My brothers best friend

Chapter 20: The Distance Grows

(Edited)

Chapter 20

Jake's Point of View

The sun was relentless, beating down on the field like it had a personal vendetta against anyone daring enough to spend hours running drills on a day like this. Practice had always been a refuge for me, a place where I could drown out everything else and just focus on the game. But today? Today was different.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't concentrate. Passes slipped through my foots. My routes were sloppy. Even Coach, who normally barked at the entire team equally, seemed to single me out with his sharp glares and terse remarks.

"Come on, Jake! Get your head out of the clouds!" he shouted as I stumbled over a block, my cleats catching on the turf.

"Yeah, what's the deal, man?" Mason chimed in as we jogged to the next drill station. His tone was light, teasing, but I could see the concern lurking just beneath it.

"Nothing," I muttered, wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my arm.

"Right," Mason said, clearly not buying it. "You've been off all practice. What's going on?"

I hesitated, my gaze fixed on the ground as we waited our turn for the next drill. How could I explain what was on my mind without giving everything away? The kiss with Valerie, the picture, the guilt, of hiding this from him... It was a tangled mess, and Mason would never understand if I told him the truth.

"Just tired," I said finally, forcing a shrug.

Mason studied me for a moment, his sharp blue eyes narrowing. "Bullshit. You're never like this. Seriously, man—did something happen? Is it about the team? Or..." His voice dropped slightly, a teasing grin spreading across his face. "Girl problems?"

My stomach twisted. "Nope," I said quickly, too quickly.

Mason's grin widened. "Ah, so it is about a girl."

I shot him a glare. "Drop it, Mason."

But he didn't drop it. Mason rarely let anything go once he got a whiff of drama, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as we moved through the drill. This time tho I think he would like to not knowing who the girl on my mind is.

When practice finally ended, I was half-hoping Mason would be too distracted to keep pushing. No such luck.

As we made our way to the locker room, he clapped a hand on my shoulder. "You know, if you ever need advice, I'm here," he said with exaggerated sincerity. "I've been told I'm an excellent listener."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Dr. Phil. I'll keep that in mind."

The locker room was its usual cacophony of noise - guys shouting over each other, the hiss of showers, the thud of lockers slamming shut. I focused on peeling off my sweat-soaked jersey, hoping Mason would move on to bothering someone else.

But of course, he didn't.

"Alright, fellas!" one of the guys called out, his voice cutting through the chaos of noise. "Who's going to the party tonight?"

There was an immediate buzz of excitement, the energy in the room shifting as everyone started talking at once.

"Party?" I asked, glancing at Mason.

"Yeah," he said, smirking. "Big one at Eric's place. Apparently, his parents are out of town for the weekend, and he's going all in. I even heard he is going to get a chocolate fundou just to brag about it."

"Classic Eric," I muttered laughing lightly.

"Come on, Jake," Mason said, nudging me with his elbow. "You're not seriously thinking of skipping, are you?"