And that felt like the answer. The reason she’d walked in front of the car. She had the rock star thing, that non-suicidal recklessness she let guide her every move. Willow didn’t care how hypocritical it made him, he wanted to pick her up and keep her safe. Not that he was in any position to feel that way.

It wasn’t surprising that she’d ghosted. He’d come on too strong in the taco place. He couldn’t help it. His feelings had flowed like ink from a leaky pen. And maybe he was crazy, but at the time, it seemed like she’d felt the same way. At least a little. When he was done with weights, he showered before heading to the cafeteria.

He grabbed a plate of salmon steaks and headed for a lone table. He wasn’t in the mood to socialise. As he sat picking at his salad, he wished he’d invited Eden back to his place. He’d thought she needed time to consider the fake relationship thing—but what if she’d really needed him to fuck her senseless?

A hand fell on his shoulder. “All right, mate?”

“Hi, Willow.”

It was Derek and Psycho. They sat across from him with their own plates of fish and greens and began to dig in. So much for his alone time. Willow pointed a fork at Psycho. “Thought you had a defence meeting?”

“Coach cut it short,” Derek said through a mouthful of salmon. “I reckon he’s losing heart.”

That made sense. The season was barely underway, but the Hammers weren’t having a good one. The losses were stacking up and most of the team was struggling with morale. But no one was struggling harder than Coach Murphy.

Psycho made a face. “I hope he doesn’t get too depressed. We’ve got plenty of games to go.”

“Yeah, we should be focusing on next year,” Derek said. “But the poor bastard isn’t there yet. Still thinks we can turn the bus around.”

“Mmm.” Willow would feel sorrier for Murphy if he wasn’t ninety percent sure he was getting cut from the team at the end of the year. It wasn’t personal, he was far from the best, but Murphy had never gone in to bat for him. He thought he was a fuckhead.

Derek whacked his foot. “Oi.”

“What!?”

“I asked you what you were up to tonight and you kept staring into space, you doof.”

“Oh. Nothing. Calling my dad.”

“Do you wanna have a game night?” Psycho asked hopefully.

“Nope.”

He needed to keep his evening free in case Eden invited him to one of her gigs. Or decided to spontaneously come over to his place and fuck him. And he wasn’t in the mood for games.

Derek and Psycho exchanged looks.