62. king
CHAPTER 62
KING
QUALITY TIME TOGETHER
Summer training was just beginning but the Birchwood Bowl was on everyone’s mind. It popped up in every conversation. About how we won in January, but we couldn’t let ourselves slip to our old numbers. Winning was non-negotiable.
I thought I would’ve hung out with Ryan and our special teams’ captains to learn the ropes, but it was easier than I thought. Moving through the different groups, organizing drills, being the first to keep everyone going. Pretty self-explanatory.
I was covered in sweat by seven o’clock. The Houston summer heat was starting to creep back in and everyone was getting sluggish when heads started to turn towards the entrance.
"What do we think about ending with scramble drills?" I asked the assistant coach working with me. "I want to see where we’re at before we start?—"
"Get everyone’s focus first."
I grunted, confused, but noted the freshmen recruits, stalling in their footwork.
My eyes darted to the entrance.
Willow .
There she was, carefully walking alongside the training field in a sundress with a slit up the side that fluttered to expose her legs. But it was her hair that really caught my attention. Flowers were pinned through her curls.
She liked the flowers .
A grin tugged up on my lips, a new energy flowed through me, kicking my pulse up a notch.
"Oh, shit." One of the freshmen whistled. "I’d give my left nut to?—"
I stalked up to him. He jerked back.
"—to—uh—play better."
"That’s what I thought you were going to say," I growled. "Back to work."
That was me being nice, my mood instantly improving with Willow’s entrance. Those were the flowers I bought her. She liked them enough to put them in her hair, something she spent a lot of time and energy on. It felt amazing. I finished up the drills, taking a quick five.
The closer I got to Willow, the wider my grin stretched.
"Good morning!" I shouted at her. I didn’t mean to. It just happened. I cleared my throat. "Good morning, Ms. Pruitt."
She smiled. "Morning, Tattoos."
"Did you sleep okay?"
"Coach Lawson’s house received an entire flower shop in the living room."
I made a noise at the back of my throat, keeping my eyes on the field.
"How did you even?—?"
"Lots of phone calls. I started calling the second day in Austin."
"I’m confused. Because how is that keeping this a secret?"
"Did you like them?"
Of course she liked them, but I couldn’t keep in those kinds of questions. It would've been nice to think I asked to make sure they were the right kinds to buy but that wasn’t the truth. I liked hearing I did something she enjoyed.
"I loved them. And I got you a protein shake."
Oh, man, she bought me a protein shake. The morning couldn’t get better. Except?—
"Piper already got you one, didn’t she?"
I threw her an apologetic smile.
"I can’t compete," Willow sighed. "I’m not getting up at six for football practice. I have to concede where I can. I’ll—uh—oh, I’ll give this to Dan."
"I did some research this morning," I said, careful to keep my voice low while I watched the freshmen racing through their drills. "Shbair isn’t like other schools, you need to ace two auditions to get in."
"What?"
I woke up early for the tutoring hall and grilled one of the classical music TAs until I knew everything about the Marrs music school. "The first audition has to be a video, I’ve taken plenty, we can pick one of those, but the second one is a live audition. They do those three times a semester. We missed the other two but?—"
"King—"
"The next audition?" I shifted back. "It’s at the end of the summer and they still have signups."
Willow started to say something, but whistles blew over the field. It was time to head in for a talk with Coach. I assured Willow I’d be right back, but I wasn’t.
Coach Lawson used it as an opportunity to reintroduce us as captains. I stood silent next to Ryan while Lawson announced the real beginning of summer training, and the moment that was finished, I jogged back to Willow again, who was making her way to Kassie and Piper. I wanted a couple more minutes alone to tell her the plan.
"We can go have lunch in the Courtyard. That’s what the music majors call it, it’s this place where they?—"
"King, I’m not auditioning for the music school."
"What?" I stopped "Why?"
"It’s…not realistic."
"What are you talking about? This is perfect timing. It’s your junior year, you haven’t taken a lot of high-up comms classes?—"
"A music degree isn’t a real thing," Willow said quietly.
I was genuinely confused. I spent forty-five minutes interrogating a guy with six nose piercings, of course it was a real thing.
My teammates were leaving for the showers, and I needed to join them before I walked Willow to class but I had no clue what she was talking about.
"You love music, why wouldn’t you?—?"
"What am I going to do with a music degree? I don’t want to teach so what’s the alternative? Be homeless?"
"But you want to learn more about music? You’ll be around all of these people who understand this stuff, and you’re always talking about collaborations, these are the people you can collaborate with."
