Beg You to Trust Me (Lindon U #2)(48)

Ivy stiffens at my useless warning. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not interested.” There’s a heavy pause. “In anyone,” she adds, which makes me snort.

Her saying she isn’t into Aiden is like me saying I’m not even a little into Skylar. I’d be fucking dumb not to be. She’s gorgeous even when she tries not to be, funny even in her awkward moments, and mysterious as hell. All things that make me want to unwrap her like the total package she is.

I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t bummed she wouldn’t be around to see our game this weekend. When I’m playing, I’m in my zone—as confident as I’ll ever be while flying across the field, helping my team walk away with another win, or dancing on the sidelines to get a little extra noise from the crowd.

The turf is a high I’ll miss when I graduate. Miss like a piece of me is gone for good.

I think about what comes after Lindon for the rest of class until I’m hauling it to the dining hall for a quick bite. I’d told Sky that I changed my degree because I didn’t want to be around sports until I was retirement age, but that’s not completely true. Truth is, it’d wreck me if I had to watch from the outside in any facet.

My stomach growls with the scent of food surrounding me as I scan my ID and head toward the prepackaged sandwiches from a fast grab-and-go before meeting the guys.

Walking back toward the front door after swiping the last two chicken sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil, I see Skylar sitting at a corner table with two other girls—one of them I recognize as Aliyah.

Blondie looks uncomfortable as she scans a few nearby tables, all full of people who occasionally glance in her direction and talk amongst themselves.

As soon as she sees me approaching, she sits taller, ignoring the barely touched food on her plate and the girls clearly gawking as I stop at their spot. “Hey,” I greet, giving each of them a smile. Thankfully, Rebecca isn’t around. Last time I passed Sky’s roommate she’d looked at me like I was a challenge she wanted to take on. If for no other reason, to say she got me before Skylar did.

It’ll never happen, though.

I’ve already been claimed, even if the person who has me doesn’t know it yet.

Skylar offers me a weak, “Hi.” Her eyes look a little glassy, and the way she pushes her vegetables around with her fork has my smile dropping.

“You feeling okay? Did you catch what’s going around?” The choked noise escaping her has me fighting back a cringe.

Bad choice of words.

“The cold going around,” I murmur. “Did you catch the cold going around? One of my teammate’s girls just got over it. Took a few days, but he got her back on her feet.”

Her friend with glasses asks, “Is that your way of asking if she needs your help getting her back on her feet?” She and the darker-haired girl next to her share a light laugh as Skylar rolls her eyes at them.

I simply smile, rocking back on my heels as my eyes find the one person I’m here to talk to. “I’d do whatever Sky needed. All she has to do is ask.”

It’s true, and I can tell it takes the targeted person by surprise. “I’m fine, but thanks. Just a little tired lately trying to prep for exams. Are you grabbing lunch?” Her chin dips toward the wrapped food in my hands.

I nod. “Need to head to practice soon. We’ve got a big game coming up, so Coach is riding our asses hard to make sure we dominate at tomorrow’s game.”

Her lips twitch downward, and I want to do anything in order to get them to stop. “Hey, I was thinking about something earlier. Do you need a ride to the airport tomorrow? Depending on when your flight is, I can probably squeeze it in before preparing for the game.”

Coach wants us to meet at our usual spot to go over game tapes of the team we’re up against. It feels like we’ve studied everything we can about them, but he seems to think we need all the help we can get.

“You don’t need to do that. I have to be up and at the airport really early, and—”

“What time?” I press anyway.

“Danny—”

Aliyah hiccups and stares between me and the brunette set to argue. She nudges Sky and whispers, “Girl, say yes.”

“Yeah, Skylar. Say yes.”

She makes a face at my sheer determination and then sighs. “I need to be there at 4:30 in the morning so I have time to go through security and everything. My flight leaves at five.”

The girls both make unintelligible noises at the early as hell wakeup call.

Me? I shrug, unfazed. “Okay. I’ll pick you up at your dorm a little before four.”

Skylar gapes. “Really?”

I snicker. “I’m usually up around five to get my run in anyway. It’s not that much earlier.”

The comical expression I get from each of the girls staring at me makes me chuckle. I’m going to assume none of them are morning people, which will make driving Skylar that much more entertaining.

“I have to get going, but I’ll text you later. Sound good?”

Those blue eyes fill with something close to uncertainty for some reason, but she nods before I wave to her and her friends. I’m out the door and walking to the Sports Complex when I pull out my phone with a last-minute idea.

Me: Come over and watch a movie with me. It’s Caleb’s turn to cook and he’s not half bad. We can hang for a bit before you leave for the weekend