Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: The Captain Got Drunk

The final whistle blew, and the entire Westbridge bench exploded.

They had just knocked Southfield out of the regional qualifiers in a grueling, 2-1 thriller. The players were exhausted, covered in mud, and completely ecstatic.

Even Coach Miller, a man who famously hated post-match celebrations, couldn’t hide his satisfaction in the locker room.

”Alright, listen up!” Coach Miller yelled over the cheering. ”One hour at the pub down the street. Do not embarrass the university. Do not burn the place down. One hour!”

The team erupted into a deafening roar.

Audrey was standing near the door with her camera, grinning as she snapped photos of the chaos. She had a legitimate reason to be there tonight. The journalism department needed comprehensive coverage of the team’s historic win, and Ben had explicitly told her to document the post-match atmosphere.

The Rusty Boot was loud, crowded, and smelled strongly of fried food and spilled beer.

The football team had essentially taken over the entire back half of the pub. Players were crammed into wooden booths, laughing and replaying every single tackle of the match.

At the largest corner booth, the dynamics were completely chaotic.

Jackson and Zoya were currently engaged in a vicious, whispered argument about who was stealing whose fries. Chloe was flawlessly ignoring the noise, casually teasing Leo about how terrible his hair looked after ninety minutes on the pitch.

Audrey sat on the edge of the booth, going over her match notes with Ben.

And Mason was actually relaxing.

He was sitting next to Audrey, slouched comfortably against the back of the wooden booth. He wasn’t barking orders. He wasn’t analyzing the defense. He was just watching his team celebrate, a genuine, relaxed smile on his face.

He reached for his glass.

Leo paused mid-sentence, squinting across the table. ”Captain. Is that water?”

The entire booth stopped talking.

Mason took a sip of his ice water. ”Hydration is important, Leo.”

”We just beat Southfield!” Jackson protested, abandoning his fry war with Zoya. ”You can’t drink water!”

”Captain, are you eighty?” Leo mocked, sliding a fresh pint of beer across the sticky table toward him. ”Drink. It’s a celebration.”

Mason pushed it back. ”I’m good.”

”Calloway.”

Everyone turned. Coach Miller was standing near the end of the table, holding his own glass. He looked at Mason, completely deadpan.

”One drink won’t kill you,” Coach Miller said.

The table erupted. Jackson started banging his hands on the wood. Leo started chanting.

”Drink! Drink! Drink!”

Mason let out a long, heavy sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck, glaring at Leo, before finally reaching out and grabbing the pint. He took a long drink.

The team cheered and went back to their conversations.

Audrey went back to her notebook, writing down a quote Jackson had given her earlier. She worked for about twenty minutes, completely focused on the screen of her phone and the ink on her page.

Then, she felt a heavy weight shift beside her.

She glanced over.

Mason was leaning his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. His body was completely angled toward her. He wasn’t looking at Jackson or Leo.

He was just staring at Audrey.

His dark eyes were slightly unfocused. The lazy, arrogant smirk was gone, replaced by a soft, goofy smile. He was blinking very, very slowly.

Ben, sitting across the table, lowered his camera. He frowned.

”Is Calloway alright?” Ben asked.

Audrey stared at Mason. Mason just smiled wider.

”...I think he’s drunk,” Audrey whispered.

Ben laughed out loud. ”Already? He had half a pint!”

”Apparently, center-backs have terrible alcohol tolerance,” Audrey muttered, waving a hand in front of Mason’s face.

Mason just watched her hand move, looking completely mesmerized.

By midnight, the hour was long over, and the pub was emptying out.

Coach Miller had left thirty minutes ago. Ben packed up his camera gear and waved goodbye. Jackson and Zoya mysteriously walked out the front door in the exact same direction without looking at each other. Chloe simply grabbed the back of Leo’s jacket and dragged him toward the exit.

Suddenly, the massive booth was completely empty.

Except for Audrey and Mason.

”Alright, Captain,” Audrey sighed, slinging her heavy camera bag over her shoulder. ”Time to go.”

Mason stood up. He immediately swayed sideways.

Audrey caught his arm, bracing her feet. ”Whoa. Easy.”

”I’m fine,” Mason announced. His words were a little slower than usual. A little thicker.

He was absolutely not fine.

They made it out of the pub and onto the dark campus pathways. The night air was freezing, but Mason didn’t seem to notice. He was walking with entirely too much confidence for a man who kept drifting to the left.

They reached a large brick building. Mason confidently walked up to the front door, pulled his dorm key out of his pocket, and shoved it into the lock.

It didn’t turn.

He frowned, pulling it out and aggressively trying again.

”Mason,” Audrey said.

