Roughing

I laugh as I tap him in the stomach, and what used to be a six-pack moves with my touch. “You’re out of shape. Just do what Coach tells you, and you’ll be fine. We can’t have you getting benched this season because you were too busy doing keg stands instead of training.”

Finch shrugs, his broad shoulders creating a wall.

As the son of Sebastian Prince, Sr.—who was not only a pro football player but also the star quarterback at Strickland University back in the eighties—I had big shoes to fill when I’d joined the team. I grew up with the mentality that practice and training come before parties and girls. My dad made sure of it. But Finch’s lack of discipline and constant partying had almost gotten him thrown off the team last year.

With my father’s intervention, he’d managed to keep his position, but he is on thin ice. There’s only so much the Prince name can do for my friends. And Finch has to want to help himself.

“I’m working on it,” Finch says, keeping pace with me as we walk through campus. “I have to lay off the beer for a while. Coach is making me work with our trainer until I get back into shape.”

The extra weight doesn’t agree with him, and it shows on the field. He’s slow as fuck, getting his ass handed to him on a nightly basis. Over the past year, he has gone from fast-tracking it to the pros to barely keeping his spot on the team. Unlike me, Finch doesn’t have a dad to call him ten times a day to remind him about how much he’s screwing up his career. That’s why he needs me to tell him that he’s blowing his shot. It’s also my job as the team captain to ensure the guys are meeting their goals.

I tap him on the back. “Laying off the beer sounds like a good start, but I’ll believe it when I see it. You should try drinking a protein shake instead of eating at the SAC every day. All that processed food is bad for you.”

“Nah. Those shakes taste like rotten vegetables mixed with chocolate powder. I think I’ll pass.”

“You can suck it up until the season is over.”

He sighs. “I guess I can give it a try.”

“Just hold your nose and open your mouth. It’s that simple. You overthink everything. The taste will grow on you after a while.”

Finch nods in acknowledgment.

We round the corner without uttering another word until we reach our house. Finch waves to someone across the street, but my gaze drifts elsewhere. Even in the mid-day sun, the street is almost back to full-blown rage mode. We live on a street with other Victorian’s similar to ours. Off-campus housing in the city means you’re only two blocks away from the main part of campus and one block over from Greek Row, which means never-ending parties.

With his elbow, Finch taps me on the bicep to get my attention. “What happened with Tori last night? Conner told me you left with her.”

I shove my hands in my pockets and shrug, still focused on the concrete. “Yeah, I went home with Tori, but it’s not what you think. She has a concussion from the hit she took at the game. I brought her home and stayed the night on her couch.”

Finch sighs. “Are you trying to get back with her again?”

My focus shifts back to the ground. “Nope, she still hates me. That hasn’t changed. But she’s letting me stay with her this weekend. I don’t want her to be alone with a concussion.”

“Look, man, I know you like this girl, but—”

I hold up my hand to make him stop. “Save it. I already know what you’re going to say.”

“All I was going to say is that she will flip out if she ever finds out what you did for her. What you continue to do for her.”

“I told you about that as my friend, not so you can throw it in my face. Tori can never know. She would leave school and ruin her chance of graduating if she had any idea that I was involved. She’s too proud to take anything from me, even though she needs my help.”

“What about Harper? If she finds out you’re talking to Tori again, she will flip out.”

“You were there. She already caused a scene this morning at the SAC.”

“Harper is the one you need to worry about. As soon as you stop fucking her, she’ll tell Tori all about the deal you have with her dad.”

“I don’t know. I hate fucking Harper. I hate looking at her. Every time I have to touch her, my skin crawls. But—”

“You don’t have a choice,” he finishes for me.

“Nope. I wish things were simpler. I should’ve been upfront with Tori years ago. I should’ve made her listen to me.”

“Even if she believed you didn’t cheat on her, she never would’ve accepted a hand out from you. The things you did for her no one would do.”

“I owed her that much after everything I put her through.”

“Yeah, I guess. Why don’t you just tell Tori that you love her and just get it over with?”