Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Coach Martin made it no secret that he’s no fan of mine. Sure, he might be impressed on the field, but that doesn’t mean he wants me on his team. I’m going to have to earn my position. I’ve burned one too many bridges to expect this to be handed to me like it was in the past.
Liam walks beside me, and I have to resist rolling my eyes at the guy. Ever since those cheerleaders offered to show us a good time, he’s clearly decided that sticking with me will be worth the trouble. Suddenly, he doesn’t give a shit that I’m here to take his position on the team. He knows damn well he can’t beat me, and just like every other position I’ve stolen over the past few years, they quickly learn it’s best just to step aside.
He talks shit about the guys on the team, trying to give me a rundown of the players and what I need to be looking out for, only I don’t hear a single fucking word. I have no interest in his opinions. I’ll make my own based on their actual skills on the field. After all, Liam’s opinions are biased, based on experiences he’s had with the players since his freshman year, and considering the kind of guy he is, I can only assume not all of those experiences are positive.
Glancing up at the field, I look over the few players who are already warming up while Coach Martin empties a bag of footballs onto the grass and double-checks the equipment.
It’s not as though they’re doing much right now, but from what I can tell, they’re alright. Not the best, but enough to possibly capture the championship with the right motivation.
A few of the guys are chatting among themselves as they stretch, and I can’t help but notice the way they keep glancing my way. Most of them have been hanging out with me today, trying to figure me out, but apart from games, not one of them knows what it’s like to train with me. Even Coach Martin is throwing me curious glances.
Liam continues talking shit, probably thinking he’s about to be my whole fucking world, when we finally reach the football field. Coach Martin meets my stare and lifts his chin. “Get warmed up,” he calls across the field. “I want to see exactly what you’ve got.”
Ah, shit. I should have known training wasn’t going to be easy today. Coach Martin is about to push me to my limits, and I can guarantee I won’t be walking away from this training session. It’ll be more like a hobble.
Liam and I sprint to catch up with the rest of the guys, and as we reach them, they fall in next to us, jogging down the length of the field. We reach the goalposts before making our way back, and as I run, I glance up at the school.
It’s nearly deserted. Most of the students ran out the moment the bell sounded for the end of class. There are only a few stragglers dragging their feet, probably on their way to their first after-school detention for the year.
Just as my gaze shifts back to the field, something catches my eye across the school. My brows furrow, finding Zoey fucking James slipping out of the library, her arms filled with books. She makes her way toward the student parking lot, her stare unnaturally focused in front of her, making it damn clear she’s doing everything she can not to look down here.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
All day she’s circled my head, and while it’s clear that she’s still the same girl I once adored, she’s changed. For the past three years, I’ve thought of her as that thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s a young woman now, and goddamn, it suits her. She’s even got the feisty attitude to go along with it. She’s always had a backbone, but there was an innocence about it—not anymore. She’s grown into her own and isn’t afraid to call out bullshit when she sees it. Though, that’s not going to work for me.
I watch her for a moment, every passing second winding me up further. I came here thinking I could read her perfectly, just as I always could. Only the comment Principal Daniels made after lunch has sat with me all afternoon.
She is a promising student who has been through a hell of her own.
What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I’ve known her since the day she was born. I know everything there is to know about her. I’ve watched her grow, been there for every bad day she ever had, kissed her knees when she scraped them up, and took the blame every time she was about to get in trouble. If something had happened to her, I would know. Hell, even if something went down over the past three years, my mother would have told me. She goes out of her way to inform me of every single thing Zoey does in the hopes I might have enough interest to bring her back into my life.