”The lock is broken,” Mason stated seriously.

”Mason,” Audrey sighed, grabbing his wrist gently to stop him. ”This is the university library.”

Mason paused. He looked up at the massive, illuminated Westbridge Library sign above the door.

”...They moved it,” he decided.

”Come on, Captain,” Audrey laughed, shaking her head. She pulled him gently away from the glass doors. ”Your dorm is this way.”

The walk back to the athletic dorms was completely quiet. There was no comedy, no bickering, no fake dating acts for the campus. It was just the two of them, walking under the flickering yellow streetlights.

Mason was walking close to her. Very close.

”You’re nice,” Mason said suddenly. His voice was low in the quiet night.

Audrey kept her eyes on the pavement. ”You’re drunk.”

”I am,” Mason agreed easily. They took a few more steps. ”I like when you explain football.”

Audrey’s heart gave a tiny, involuntary flutter. ”You’re just saying that because I saved your defense.”

”No,” Mason said. He didn’t sound like he was joking. He sounded incredibly, dangerously honest. ”I just like listening to you talk.”

Audrey swallowed hard. ”Keep walking, Calloway.”

They reached the edge of the athletic quad.

”You always smell like coffee,” Mason murmured, leaning his head slightly toward her shoulder as they walked.

Audrey’s breath hitched in her throat. She gripped the strap of her bag tighter. ”It’s because I practically live in the journalism office.”

”I like it,” he mumbled.

They finally reached his room.

The hallway was completely empty. Audrey unlocked his door with his key and pushed it open. The room was dark and quiet. Leo wasn’t back yet.

Audrey guided Mason inside, flipping on the small desk lamp.

”Sit,” Audrey ordered.

Mason obeyed, dropping heavily onto the edge of his mattress. He looked exhausted. The adrenaline of the match and the sudden hit of alcohol had completely drained him.

Audrey pulled his jacket off his shoulders, tossing it onto the desk chair.

”I’m going to get you a glass of water,” Audrey said, taking a step backward. ”Don’t move.”

She turned to walk toward the small sink in the corner.

A large, warm hand shot out and caught her wrist.

Audrey stopped.

She turned back around.

Mason was looking up at her. His dark eyes weren’t unfocused anymore. They were entirely, intensely clear. The air in the room suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

He didn’t let go of her wrist. Instead, he gently pulled her back.

Audrey stumbled half a step forward, ending up standing directly between his knees.

Her heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped bird. ”Mason...”

He didn’t say a word.

He let go of her wrist, moving his hand up. His long fingers slid smoothly into her dark, short Korean bob, cupping the back of her neck. His other hand settled firmly onto the curve of her waist, anchoring her in place.

He looked at her for a long, vulnerable moment.

”...Can I...” Mason whispered.

He never finished the sentence. The alcohol and the exhaustion melted the rest of the words away. He simply closed the distance.

He kissed her.

It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t forceful. It was a real, deep, overwhelming kiss, driven completely by a vulnerability he couldn’t vocalize.

Audrey’s brain completely short-circuited. She froze, entirely paralyzed by the sudden, intense heat of his mouth against hers. The smell of mint and deep heat muscle rub surrounded her.

His thumb gently brushed the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck.

Audrey’s hands hovered in the air, not knowing where to put them, completely losing her ability to think, to breathe, to pull away.

He was the one who broke it.

Mason slowly pulled back. Just an inch. His forehead rested against hers. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling against hers.

He kept his hand firmly in her hair. He kept his arm securely wrapped around her waist.

”...Stay,” Mason whispered. The word was raw and exhausted.

Before Audrey could even form a single syllable in response, the alcohol and the sheer physical drain of the ninety-minute match finally won.

Mason wrapped both of his arms securely around her waist, buried his face in her shoulder, and simply fell over.

His heavy weight pulled Audrey completely off balance. She tumbled onto the mattress right beside him.

Mason didn’t let go. He kept her pulled tightly against his chest, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His breathing instantly evened out. He was completely, entirely asleep.

Audrey lay there, perfectly still, staring up at the dark ceiling of the dorm room. Her lips were still burning.

Carefully, trying not to make a sound, she shifted her shoulder, preparing to slide out of his grip.

The moment she moved, Mason’s arms unconsciously tightened around her.

”...Audrey,” Mason mumbled softly in his sleep.

Audrey froze.

If she struggled, she would wake him up. If she woke him up, they would have to talk about what just happened, and her heart was currently beating too fast to even form a coherent sentence.

She let out a long, shaky sigh, letting her head fall back against the pillow.

”...Just until he lets go,” Audrey whispered to the quiet room.

She closed her eyes, entirely unaware of how long it would actually be before either of them moved.