, still mildly obsessed with bets and pranks. Every Saturday he’s got a new bet going which usually involves the Covey U female population in some form. Tonight’s no different and I can only imagine what he’s got planned.
His giant paw smacks my shoulder, ‘These ball sacks think they can get more pussy than me on the campus dating app.’ He barks out a laugh as he looks around the team with disgust. ‘So, that means we’re going to play a little game to prove them wrong.’ He’s got this crazy look in his eyes. The only other time I’ve seen it is when he comes up with a ‘brilliant’ prank to pull on our next-door neighbors.
Every member of the team is holding their phone which is nothing unusual. What is unusual is the bored expression they’re throwing Aiden’s way. If he wasn’t Captain, I swear none of us would entertain his antics. ‘You’re going to need to create a profile with a new name and no reference to the football team on it.’ Jackson, one of my other roommates explains. He’s got the same bored expression, but I’m surprised he’s taking part. He’s been dating this psycho Olana for over a year. If she catches wind of this, she’ll bite his balls off.
‘Chop, chop. Get your phone out.’ Aiden claps, looking at me pointedly. Digging into my jeans, I do as he says. Aiden watches over me as I spend the next ten minutes creating an account and a profile for myself. I put the least amount of effort possible into it and picked a picture of me working out, holding a dumbbell with my shirt off for the profile. When I originally posted it, it got a lot of likes so it’s gotta be a good one. Since I don’t have time to come up with a completely different persona, I just put Cole, my middle name on the profile.
When Aiden is satisfied, he shouts, ‘Alright Ladies, you’ve got ten minutes to make as much of an impression as you can with as many pussies as possible.’ Aiden’s vile words are ignored by everyone, I assume they all just want to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. ‘Go.’
I take my time, leisurely swiping through the girls. Everyone else is frantically moving their thumbs across the screen, hoping to win. What do they win? I don’t know, but since Aiden declared it, we’ve got to go with it. I’m left asking myself why I can’t be so carefree again. I have no desire to even try to win this game. I’ve swiped a few times without looking and as I glance back down to my phone, a face appears that makes me stop in my tracks. Her big brown eyes look like chocolate peanut butter cups and her pink lips are luscious and plump like cushions against her glowing caramel skin. I like everything I see. Who is this girl?
Going completely against strategy, I check out her bio, wanting to find out as much as I can. She doesn’t have much on there, just her name, Reign, and a statement. ‘Not looking for a Prince, just a one Knight stand.’ That’s forward and cheesy but I don’t hate it. I’m not looking for anything serious either.
Trawling through her photos, she’s got the usual dating app pictures, one of her on the beach showing off her toned, hot body. One with a dog snuggled by the fire, and a close-up duck selfie, although she doesn’t need to pout, her lips are already huge. There’s barely enough information on her for me to get an accurate picture and I have this need in the pit of my stomach to find out more. Did I just say that? Shaking my head, I stop that thought. For the last three and a half years, I’ve had one cardinal rule to live by. No girlfriends. It’s worked perfectly. Half the time, girls don’t want to get to know me, they just want to come to our house parties or say they’ve screwed a football player. I can’t lie, I’ve taken advantage of it before. It’s not like I’ve had time to wine and dine a chick, what with trying to keep my scholarship and family intact, all the while playing good enough football to be considered in the draft.
‘Dude.’ Adam elbows me. ‘Who are you looking at? You’ve got this dazed look on your face.’ He jokes, peering over, trying to get a better look at my screen. Snatching it away, I turn my screen off and glare back, hoping he didn’t see her. I want to keep this little diamond to myself. Who am I kidding though? She probably came up in all of their searches. My only saving grace is, they’ve all been swiping so fast, they might not have seen her.
‘Nothing just got a text from my sister.’ I lied and shoved my phone back into my jeans.
‘Times up gentlemen! Stop your thumbs.’ Aiden stares around the room, making sure we’ve listened. ‘We will meet back here in 24 hours to see who has the most matches.’ He calls as everyone puts their phones down. I’m not sure how he’s going to monitor our activity on the app after everyone leaves here but Aiden was never the smartest crayon in the box, he’s just good at keeping them color coordinated.
Settling down on one of the barstools in the kitchen, I watched the second half of the game with the guys and my lukewarm beer. The games are good, but not good enough to stop my mind from wandering back to that girl with the plump lips and chocolate eyes. I want another look, just to make sure I remembered her face correctly. I’ll have to wait until later because I can’t let any of my friends know I’m intrigued.
A few hours later there are several players still hanging around. They’ve broken off into groups which means I’m able to excuse myself without anyone noticing or caring as I head upstairs to my room. It’s the smallest one, but I don’t need much, just my bed and a desk. It also means I’ve got the cheapest rent and a little less debt on my credit card is always a good thing. I collapsed down onto my black bedsheets and looked around, making sure no one was watching me even though I’m alone in my room. I quickly get my phone out and go straight to the dating app, hoping she’s still there.
My face beams when I see her dark eyes staring back at me on my screen. Studying her face a while longer, I try to figure out what it is about her that has me so intrigued. There’s a rustling outside my door, I swipe right on her and close the app immediately, feeling sheepish for nearly getting caught. The feet continue to travel down the hall, and I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they weren’t coming for me.
I considered opening the app again, but since I swiped, I don’t think I’ll see her unless she matches with me. God, I hope she matches with me. I was on edge the rest of the night, every time the notification chimed, I hoped to see her face. But every time it was someone else. I’m patient though, happy to wait. I may not have time for a girlfriend but there’s something drawing me to her, and I won’t know what that is until I can see her in the flesh.
