"LT! Good luck!" "LT, you're the man!" and most commonly, "Go Dawgs!" were continuously thrown at me from what felt like nearly every person who crossed my path Monday morning after our first game's win. I hadn't been completely anonymous since I'd gotten here, but after Coach Peterson's indirect announcement that I was the starter, Ellie was right about things changing in the sense that a lot more attention was on me.
The attention never bothered me since I was used to it since high school. The only issues I'd ever had were when people confused knowing of me with actually knowing the real me, or worse thought they knew exactly who I was but had no clue. So while I was used to the distanced interest, it reminded me that Ellie was the only one here who truly knew me. When I was at UCD, I'd still had Brody and Mom on the weekends, plus the Prakashes across the hall, and the reminder sobered a slight sense of loneliness in me.
After I walked Ellie to her first class, I briefly checked my email app, which included a few interview requests. The sense that eyes were on me stayed with me since I'd left the apartment with Ellie and continued as I walked across the quad, past the enormous Drumheller Fountain, and over the pedestrian bridge over Pacific street to Foege Building.
Starting to get a better sense of direction around here, at least.
Even students in my Bioengineering class looked at me curiously. The stares like I was in the wrong classroom had died down by the end of last week and now were replaced by wider-eye looks that lingered longer. These stares happened in every class I sat through, plus the hallway walks in between.
Santanu was the only classmate that actually asked me about the extra attention. Once he sat next to me before Monday's Biotransport class, he cleared his throat. "So... You're the football player?"
"I'm one of them," I clarified with a low chuckle and plopped down in the cramped desk next to his in the last row. "There's a lot of guys on the team."
"Explains... this." He lifted one hand up, then dragged it from my head level down to my feet.
"My bigger size?" I arched an eyebrow at him. "Or my awesome personality?"
"Something like that," he replied quietly before his eyes flooded with curiosity. "How did you get into Bioengineering then?"
"Always liked math and science," I offered with a casual shrug of my shoulders. "I was a Bio and Chem double major at my previous school. Dr. Chen is my adviser here and figured this would be a good fit."
What I hadn't shared was that, even just a few classes into the quarter, I already really enjoyed the three Bioengineering classes I was enrolled in. They were tougher than regular Bio or Chem and I'd skipped having any labs this quarter because of football, so my future postseason quarters already promised to be more challenging. While I wasn't sure what direction football had for me in the future, this was more than a successful career-based major.
College-level math and science classes were by far harder and required a lot more self-study than the regurgitated lectures I got in my high school classes, even the AP ones. Ellie's dedication put my academic work ethic to shame but, given I played football, I was still proud of my 3.5 GPA.
Well, the three-five GPA before I transferred.
This morning, I'd gotten an email from Dr. Chen, who was also the Bioengineering Department's chair, that all of my UCD credits had been approved and applied towards my major. Halfway through the quarter, we needed to revisit my class schedule for the winter. For some reason, while he saw them, none of my actual grades transferred, just the credits. Based on that, my GPA would be recalculated from just my UW classes.
Maybe I'll challenge Ellie for a four-point-oh.
Santanu's black eyebrows squeezed together while he attempted to put together my life story. "So you're new here, transfer right?"
"Yup." I nodded, then pulled out my notebook and a pen for today's lecture.
"You know you've pretty much killed any chance the rest of us science guys have for scoring a date?" He titled his head to the front of the room, where a group of six girls were anything but subtle in how they eavesdropped on our conversation.
"Don't worry." I grinned widely right as Dr. Taylor walked into the room. "Already have someone special."
Just waiting for her to realize that on her end.
"Lovely Monday morning," Dr. Taylor called out as she took her place at the front of the room, a stack of white papers in her hand. "Hope you read your momentum chapters for today because in addition to handing back your first homework assignments, it's surprise quiz time!"
The groans in response only widened her evil grin. While the quiz sheets filtered through the rows of desks ahead of us, Dr. Taylor passed back our homework. "Excellent job for a first stab everyone..."
She murmured each student's name, then paused at my desk and handed me a sheet with '4' written on the top, a perfect score. "Hope your newest promotion on the Huskies won't influence your academic success, Mr. Hightower," she said in a low voice.
