Playing for keeps

01. The Alley

E A S T O N

Tonight's practice was a killer. 

Oakley resembled someone who had been hit by a bus, and then dragged through the city by his ankles, to then get winded by a gazelle.

"Come on! Get up and out of this place," Coach yelled from his place in front of the bleaches, his arms crossed and his appearance the opposite of looking like he got hit by a bus. "Stop whining, you bunch of weaklings! It wasn't that bad."

"Easy...for you...to....say," Crawford wheezed out from in front of me and Oakley.

Oakley closed his fist around my arm, collapsing to the grass and taking me with him.

"Oak," I groan, the ache from getting a soccer ball to my stomach soaring through my muscles.

"Dy..ing..." Oakley just about croaked out as I tried to rise to my feet.

I rolled my eyes and left him on the grass to get up at his own pace, heading to where my bag was on the bleachers.

This was the last summer practice before school started back on Monday, and Coach Kane had worked us all to the core, a little taster to what is to come this year.

After our championship win a few months ago, he was determined to make it two years in a row. We all were, but Coach was determined to a whole new level.

"When do you think he's gonna cut us some slack?" Will breathes heavily, squirting water from his bottle over his head to cool down.

I sit down on the bleachers to change out of my cleats and into my sneakers, glancing at coach. He's at the other end of the bleachers, talking into his phone.

"Coach cutting us some slack?" Carlos scrunches up his nose, one foot up on the bottom bleacher seat, tying his shoe laces. "Now that's a sentence I thought I'd never hear."

My brother was already waiting in the nearly empty parking lot when I emerged from the school, leaning against the bonnet with his phone glued to his hand.

"It's a pity he's straight," Oakley sighs, his whole body melting at the sight of my brother, Sebastian. It was nothing new.

"Is that all you ever do?" Luke spoke up from behind us. "Drool over men, specifically Easton's brothers."

"Yes," Oakley answered point blank, not bothering to look back at Luke. "I'm a whore, Luke. Leave me be."

I laughed as Luke shook his head as he headed over to his truck parked on the other side of the lot.

"I'd come and say hi," Oakley started before grimacing down at his clothes and smelling his arm pits. "But I don't want Sebastian to see me like this. All sweaty and disgusting. It would completely change his view on me. We can't have that"

I scoffed out a laugh and he began to walk over to his car. "You'll never be disgusting to me," I say and blow an air kiss.

Oakley happily catches it and clutches his closed fist to his chest. "What would my self worth be like without you, babe?"

"Non-existent," I smile.

Oakley rolls his eyes as he walks backwards, facing me. "I don't hate myself that much. Anyway, see you tomorrow for our last, proper day of freedom," he sighs dramatically before flashing a grin and unlocking his car.

Tomorrow is the last full day we have of our summer break and Oakley is determined to make the most of every second to the point where he's made a schedule.

I wave to Oakley and head over to where my brother is still leaning against the bonnet of the car, but his phone now discarded to his pocket as he watches me.