Page 124 of The Backup Plan

“You’re welcome to join me,” she said finally. “Whenever you want.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

Pink Marble

CAMERON

Cory

Victory Sunday, gentlemen. Everything’s coming up aces.

Hayden

For once, I agree. I got lucky.

Ethan

Bug off, Hammy. I’m going incognito on campus this week, thanks to you.

Hayden

Sorry not sorry. It was win or get benched for me this week.

Marshall

I just need a safe place to cry.

Dale

I’ll make you some Chunky Quarterback soup.

Marshall

Nice to feel seen by someone besides Maryland’s D-line. Everything hurts, and I’m dying.

The whirr of the rotary tool blurred into white noise as Cam leaned over a chunk of hickory, his soapstone garden set aside while he practiced the bougainvillea vine he hoped to add in one corner. Three discarded pieces of wood and several crumpled sketches cluttered the work table beside him as he tried again, singed sawdust burning his nostrils. Every row of flowers had its own consistent scale. Only the trellis and vines needed to shift in size from the front to the back, and if he did it wrong in the soapstone, he’d lose the entire garden.

He switched to another drill bit. Blame the ball for being over or under-inflated. Blame the gloves for being too slippery or sticky. Blame the tools, not the fact that just like in the game against Iowa, he couldn’t figure it out.

Spinning off his stool, he wandered to the scrap shelf where everyone put their mistakes, free for anybody to use as practice material.

Dale

Paging @CameronPorter

Camtastic yesterday, buddy. You were lighting it up with your guy 21.

Cameron

It was Arizona, Chiplet. Not a big deal.

Marshall

You were a surgeon on their secondary, and your linebackers were on fire. Not a big deal, my ass.

Hayden

You can brag in here.