All Played Out
“Yes, sir.”
“The usual rules apply. No leaving this hotel. No drugs. No alcohol. No girls in your room. You can make use of the pool and other hotel facilities until they close for the night, but I better not get any calls from the hotel about any of you causing problems. Is that also clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
He smiles, and we pull up in front of the lobby of our hotel. “Well, then gentleman, enjoy your food and enjoy your win.”
If anybody in the hotel was already asleep, they most likely aren’t now. The noise we make as we leave the bus is enough to wake the dead. As soon as I climb off, Coach Cole falls into step beside me.
“Oz gave me your final stats. Eight catches for two hundred and eight yards in total. An excellent game, son.”
“Thanks, Coach.” I like Coach Cole. I know I can be a pain in the ass, and I rarely know when to shut my mouth, and he’s been cool about it. But we’ve not really had that much one-on-one interaction. It’s mostly just been him telling me to be quiet or calm down or quit dancing. He gives me a serious look now, and I don’t know how Carson doesn’t piss his pants every time he’s near Coach. I find him intimidating, and I’m not dating his daughter.
“You keep matching that level of play, stay consistent, and you’ll be in good shape for the draft when you graduate in two years.”
My heartbeat thunders in my ears, loud enough to drown out even the overwhelming noise of my teammates. Draft?
“That something you’re interested in?”
I stumble over the words because I try to get them out so fast.
“I—I am. Yes, sir. I am.”
“Good. Right now, concentrate on the next game, on this season. The best way to get you noticed is to get this team noticed as much as possible. But keep up the good work, stay serious, and we’ll talk in the off-season about what else we can do to get you ready.”
I’m still saying my thank-yous when Coach nods and turns back toward the bus.
It’s the kind of thing you dream about hearing. I can still remember being in high school and thinking that it was only a matter of time. I was going to get recruited, play some college ball, and then go pro. I was so certain that all I needed was a shot, and it would happen. Certain enough that I made it my everything. Then there were scouts and recruiters, but they weren’t the big schools I always expected them to be. The powerhouses. Instead, it was a mix of Division II schools, and a handful of Division I schools with less than stellar programs, like Rusk. Then suddenly things didn’t seem so certain anymore.
Lina had pushed hard then, tried to get me to admit that maybe deciding my life based on football didn’t make that much sense anymore. I didn’t listen. I buckled down and shut her out, shut everything out. But that didn’t stop her words from ringing in my head day after day. So that when I started freshman year here at Rusk, I was dragging the weight not only of a broken heart with me, but of Lina’s doubts heaped atop my own. And the only way to deal with it, the only way not to drown under it had been to pretend like it didn’t matter. I had to pretend that nothing mattered. That everything was a joke because if you can laugh about something, it can’t hurt you.
But now everything could be about to change. And I’m scared to think about it because . . . getting my hopes up over something like this? Over something that matters? That’s a hell of a lot of hurt I’m risking.
AFTER DINNER, a group of about ten of us end up in McClain and Moore’s room. We’re crammed onto the beds, the chairs, and anywhere else we can fit. I settle myself against an open spot on the wall. Last year, we would have been down at the pool or with the girls that somehow always know where the team is staying. But now half my friends are among the girlfriend-ed, and well . . . I don’t have much of an interest in flirting with groupies tonight. Before I can join the conversation, my phone buzzes with a text. I smile when I see it’s from Nell.
A pillow hits me in the face, drawing my attention back to the room.
“Dude,” Keyon says. “I called your name like five times. Don’t tell me you searched your name on Twitter again.”
I flip him off. “Yeah, that’s what I’m doing. So, leave me alone with my adoring public.”
I get nailed with another pillow. “Seriously, guys? What are we, children?”
“Wait. Hold up. Did Torres just accuse someone else of immaturity? Is the world ending?” Silas asks, and everyone bursts into laughter. I throw the two pillows back at them.
“Who are you texting?” Brookes asks.
“How do you know I’m not on Twitter like Keyon said?”
He just raises an eyebrow, and damn his creepy perception.
I sigh. “You guys are the worst, you know that?”
“Wait,” McClain says. “Are you implying what I think you’re implying, Brookes? Does Teo have a girlfriend? An actual, real-life girl? Not just a booty call?”
I glare at Brookes, and he shrugs.
My phone buzzes, and I stand up. Stretching, I say, “It’s late. I’m gonna crash.”
As I head for the door, I hear groans and prods behind me to stay, to spill about the girl. With my back turned, I wave and leave for my room. When I’m settled onto my own bed, I look at the text from Nell.
Chapter 19
Nell’s To-Do List
• Normal College Thing #11: Go on a date.
• Figure out how to reply to Torres’s text about whether or not I’m wearing panties without sounding like a complete idiot.
• Make sure to actually wear cute panties just in case he checks.