Time Out (Dear Lonely Guy #2) - Alison Hendricks Page 0,1

my classes like there were to Brendan's. I had no idea what I was working toward, after all.

"I don't know what you're worried about," I said. "You're gonna destroy that shit, just like you always do. I've never seen you get anything below a B in my life, dude."

He laughed, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. When I looked over at him again, I saw the corner of his lips ease back into a neutral line, then a frown. There were wrinkles etched into his forehead that definitely shouldn't be there.

That was the face Brendan made when he wanted to get something off his chest. I didn't push him, no matter how much I wanted to know. I just quietly looked at him, waiting for him to say what he needed to say.

"I don't think I want to be a doctor, Keith."

My eyes widened, and I rolled onto my side, propping myself up to look at him more fully. There was no sign of humor in his face. He wasn't just fucking with me. He looked... miserable.

"Holy shit," I breathed, immediately thinking of how pissed his dad was going to be. "Are you sure? Maybe it's just cold feet or something."

"Yeah. I'm sure." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. Finally he looked over at me, fear in his bright blue eyes. "I don't want to be a doctor. I don't... think I ever did."

It'd always been a given that Brendan would be either a doctor or a lawyer. That was the path his dad set out for him. The path he'd practically bought by moving the family to a better school district. He wanted so badly to see Brendan succeed in a big way, but there'd never been talk of anything else.

"Well if you're not going to be a doctor... what do you want to do?"

"I think I want to do something with football."

I shot him a skeptical look. Brendan was technically a member of the varsity team, but he was... trash. He was trash at football. Despite his size, he just never had the ability to solidly hit anyone, and he hadn't been able to hack it in any position that involved catching or running the ball.

"Not to play," he said with a smirk. "Ass. I can tell what you're thinking."

"That you'd make a good professional bench-warmer?"

He laughed, leaning over to sock me me playfully in the shoulder. "You're such a dick."

"But I'm right."

A smile curved his lips. My heart gave an extra little thump, just for him.

"Can't argue with that." His gaze turned back to the star-filled sky, and I tried to control my racing heart. "I think maybe... sports medicine. Helping athletes recover from injuries. That sort of thing."

"That's not too far off from being a doctor, right? Shit, man. You were acting like you wanted to drop everything and go to clown college or something."

"Less schooling, less money. And my dad doesn't get the prestige of saying his kid is an MD," Brendan answered.

"Fuck your dad. This isn't about him, Bren. This is about you. What do you want?"

I looked over at him again and he met my eyes. There was conflict there, but it slowly firmed into confidence and determination. I knew that look well. I'd seen it so often throughout our lives, and it was one of the looks I loved most.

"I want to go into sports medicine. Fuck my dad and anybody else who says I shouldn't."

"Hell yeah, man. Fuck 'em all."

He laughed, a free, full sound. My heart fluttered in my chest. When his blue eyes met mine again, I could feel a rush of warmth spreading across my cheeks.

And down to my dick. God dammit.

"What about you? Any clue what you want to do yet?"

I scoffed. "You serious? Keith Howard is the aimless fuckup, destined to change his major twenty times before just dropping out and working as the manager of a gas station or some shit."

Brendan turned toward me, his gaze narrowed. "Don't say that. Just because you don't have things figured out now doesn't mean you never will."

"Yeah..." I looked away from him, unable to keep from squirming under the intensity of his gaze. "Maybe. I just feel like I don't click with anything. Like there's nothing I can imagine doing for the rest of my life."

"You'll get there," he said, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. "College'll be good for that, right? You can try out different things, see what you like."

I gave