Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the windows. “Got yelled at. Then, Dad drove me and my friends home and spoke to everyone’s parents.”
Yeah, that sounded right. “How’d that go over?”
“Everyone’s grounded.”
“You were all drunk and going to drive. I don’t know what you expected.”
“Dad told me if I fucked up again, then I wasn’t going back home.”
I winced. Ah, there it was.
So, if he got in trouble again, then he wasn’t going to get to return to the city. I hadn’t known the details of the arrangement he had with Jensen. I’d assumed that he was in Lubbock for good after getting arrested. But if he was only here for the summer, the threat of not going back to New York at all would explain how pissed off he was.
“Have you considered not fucking up again?”
Colton rolled his eyes at me. “What else is there to do in this town?”
“The soccer league is starting back up.”
Colton’s head popped up. “The Tacos? The team your girl is on?”
“The one.”
“Dad wouldn’t let me go,” he grumbled. “He doesn’t trust me to be unsupervised.”
“What if you were playing?”
He eyed me like I’d grown a second head. “That’s for adults.” He said the word like a slur.
“It’d be fine. You’d play a few games until you go back to the city. No one will care. We’re Wrights, remember?” I told him. “We run this town.”
Colton straightened. As if he’d probably heard it before, but not in the context that I’d given him. Honestly, it was a realization that I was still reckoning with.
“I’ll even ask your dad,” I offered.
I didn’t know why I was helping the him so much, but I couldn’t leave him like this. One mistake could cascade into a row of dominoes that he might never come back from. Sure, most fifteen-year-olds were moody, hormonal monsters, but I liked this one. So…
“You’d do that?”
“If you get me my coffee, then yes.”
Colton laughed as he came to his feet. Some of the morose behavior falling off his shoulders. “Deal, boss.”
I watched him head out of my office with his chip back on his shoulder. Little shit. My coffee had better be hot because I was about to go to bat with Jensen Wright for him.
Eve blinked at me from the passenger seat of my Lexus on the way to the game later that week. “You did what?”
“I got Colton on The Tacos.”
“But…what? How?”
I cleared my throat. “A good deal of cajoling.”
“Explain.”
“Well, I called his dad.”
“You called Jensen.”
“Sure did,” I said with a grimace. “It was super fun. In the end, he agreed to let him play. He and Emery are coming to the game tonight, too.”
“But is he even any good?” Eve asked with a hint of desperation.
I laughed when I realized that was what she was really worried about. “I have no idea.”
“Well, he’d better be. Isaac is going to kill us if we bring on a fifteen-year-old kid and he sucks. Maybe we can bench him.”
“Eve.”
“I mean, he can’t be worse than Nora. Love her to death, but ball-handling skills aren’t her strong suit.”
I snorted.
“Don’t make that sexual.”
“Oh no, never,” I said with a smirk. “Maybe later, we can practice your ball-handling skills.”
“Shut up,” she said with a laugh, smacking my chest.
“It’s going to be fine. He went to a private school in New York. The only thing I’ve heard him talk about other than drinking and girls is soccer. I’d guess he doesn’t completely suck.”
“He’d better not. Or you’re in for it, Whitton Wright.”
“I accept that.”
“Wait, you did run this by Isaac, right? I am not going to be the one to tell him…”
“I spoke to Isaac.”
Isaac had put the team together and was the unofficial manager. He was married to Piper’s sister and had played soccer in college. The Tacos team was his baby.
“Phew,” she said, breathing out heavily. “Good.”
I parked my Lexus in the parking lot for the outdoor fields. Already, a dozen teams were out on the pitch, getting ready for the start of the season.
I stopped Eve before she could get out. “And another thing. I heard from Jordan today that he wants us to head back to Midland next weekend. You free?”
She grinned devilishly. “Two rooms or one?”
“One.”
“Good answer.”
She leaned forward and captured my lips for a brief kiss before getting out and grabbing her soccer bag. I joined her on the walk to the open field. Our friends were already in attendance, warming up or chatting. I shook hands with Hollin and West, fielded good-natured ribbing from Isaac, and accepted Julian’s rundown of the season even though I still wasn’t a huge soccer guy. Blaire grabbed Eve as soon as she saw her, and they disappeared onto the field to run drills. Nora kissed West and then joined them in their warm-up.