Page 63 of How Not to Fall in Love

Football was easy to figure out. I’d known how to do that since I was in high school.

It was the relationships in my life where I always struggled most.

My father.

My nonexistent mother.

My teammates and coaches.

Remi.

I didn’t know how to do any of it, not when it mattered.

I snapped the ball a little too hard on the last go route. Williams had done his job, sprinting straight down the middle of the field about twenty-five yards, but the ball sailed over his head, easily ten yards past him.

“Fuck,” I muttered, then tapped my chest. “That’s on me.”

Williams jogged back with an easy smile on his face. “No worries, QB. I shoulda run faster.”

I pulled out an earbud and tucked it into my wristband so he knew I was paying attention. “You ran fast enough. I was distracted with my own shit.”

My QB coach glanced in my direction, his eyebrows lifting slightly at the admission. Brooks and Smith shared a look on the sideline.

Williams set his hands on his hips. “Anything you want to talk about?”

I froze.

So did Brooks and Smith.

Mitch sucked in a quick breath and held it.

“You want to talk about my problems,” I said slowly.

He shrugged. “We’re teammates, right? If you’re struggling with something, we should feel secure enough to ask if you need help.”

Brooks swiped a hand over his mouth, and Smith stared down at the ground.

I stared at Williams with narrowed eyes, my chest tightening uncomfortably.

He was trying to help.

Tell someone.

I banished the sound of Remi’s voice out of my head. Other than Coach, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone around me had offered something so simple. Not that I blamed my teammates—they were all living their own lives. It wasn’t their responsibility to fix me.

“I don’t know if you can,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He nodded. “Is it about the DUI?”

“Fucking rookies,” Smith muttered. Brooks choked on a laugh.

“What?” Williams asked. “Are we not supposed to talk about that?”

“It’s not about the DUI.” I rolled my neck until I heard a crack. “I, uh, I like someone.”

My QB coach dropped his phone. Brooks’s head snapped up and Smith’s mouth fell open.

Williams nodded eagerly. “That’s ... that’s good. What’s the problem?”