"I'll try my best, Dr. Taylor," I assured her and took a quiz from the girl ahead of me. Dr. Taylor passed Santanu his homework, another perfect score.
"Hey," he whispered hoarsely at me. "We should exchange info, study together sometime."
"Sure, after class." I nodded with a slight grin.
Even football players like to win people over.
I arrived at practice ten minutes early but was stopped by a small crowd of reporters outside the locker room doors. After I provided a few generic answers to the same questions over and over about the future of the Huskies' offense and false apologies that I had no updates on Emmitt's condition, I politely excused myself.
"LT, I want my interview!" A female voice called out to me right when I reached towards the locker room door handle. I glanced over my shoulder and inwardly groaned at the sight of Lydia, who stood dressed in yet another tight outfit, her blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun and thick makeup on her face over her annoyed expression.
"You bailed on me after the game, Logan." Her blue eyes looked up at me and a pout played on her lips, neither of which did anything for me.
"Sorry," I apologized, although I hadn't regretted how I avoided taking a dive into my personal life, or her rude comment at Ellie. While groupie girls had always annoyed her, probably from how she grew up with them around Jake, Ellie's nature generally didn't include hating anyone.
Why do I feel like something happened between them?
Lydia's pout pulled into a wide, white-toothed smile. "You can make it up to me by coming to the Zetas' party tomorrow night, where I can dig into the real Logan Hightower."
"Not into parties, especially during the week," I replied honestly. "I have class at nine on Wednesday mornings."
"Sounds stressful..." One of her hands clutched my closest bicep, which only tensed my muscles further. "We're just one block over from the football house, come over and the Zetas will take care of you."
"Right," I replied dryly and shook her arm off me. At the sound of my name called behind me, I turned and thankfully saw Seth Brooks' tall, lean frame approached us. His brown-haired head was tilted slightly down and white earbuds hung from his ears, but his brown eyes met mine and he smirked.
"Brooks," I called out to him with a slight chin tilt, then gave him a fist bump. "Ready to work?"
"You know it," he assured me as we walked into the locker room and left Lydia completely behind.
I rolled my eyes at the determination I saw briefly in hers, then grumbled at Seth, "Is there a back door entrance and exit?"
"Some days I wish, bro." He shook his head and ripped out his earbuds. "It'll get worse the better our record gets. Totally worth it for easy access pussy though."
"Not my priority," I mumbled against the irritation his words flared inside me, tossed my bag down onto the floor near my locker, then opened it.
"One of them is though, right?" he retorted with a cocky smirk and glint in his eyes.
I sat down on the bench near my locker with a sigh at how he referred to Emmitt's message to the entire team that I was interested in Ellie. While I couldn't have cared less what they thought about me, the last thing I wanted was she became some targeted conquest for the team.
Still don't know why Emmitt's so interested in her, anyone can see that's one-sided.
While Seth had absolutely no idea, the memory of Ellie in the shower resurfaced in my mind. I'd never seen that sexually forward side of her, had been shocked for sure, and definitely wanted to know how that change happened.
And any other changes, especially that kind.
One of the hottest things about Ellie and my's physical intimacy was how she'd grown more confident, forward, and instigated things between us the more experience we gained together. While I didn't want to think about her with another guy, even if in the past, I was still ridiculously attracted to her confidence.
If her confidence is already higher, then I don't stand a fucking chance.
"What's your interest in Ellie?" I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest. "Honestly."
"No more than anyone else." His casual shrug inspired my fists to introduce themselves to his smug face.
"Shouldn't play games with her feelings," I warned him and clenched my jaw tightly shut for a moment. "She's a nice girl."
"Damn right, Brooks," a deep voice spoke up behind us. Both Seth and I looked up and saw it was attached to the large, scowl-faced Darrius Williams.
"Hey man." I nodded slightly at him.
"A word, pretty boy," he responded in a cold, even tone, then jerked one thumb towards the exit door. "Out, Brooks."
Seth chuckled, then dressed into his pants and cleats faster than I'd ever seen him, grabbed his guards and jersey, then hightailed his way out towards the field. Once the door clicked behind him, Darrius' dark eyes shifted to mine.
