"Listen if you feel like you aren't up to it at any moment let me know and we can get you home," Dad said as he parked into the parking lot the next Monday.

The stomach bug had run it's course and now I was feel back to normal. Although I resisted to roll my eyes at him. I had a stomach bug, I wasn't dying. "Thanks dad, I think I should be fine. If anything, I can retreat to your office."

"You can always do that," Dad said as he got out of the car.

Instantly spotted Everett at the door of the Woody complex. He smiled at me, making my heart flutter. Wasting no time, he took sure steps towards me as if I was the only thing that mattered. In a matter of seconds, he was face to face with me. The close proximity caused my fluttering heart to pound within my chest. His dark green eyes held me captive for a moment.

I used to hate him with everything being of my soul. I hated everything about him, and now it was like a flip of a switch. It was as if the word hate and Everett never corollate. These new feelings made me slightly queasy to think about.

"Well, nice to see you up and early Everett," Dad spoke up, reminding us that he was near. Maybe a little too near.

Everett's attention turned to him with a nod. "Yeah, thought I would get some running in before my Dexa body scan."

"Yeah. Smart thinking there." Quickly he started towards the front doors of the Woody, not waiting for us to move. "I'll give you some moments but don't take a snail's pace. No one likes snails."

In the solitude, Everett turned back to me. "Hey."

"Hey," I said, blush turning my cheeks hot. "Were you waiting for me?"

He nodded. "Of course I was."

I couldn't fight a goofy grin that came to my face, thinking he would do that for me. "I like that."

"And I like you," he said as he looked towards the Woody. "We probably should get in there."

"You're probably right."

Everett chuckled. "Is it alright if I hold your hand?"

I nodded with a small smile.

He intertwined his hand with mine. They felt massive compared to my small ones, but he held it perfectly like a glove, leaving all fingers in a perfect embrace.

"And you are feeling better now, right?" he asked as we walked together.

"Almost back to 100%," I said as I looked at our hands again. Walking in like this, everyone would know we were dating. Maybe that was the point. He wanted them to know. I just hoped this wasn't a mistake.

I tried to slow my heart for a second as my mind yelled at me saying that this could burn to the ground. Wreckage, ruin, flames, bombs, all of that could result if this fell apart, but I didn't care. There was so much to Everett and I wanted to know everything.

"I'll see you later," Everett said as he dropped my hand as he started towards the locker room.

Instantly I wanted his hand back around mine. "Sure. I'll see you."

He smiled then walked down the hall. My eyes targeted his backside, noticing how his shorts hugged his butt, like a round ball. A perfect ball.

"Wait, so you and Everett?" Tad asked, snapping me from my thoughts as he threw a towel over his shoulder. He leaned against the wall with a smug look on his face.

My cheeks burnt hot as I faced him. "Crazy right?" I asked as I tried to keep my voice even.

"Well, I'll be honest, I saw it coming."

"What?"

"Yeah, it only makes sense. He was a worried mess at the game while you were sick. I don't think anyone else saw it, but I did. He's been interested in you for a while."

"But we hated each other."

"I don't think he ever hated you," Tad said with a wink then walked off. "Come, walk with me, lets get some free food from the cafeteria upstairs."

__________________________________

"So what do you think the team is going to do once they find out?" I asked Tad as we ate some chocolate chip pancakes, overlooking the practice field.

Tad shrugged. "Probably give Everett some grief for it. But you know, who cares. And it's been a little too long since we had drama."

"Gosh, thanks," I said as I rolled my eyes although fear rose within me. I wasn't sure if it was because I was still recovering from the flu or if this was the thought that worried me. The team knowing suddenly seemed like the worst thing in the world.

"Any time."

"So the schedule seemed slow today."

"Yeah, Dexa scans and endurance training today. You know how the university is, they want to make sure their perfect athletes are 100%."

I nodded. I just wished they cared about their mental health the same way they cared about their body.

"It'll be a light morning for sure."

I pulled out my phone to check the time. "Good because I need to get the campus bus to get to the union in a few hours."

"Same. We can catch it together," Tad said as he finished his pancakes.

"Hey, Nora! How are you doing?" Rick asked as he walked up to me with a smile as he placed his plate of food right beside me.

"Doing just fine. Thanks for asking," I said as I finished my pancake with a large bite, wanting to move from whatever table Rick sat at.

"Of course. Next time you are sick, let me know, I'll be there to help out any time."

"Aw, thanks Rick. That's so kind," I said although I wanted to gag.

"You know me, I'm the kindest," he said as he sat down.

Instantly I shifted in my seat, trying to clear some space between us. "You might not want to be close. I still might be contagious."

As if a bolt of lightning struck him, he jumped to his feet and cleared space.

I stood up. "I'll do you a solid though, I got to go, talk to you later."

Together Tad and I walked out of the cafeteria.

"That was smooth," Tad said.

A smile played on my lips. "I'm getting better at it."

"Nora! can you get the blue folder from your father's office?" one of the assistant coaches asked as we passed him.

Happy to be of some use, I nodded. "Sure. I'll see you on the bus in an hour?" I asked Tad.

He smiled. "See you then."

As I walked down the empty hall, I met eyes with Everett who wore some workout gear. There was a scowl on his face but as he met my eyes, a small smile came, causing my heart to race.

"How have you been?" I asked.

He closed the gap between us and embraced me as if his life depended on it. "I'm better now."

I smiled at him. "Good."

"What are you doing?" he asked as he twirled a strand of my hair in his hand.

The proximity caused me to blush and for a second, I forgot why I was here. "Getting a folder."

He nodded as his eyes drifted down the hall as laughter erupted from down it. "I'll text you?"

"Sure."

