In Case of Heartbreak

02 | collide

        

C H A P T E R 2 | D E A N

My hair was matted to my forehead as I made my way up the stairs to my apartment. The elevator had been broken for nearly a month now, and even though basketball kept me in shape, trudging up ten flights of stairs after a grueling practice was certainly not ideal.

The rookies had ventured up to campus a week early for try-outs, and coach had pushed us all to our limits to show them how our team was run. It wasn't by luck that we were one of the highest rated teams in the country. The whole team worked together, day in and day out, putting in the hours and the effort to improve and show our fans why we fell in love with the game.

Basketball had been something I'd fallen in love with as a kid. While my brother had been keen on science and drama, I'd been the one who spent hours out in the yard with my dad, practicing and learning more about the game. After all the time I'd invested into the sport, it'd still been a shock when I'd received an offer from Duke to play for their team on scholarship, but it had been something I couldn't refuse.

The past three years I'd put all I had into the sport – my blood, sweat, and tears – and I was only a few weeks away from finding out if I'd made captain. It wasn't a for-sure thing, since some of my teammates deserved it just as much as me, but I had a gut feeling that things would end up in my favour.

Pulling my team lanyard out from the side of my gym bag as I reached my floor, I jiggled the key in the lock before pushing into my apartment. The air conditioning was on, which was a breath of relief as I could feel the beads of sweat dripping down my skin, but not much had changed since I'd left for the gym.

The dirty dishes were still piling up in the sink, the curtains were still shut to prevent the sun from heating up the place, and Holden hadn't moved from the couch. He was still stretched out, lying comfortably with a hand behind his head, as he watched a copious amount of re-runs on the television.

"Hey," Holden said as I let the apartment door shut behind me, "How was practice?"

I shrugged, tossing my shoes next to the door before dropping my bag. "Okay. It looks like the new players can handle it so far, so that's a bonus."

"You grabbing a shower?" he asked, smirking at me with a glint of humour in his eyes. "Cause I hate to tell you this, but you seriously reek."

I chuckled, well aware of the fact that I currently smelled as though I'd gone a week without a shower. Shedding my tank top, which had been dripping in sweat just minutes before, I scrunched it up and threw it towards him. "Thanks man, I appreciate it."

He flung my dirty shirt right back at me as I passed by the couch, which he'd managed to catch just before it'd landed on his face. "No problem," he grinned, shouting after me as I headed down the hall, "Someone's got to be the one to tell it like it is."

Grabbing the first clean clothes I saw after I pushed open the door to my room, I backtracked across the hall and into the bathroom. Standing under the spray of the shower, I let the cold temperature shock the tightness out of my muscles before turning the heat up until I was surrounded by steam. It was relaxing and just what I needed to clear my head. I only emerged half an hour later, once the constant downpour of water had begun to cool down on its own.

"So," I started, walking back into the living room fully dressed as I ran a towel through my hair, "What are we doing for dinner?"

Holden's eyes flicked to mine as a set of commercials began. "I don't know," he shrugged nonchalantly, "Pizza?"

I rolled my eyes, taking a seat at the end of the couch and forcing him to sit up. "We've had pizza twice in the last week," I pointed out.

"Then what about Chinese?"