The Freshman (College Years 1)

Phillips had pro aspirations, too. Sucks to hear his chances are most likely over.

I enjoy football, but it’s not my everything. I don’t want to go pro. I’m a decent player, but I’m not pro material. I don’t think I have the discipline for it either.

“Party tonight,” Caleb says to me once we’re in the locker room. Our lockers are right next to each other’s. “At the frat house. It’s already started, so show up whenever.”

“I don’t know—” I start, but Caleb shakes his head, his fierce expression making me stop talking.

“Nope. You’re not going to bail out like you did last time.” He grabs hold of my shoulders and gives me a shake. “We’re celebrating you tonight, asshole. You have to be there.”

“I did nothing.” I’m trying to play it off.

“You played,” Caleb stresses.

“But I didn’t score.”

“Doesn’t matter. You did great. You showed them that your heart is still in the game.” He releases his hold on me, his expression as serious as I’ve ever seen it. “I was afraid you lost your love for football.”

I say nothing. When you have no one loving you, it’s hard to love anything else. Even football.

Sounds fucking pitiful, but it’s true.

“I’m exhausted,” I tell Caleb. “I just want to go home and collapse in bed.”

“The only way I’ll let you do that is if you’ve got that hot blonde waiting for you in your bed naked,” Caleb says.

I think of Hayden. Waiting for me. Naked in my bed.

“Yeah. Not happening,” I say.

Such a shame.

“Then you’re coming to the party.” Caleb grins. “Whether you like it or not.”

I eventually show up at the frat house with Jackson as my date. He joined this fraternity along with Caleb, and they tried to get me to join with them, but I declined. Why go through the initiation and everything else, when I could benefit from the parties through them? That’s all I care about anyway.

The house is two-story, red brick with black shutters on the windows. It has a distinctive, almost formal appearance, yet there’s all sorts of revelry and debauchery going on inside.

Maybe that’s the appeal.

As we approach the massive front door that’s standing wide-open, I see there are people everywhere. On the front porch, inside the house, outside in the back yard. The moment I show my face, I’m greeted with plenty of “congratulations” and “good jobs!”. I nod and smile in return, saying thank you, shocked they’d know me. Caleb can tell.

“You made a splash tonight,” he says with a grin. “Enjoy it.”

I didn’t even think people knew my name, let alone could recognize my face. It’s weird.

Once we’re inside, girls approach us, expectant smiles on their faces, their gazes directed at me.

“You played good tonight,” a bold one says, reaching out to trail her fingernails along my arm as she walks away.

She’s using the ‘leave them wanting trick’, and I suppose any other night it would work on me.

I can’t help but glance around the place, wondering if Hayden is here.

From what I can tell, she’s nowhere to be found.

She sent me a simple text after the game.

Told you that you’d play tonight.