The Stadium's Star [COMPLETE]

Chapter 7

When I step into Zack's room, there's a yelp and then giggling. I grimace immediately as my eyes land on the familiar outline of lumps under a blanket, signaling that Marcus is still in bed with a girl.

Do I recognize her? Of course not. I do notice that she's darker-haired than the girl from two days ago.

"Hey bestie," Marcus greets me, the sheets barely covering the lower half of his body. He shifts so I have to avert my eyes to save my vision.

"Hi Marcus," I say politely as I walk to Zack's bed. I've learned not to get to know the girls Marcus is with because they never hang around long.

"Zack isn't back yet."

"He gave me his key," I say, tapping my hands together. "Did you want a moment to get dressed?"

"I'm good," Marcus says.

"I wasn't asking you."

The girl peeps out at me so I take it as a yes and walk out to wait by the door.

It's quiet for a while then the door swings open and she rushes out, yelling, "Fuck you, Marcus!"

My eyes widen as she storms away barefoot and I hesitate before walking back inside.

"Oh, man. I love Sunday mornings," I say, sitting down on Zack's bed. "Cup of coffee, early morning yoga, walking in on you naked and a girl crying. It's all just lovely."

He bows from the bed with an impish grin.

"Didn't Zack tell you I was coming?" I ask.

Marcus ponders at the ceiling for a moment. "He might've mentioned something about that."

He starts to get up then remembering he's undressed, sits back down before he can flash me. "Pass me my pants?" he requests.

I toss a pair of jeans at him from the floor. "Would it hurt to take care of your business five minutes before I arrive?"

"Earlier than this? Do you know what time it is, you fucking monster?" he says as he ungracefully slips his pants on under the sheets before standing up.

"It's one in the afternoon." I stand up to open the windows in a dire attempt to gain fresh air.

He slips on a t-shirt and rubs his eyes. "Already? Damn."

With that, he falls back onto his bed and closes his eyes, nuzzling against the pillow. Of course, he can't stay still and he bolts up after a couple of minutes.

"I'm gonna go crazy if we just sit here in silence," he gripes. "Can you say something?"

"What would you like to talk about?"

"Anything," he says. "How's life with the cousin? Is he your dream guy or is he just a creep?"

Marcus points to the picture of Zack and I next to Zack's bed. It's a photo from one of his last games and my solo graduation picture is tucked into the frame with it. I smile.

"Why so curious?" I ask. "Do you have a crush on him or something?"

He snorts. "Believe it or not, incest isn't really my thing. Or men."

"Well, that's a relief. One less person I need to worry about."

"You worry about him?" he asks but doesn't let me answer. "I mean, why wouldn't you? He's a D1 football player and we're all assholes, aren't we?"

"I don't worry about him," I say. "But I'm also not immune to all the DMs and staring at him whenever we go out. It's even worse than it was in high school."

"So why not find someone else? It's only gonna get harder from here," Marcus says a little too wisely.

"I know him," I say. "And no matter what other people say, I know our relationship." I smirk a little. "Sometimes I worry about it all getting to his head but then I realize his ego can't possibly get any bigger."

"You're not wrong," Marcus agrees.

The door opens and I recognize Zack's footsteps as he walks over to me.

"Hey," he says, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "Sorry I'm late. Did you wait long?"

"Just having deep talks with the in-laws," Marcus pipes up.

Zack's lips lift in a side smile. "Oh yeah? What'd you talk about?"

"How Marcus wants to sleep with you," I say, scooching over so he can sit.

"Get in line," Zack says and Marcus pretends to puke.

"Respectfully, I'd die before fucking you," Marcus says.

Zack looks at him, unimpressed. "I think you'd die during. Which is pretty tempting right now."

Marcus shoots me an annoyed look and I bite down on my lip to suppress a smile.

Zack turns to me, biting his lip. "Hey, I was just talking to Coach and I don't think I can do dinner tonight."

I try to control my face to hide my disappointment. "Oh. Why not?"

"He wants me to go to the academic support center tonight and we have to be up by five tomorrow for strength and conditioning." He grabs my hand. "I'm sorry. I know we haven't gone out in a while-"

"It's okay," I say immediately. "I should probably study too."

His eyes flicker to the clock. "I still have... half an hour before I gotta go. Do you wanna grab something to drink really quick?"

"I don't want to rush," I say. "We can just hang out here."

"Ugh, do you have to?" Marcus says from the bed, reminding me that he's still here.

"Yes," I say, getting up. "And since you're both here, why don't we clean this disgusting ass room?" I grab Zack's hand and pull him up. "Come on! You, too, Marcus!"

Marcus sighs dramatically before standing up. "She's the worst," he tells Zack.

Zack smirks a bit, tossing Marcus's shirt from the floor at him. "I know," he says, looking at me with a small smile. "She really is."

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