With that, he walked off, leaving me confused about the encounter.

___________________

By time I made it back to the Woody from my afternoon classes, I knew Dad would be leaving soon so I stood by the car, waiting for him to come out of the Woody.

I pulled on the car door handle only to find out it was locked. In frustration I sat on the ground beside the car and stared at the ground, hoping Dad wouldn't take long.

"You look really beautiful," Everett's voice rang out.

I looked up at him, bringing my hand above my eyes to shield them from the sun. "Thank you."

He sighed as he sat down next to me and stared at the parking lot in front of us. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for Dad. What about you?"

"Nothing. Just drank my gainer so I was planning to go home."

"Why do you not live with the rest of the team?"

He gave a pointed look then a heavy sigh escaped his lips.

I mouthed an 'oh'. He didn't have to spell it out. I had a good idea why. It had to be because of Charles.

For a moment we were silent as we watched the sun start to set behind the Woody. As a cold breeze rustled the trees, I started to believe that waiting for him outside wasn't the best idea, especially if he would take his time coming out.

"Your dad told me the university is thinking about letting Charles back on the team," Everett finally said.

I raised my eyebrows in shock. Dad never mentioned this to me. After all we talked about, I thought something like this would be addressed. The thought of Charles back on the team made the hair on my arms stand on end.

"After what he did?"

He nodded as he threw a pebble across the lot in frustration. "Guess the university cares more about winning. But we already knew that."

I stood up from the ground and offered my hand to him. "We need to talk to my dad about this." If anyone had power, Dad could do something.

Everett shook his head as he remained sitting against the car. "Do you think your father has any say in this? I think his hands are tied. This is all because of the university."

"He has to have some power."

"And I trust that he's used it. But OSU is a big 10 member. They have goals. They want to win, and they know how good of a player Charles is."

The statement caused a frown to appear as I paced the length of the car. There had to be answers out there. Dad couldn't sit back as something like this happened. Neither could I. "But what if the rest of the team protests?"

"Won't happen. They are either afraid of him or like him. If he comes back on the team, it would be like he never left. There's a reason why he hangs around the parties and players still."

"Had Dad told anyone else about the news?" I asked as I stopped to face him again.

Everett shook his head, looking defeated. "No because it's not certain. I was the first he told."

"Ok, that's a good sign. Obviously, they're taking baby steps on this."

"I don't know how slow they plan to take because word is Charles is thinking about joining another team through the transfer portal. OSU doesn't want him to join any other team, so they need to move somewhat quickly."

"So let him join another team. We don't need him."

Everett shook his head. "Tell that to the university."

I frowned as I stood a little taller. "Take my damn hand, Everett," I commanded him as I held out my hand.

He took it, bringing himself up with my help.

"We don't want him and we will make sure our voices are heard."

He nodded as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Thanks, but I don't even know what to do. I feel like I can't go up against the university," he muttered to the ground.

"We will think of something. You have me on your side,"

Breaking us from our moment was Rick's voice. "Hey, what's up, guys?" Rick asked as he walked up to us.

Everett frowned.

I knew Rick was waiting for a reaction. He liked toying with Everett. But we couldn't play into that game, not today.

"Nothing much. And you?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"Nothing much. Wait, so are you two dating?"

I was about to speak up when Everett stepped in front of me protectively. "Leave it, Rick," Everett growled.

Rick took a step back. "Wow, didn't see that one coming. Nora, I thought you would do better."

That comment rubbed me the wrong way and suddenly my politeness vanished. "Like you?"

Rick shrugged as if the answer was simple. "Don't see why not."

"Get the hell out of here," Everett said as he pushed him, causing Rick to fall to the ground.

Rick scrambled to his feet. He looked at us one more time before running off.

"Well, I guess the team will know now," I said as I watched him vanish.

"Let them know." Everett shrugged as he turned back to me. "Anyhow, I have to go."

"Will we talk more about the issue later?"

"Yeah, sure." With that, he kissed my cheek then left me alone to wait for Dad.

__________________________

It didn't take Dad long to come to the car. By then, my anger towards the sport and OSU grew so much that I wanted to burst. But I couldn't. I had to be tactful on the subject.

Dad unlocked the car with a smile, unaware of the storm brewing in my mind. "You should have told me the car was locked."

I got into the car with a shrug. "I talked to Everett."

A frown came to his face. "You know?" he asked as he turned the car on.

I nodded. "My only question is, why? Why would the university do this?"

"The university wants to win and they believe we won't without Charles. They also selfishly do not want him to join any other team," Dad said as he drove down the road to get home.

"How long have you known about this?"

Dad chewed on his mustache for a moment before speaking up. "I've known since the start of fall camp that this could be a possibility."

I felt sick to my stomach. If we all knew he was bad news, why hadn't we talked about this before? "Isn't there something you can do?"

He shook his head. "I did as much as I could do without tossing my career in the air."

I glared down the road. Just the news about him possibly returning sent Everett into a spiral. Bringing Charles back would be the end of Everett. It might even be the end of the team. Couldn't the university see that? "This is going to destroy him."

Dad sighed. "I know," he said as we let silence fill the car.

We were silent again until I spoke. "Rick found us together. The team's going to know about us by tomorrow."

He chuckled as he turned down a road. "Well, that happened a little quicker than I thought. Are you ready for the gossip to follow?"

The thought of another thing I would have to deal with made my hands sweat. Couldn't I just have one issue at a time?

"You're the coach's daughter. Some of the guys have crushes on you so of course, there will be gossip."

"Like who?"

He grinned. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Rick?" I asked as I resisted gagging. "Ha, very funny."

He shrugged. "That's just one of them."

"Their lost."

"Exactly."