Ken's jaw had dropped, not believing his eyes. His usually quick thoughts were slowed to a crawl as he tried to put the pieces together.
"G—Good morning." Steve uttered, his expression lacking the usual mischief Ken was used to.
Only after hearing his friend's voice did Ken finally understand what had happened. His shock turned to disappointment and annoyance before he responded, "You have some explaining to do."
Instead of getting defensive, Steve nodded. He shuffled his way past Ken and went into their dorm, covering his exposed body with the clothes from last night.
Only after the door closed did Ken turn to the mirror. He saw the frown on his own face and could only shake his head. The expression reminded him of his father whenever Ken had messed up.
This thought brought a brief smile to his face. Why did it seem like he was the mature one in his and Steve's relationship?
Ken waited a couple of minutes before going back into his dorm room. Steve had already gotten dressed and was waiting for him, ready to have the next conversation.
"So? Care to explain what you were doing in Tara's room last night?" Ken said, his tone deeper than he expected.
Steve nodded, "When you left, Tara accompanied me around the party. At first things were a little awkward, but then she became an awesome wing man… Or I guess, wing girl?"
He tilted his head, as if trying to come up with the correct term. "Anyway, things were going well and I was rubbing shoulders with some really hot girls in no time. But things changed a couple of hours later…"
Ken listened patiently, taking a seat on the edge of his bed as he listened to Steve's tale. He could already imagine the extroverted guy talking up a storm, but his tone towards the end made him feel a sense of foreboding.
"It turned out that this one girl I was getting flirty with had a man who was interested in her. Of course they weren't dating or anything, but that didn't stop him from challenging me to a fight."
At the mention of the word fight, Ken's frown deepened. The last thing they needed was for Steve to get into any controversy, especially since he was only a walk-on. If the NCAA heard of his antics, he could be banned from playing.
"The guy was on the wrestling team, so he just tried to grab me the entire time." His face turned up into a grin, "It's too bad I'm lightning quick, he couldn't even touch me before I sent him on his ass."
Ken shook his head. Steve's boasting was making his mood worse, "I don't want to hear about that crap. Tell me why you slept with Tara, our Social Media manager." He said accusingly.
Before Steve could respond, Ken got off the bed and approached him, "I sent her to be your wingman, not for you to go home with her… Mixing business and pleasure is a surefire way to get yourself into serious trouble."
"You might have jeopardized our working relationship with this woman, and for what?"
Ken was like a father lecturing his son, not even giving the guy a chance to defend himself. Steve's face went from slightly annoyed, to anger.
"I didn't sleep with Tara." He said, shooting him a glare.
"So what? You just cuddled, while naked?" Ken replied condescendingly.
"Did you forget that Tara has a roommate?" Steve shot back.
"Ah…" Ken paused, feeling his rising anger suddenly smothered. He had made the assumption that Steve had slept with Tara, forgetting such a crucial piece of information.
Perhaps he didn't forget it, but the logical conclusion was it had to have been Tara since she had accompanied Steve to the party after he left.
Instead of getting angry, Steve got up and pat him on the shoulder, "Don't worry bro, I'm not that stupid that I would ruin our relationship with Tara just for a single amazing night."
Ken was silent for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Sorry man, I should have found out all the details first before accusing you."
"Don't sweat it. We're in this together alright?"
"Yeah, you're right. Now let's go get some work in before class."
With that, the two easily patched up the misunderstanding. Of course, Steve had left out some crucial parts of the narrative, but the ending remained the same.
The week went by quickly following the same routine the guys had gotten used to. There were a few changes, particularly for Ken who had unceremoniously been thrust into popularity thanks to his Magnetic Charm skill.
Like he feared, the gawking had gotten worse. It was not only the other students who would outright stare at him, even some of his professors treated him differently.
It was as if he had a giant target painted on his face.
Not only was he picked more often when professor's asked questions, he was swamped when it came time for group projects. In fact, the only person seemingly unaffected by his Magnetic Charm was Steve, who hadn't changed a bit.
The only benefit that Ken felt came from this upgrade was his relationship with his teammates and coach's. They had all opened up to him, accepting him like he'd been there for years.
Even Ethan, the pitcher who he'd had friction with since day one had calmed down significantly. Of course there was still a sense of rivalry, but it was more bordering on the friendly competitive side rather than outright dislike.
Soon enough, the weekend approached and the team was set to travel to DeLand Florida to play a series against Stetson University. Ken was told that the start of the season would be played in the warmer states, since it was far too cold on the East Coast.
The team was shuttled to the airport and took a plane to Florida for the matches. The weather was vastly different, sitting at a nice 20°C or 68°F.