"So you uhh... saw Ellie Monday?" I started with small talk, which by his unchanged expression, he wasn't impressed with anything I'd said. "Look, Darrius, I -"
"It's okay," he blurted out. "Miss Ellie explained enough. Just treat her right or those internal organs are mine."
His large hands raised up, then clenched into two fists within my line of vision like he emphasized his point. I fought the urge to smile and just nodded silently. I dressed just as quickly as Seth, locked my locker, then slid my chest guards into place. Darrius dressed next to me, as silent as a ghost, and occasionally his eyes tracked my movements.
We were the last two who arrived, Coach Peterson made a circular motion in the air with his index finger at us and held up two fingers for the number of laps we owed him. Darrius groaned quietly but we both trotted into place while the rest of the team caught up. The way he gritted his teeth told me we shared a similar thought.
This is going to be a long practice.
Two and a half hours of a grueling physical practice, half drills and half offensive setups where the defense pounded relentlessly into us, my muscles burned and ached in places I hadn't known experienced pain. Charlie drew me an ice bath, where I sat and groaned in a tub next to Wes. She offered neither of us any sympathy, just muttered something about 'giant babies.'
After a scalding hot shower that warmed my iced muscles and eased some of my physical fatigue, I still felt exhausted while I silently made my way home. The warm, homey smell of dinner hit my nose and my empty stomach protested loudly while I opened the door.
What I saw pulled me to an abrupt stop in the doorway. Ellie sat at the table, with two plates of warm, steaming dinners set up but my laptop also sat on the center of the table and pointed at the empty chair.
"Charlie texted me you'd be late, so I thought this would help..." Her lower lip rolled under and her eyes shifted to the open laptop in front of obviously my place setting. "Hope this is okay."
"Ellie, what -" I started but then a huge grin spread across my face when I saw the screen.
"Hey Logan!" Three familiar, excited faces smiled brightly at me from a video call.
"Hey!" My grin, which pinched into the bottom of my cheeks, couldn't have gotten any wider.
I sat down right away at the seat and took in the sight of the Prakash family. Sashwin, Nallini, and Dal sat around a familiar round, dark wood table full of colorful plates. By the familiar picture of a peacock surrounded by colorful plants and flowers that hung on the wall in the background, I assumed they were in their new dining room.
"Are you settled in San Diego?" I asked then shifted my eyes to Ellie's, which shone brightly at me at the small but amazing surprise she'd pulled off. I looked back at my screen but my closest hand reached under the table, found hers, and squeezed tightly.
"Getting there," Sashwin replied with a white-toothed grin. "We've been here six days but are already used to the beautiful weather already."
"How was the graduation celebration at home?" I sat back and smiled as we all started eating. While they were a long distance away, with the video setup I almost pictured them at the other end of the table, and threw Ellie another appreciative grin.
"Good." Sashwin's head bobbed and even on the screen, I saw the crinkles that formed around his eyes as he smiled. "We were going to call yesterday but I started my new job today and thought you might have been busy, Mister Starting Husky!"
"Not too busy for my biggest critics," I assured them, then looked over at Dal. "Lay it on me, bud."
"You need to gel more with and lock down those offensive linemen. They're a step behind off the snap," he replied right away with a tone of authority in his voice. "And move around in the pocket more, you looked like your feet were stuck in quicksand."
Ellie snorted softly in the background, but I just smiled at Dal since he sounded just like Vaughn, my quarterbacks coach. My hand found Ellie's under the table and squeezed gently as I assured Dal, "Definitely working on both of those this week before taking on Arizona."
"Were you nervous?" Nallini asked between bites. "That looked like a big stadium."
"I was." I snuck another glance at Ellie and squeezed her hand. "But I had at least one person on my side."
"Oh, she's lovely," Nallini cooed like Ellie wasn't even here. "We chatted for a few minutes before you came home."
"Hope that's okay," Ellie whispered softly, so I squeezed her hand again for reassurance.
How would I not be okay? This is really thoughtful.
"You didn't tell us she was so short," Saswhin added.
"Yeah, we're pretty much on the opposite ends of the height charts," Ellie admitted with a soft laugh. "He needs to stop putting all the dishes on the top shelves."
