Nicky only would have confessed his indiscretion to Andrew if he felt guilty for giving so much away. Neil assumed that meant the subject was touchier than a drugged Andrew could let on, so he answered with a vague, "He summarized it for us."

Andrew grinned and shrugged the conversation off. Neil was happy to let it die and gladder when his teammates didn't bring up Riko again. Finally it was time for them to leave. Wymack rounded up his team, waited while they changed out into more comfortable clothes, and got them on the road. The others fell asleep within a few miles, but Neil spent the entire ride thinking about Riko and his father.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Neil woke up on Wymack's couch. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but the view was as familiar to him as the one from his bed at the dormitory. Wymack had dropped everyone else off at the stadium but snagged Neil before he could catch a ride with his teammates back to the dorm. He hadn't said anything last night, maybe too tired to demand an explanation for last night's fiasco, but had relegated Neil to the living room and gone to sleep himself.

Neil untangled the borrowed sheet from his legs and sat up. The clock on the mantel was buried behind crumpled cigarette packs, but the light seeping into the room through the blinds was bright enough to be late morning. He wasn't surprised he'd slept so late, considering what time they'd gotten back to campus, but he still wasn't ready to face the day. Neil knew denial was childish, but he wanted to avoid Kevin as long as possible.

He slid off the couch and yawned as he crumpled the sheet into a messy ball. The soft click of dishes said Wymack was up and likely mainlining coffee. Neil hesitated in the hallway with the sheet hugged to his chest, tempted to sneak out and avoid this conversation altogether. With a sigh he gave in to the inevitable and turned away from the front door. He dropped the sheet off in the hamper right inside Wymack's bedroom door, detoured to the bathroom to freshen up, and joined Wymack in the kitchen.

Wymack didn't look up from his newspaper but pointed at the stove. A lid was keeping a skillet of potatoes and eggs warm. Neil put together a breakfast burrito and sat across from Wymack. He was almost through with his breakfast before Wymack finished reading the paper and set it aside. Neil didn't look up from his plate to return Wymack's stare.

"You want to tell me why you have a hard-on for antagonizing Riko?" Wymack asked.

"He started it," Neil muttered into his tortilla.

"That doesn't mean you have to sink to his level. Were you listening when I told you what kind of person he is, what kind of family he's from?"

"Yes, Coach."