At the mental reminder of when Ellie climbed up on the counters and stretched up as she reached for them, I only had one response that I kept to myself.
Yeah, that's not going to happen.
"How about you, Dal?" My eyes shifted back over to him. After two years as neighbors, his excited face made me realize how much I missed them. "New school?"
"New school," he echoed but his smile faded slightly.
"Dal is still getting adjusted, finding friends," Nallini added and patted the top of his head. "He'll get there though, he has some sports he's going to try."
I couldn't not ask, so I pressed, "Football one of them?"
"Dad said no." His smile now completely disappeared. "Too rough."
"I get it." I nodded slightly. "It's rough, some days I feel like I've been run over by a truck."
"Dad's making me try basketball later in the fall, if I don't make some friends sooner." Dal's admission pinched my chest with sympathy, since moving so far away to a new school must have been a difficult adjustment, even for such a good kid.
"Nallini here has some news," Sashwin spoke with excitement in his voice.
"Yes." She nodded firmly. "I am teaching a cooking class at Southwestern College. I have ten community college students enrolled."
"That's awesome." I grinned at her. "Let me guess, South Indian cuisine?"
When she nodded, I added, "Try not to burn their taste buds off in the first month."
"Hush Logan," she teased but her eyes shone with pride. "I should send you my spiciest recipe for that comment but I fear Ellie would suffer your side effects."
"She probably would, since she has to share a bathroom with me. But congratulations, Nallini." I leaned back slightly and just grinned away like an idiot. "I'm happy for all of you. Do I get a new house tour?"
"Later." Nallini waved a hand over the screen. "Eat first. Is Ellie still there?"
"Right here." I turned my screen at her, who was in mid-bite and swallowed hard.
"Oh..." She looked up shyly at the Prakashes, then gave a small wave. "Nice to, umm, see you again."
"Logan did you tell your sōl sahacaruḍu everything?" At that forwardness, Saswhin took Nallini's hand at the table, whose eyes shone at my screen with the devious intentions of a true matchmaker and Dal faked a few gagging noises.
"Your what?" Ellie's lips parted slightly and she blinked at the screen.
"I haven't told Ellie everything," I jumped in with a slight head shake because I wasn't ready for the full bleeding heart confession yet. "But in a possible moment of weakness, I did tell her she was my biggest reason for being here."
"He will tell me eventually," Ellie teased and squeezed my hand under the table. "I'll make sure of it."
Thankfully, Sashwin changed the subject, "How's Seattle? Lots of rain?"
"Not yet," I shifted the laptop screen on me. "I haven't seen much of Seattle, just campus."
A knowing smile played on Ellie's lips at those words, then her eyes darted down to her plate. Before I asked what that sneaky mind had planned, she asked, "Saswhin, Nallini, and... Dal? Am I pronouncing this right?"
"You are," Saswhin confirmed, then reached over Nallini's shoulder and pointed one finger down at the top of Dal's head. "Dal is just a nickname, his full name is Dalapathi, which is Telugu for leader."
"Why Dal then?" I asked since I honestly had never called him anything else.
"It actually means lentil." Dal's eyes rolled and I pressed my mouth tight so I suppressed a laugh. "Or lentil soup."
"In Telugu it means particle, but we found out at six weeks along that I was pregnant." Nallini patted Dal's cheek. "The doctor said he was the size of a lentil. I also had cravings for lentil soup, so I called him Dal and the nickname stuck."
"Even though I'm now eight." Dal rolled his eyes again and shot me a bored expression.
"Well if you want me to use something else, I'm happy to," I promised. What they didn't know is that I'd already mailed three Husky jerseys to them.
Mine, of course.
"So... How about this tour?" I asked since they'd finished eating at his point and my stomach reminded me I hadn't taken a bite of mine yet.
While Dal walked me through the house, he stopped in his room and shared how difficult of a time he'd had making new friends. I assured him if he was friends with me then he could be with anyone. They proudly showed off the rest of their new townhouse, which was big compared to their apartment, while I silently ate and threw one grateful look after another to Ellie.
Without asking, possibly also without knowing, she'd given me exactly what I needed at that moment and couldn't have been more grateful.