She shook her head. "It’s not realistic."
"Do you need your school paid for? I can?—"
"I have enough grants, I don’t need your money. But I can get a job with a comms degree and that’s something I need to remember."
Willow started walking away again, and I was at a loss for words. How could she spend all of her time on this and not want to go for the audition? She was bored in our comms classes. She’d be so much happier there.
"Angel—"
"I love the flowers."
Frustration hit me. She was trying to change the subject. "Wait?—"
"King?" Ryan’s voice broke through the conversation, and he frowned, nodding to the showers. "Practice is over. Let’s go."
I turned back to Willow. "I’ll be right back?—"
"We have the meeting in twenty."
What the hell was he talking about? I grunted in confusion.
"The meeting with the coaches. Didn’t you get the email? Captains are excused from classes for the week."
I stared, dumbfounded. There was no way they were cutting my classes too. Two of them were my time with Willow. Irritation rippled through me.
"I’ll see you for lunch," Willow promised.
Ryan grimaced.
"Or…not? I’ll text you."
Willow smiled, but I watched her leave with a sinking feeling. Now I understood why Ryan came unglued his first semester as captain.
This shit sucks.
From the showers to the meeting, where I was expected to stay for the next forty-five minutes, I kept thinking about the surprised look on Coach’s face when Willow handed him the protein shake. She was doing her part to get close to him.
I needed to do mine.
"Sir?" I cleared my throat by the door while Lawson put together some folders. "I have a…family thing to attend to, can I get a five-minute phone call?"
"Five minutes," he confirmed without looking up.
That was all I needed.
It wasn’t hard to find the poetry department’s number but getting past the office assistant’s monologue about how he couldn’t be reached took longer than expected.
"This is about his daughter, Willow," I finally said.
Fifteen seconds later, a deep voice answered. "Good morning! This is Dr. Marcus Pruitt."
"Good morning, sir." I cleared my throat. "This is King."
"Who?"
"Travis King."
"I don’t know a Travis King," he said, amused. "You said something about my daughter? Is this about the cottage?"
"Uh, no, sir." I grimaced. "This is…Tattoos?"
There was a long silence over the phone. I checked to make sure the call didn’t drop. It didn’t. Seconds passed while I waited for him to speak until his voice reappeared, a hard edge to each word.
"I can’t say all I want over the school’s line, but I will say you have some nerve."
"Sir, I want to say I’m sorry?—"
"Have you apologized to my daughter?"
"I’m…in the middle of it."
"If I pay someone to take a parasite out of my ear, and I ask if they’re finished yet, I’ll be comforted in hearing they’re in the middle of it."
This wasn’t heading in a good direction, I needed to change tactics. "I’m on page seventeen of your book."
"Your coaches might find it fascinating but forgive me if I’m not impressed you can read."
"I understand your reservations." I fumbled for a reply. "I’m very protective of her too."
"Did that start today or yesterday?"
Fuck .
What the hell was I supposed to say?
"Sir, I understand?—"
"No. You don’t. Until you have a daughter—who is almost two thousand miles away from you—call you, crying so hard she can barely breathe, because some ball-kicker made her feel like garbage, you won’t understand. Then that same young man leers over her for weeks until they presumably have sex, to which she decides, this is a man she’ll pursue a relationship with. Because she has no experience with anything remotely related to this and can’t spot a red flag if it’s painted in front of her! Yes, I would say you can’t understand!"
I froze, staring at the wall across from me.
Holy shit.
He was right.
If my daughter was going through this…my stomach clenched painfully at the thought. My kid, with Willow’s big brown eyes and soft smile, getting stalked by some guy who ended things between them? I would’ve been merciless. In fact, I would’ve beat his ass in a public parking lot and smiled for the news trucks.
At the very least, I wouldn’t have supported the two of them getting together.
I took a deep breath. "You’re right. If our daughter?—"
"Our. Daughter? "
Oh. Fuck.
"No, I didn’t mean?—"
"If you’re implying that you want to get my daughter pregnant and ruin her life before she’s even able to legally drink, you—you—" I could practically hear him swallowing back the threats. "I don’t pretend to understand sports, but I’ve been led to believe your coach finding out wouldn’t be a positive in your direction. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t contact him right now?—"
"She’s getting on birth control, sir," I quickly said.
"King?" an unamused voice asked. All my muscles stiffened as I swiveled around to see Coach Lawson, eyebrows raised. He nodded towards the meeting room. "First day of captain duties. That doesn’t include talking about the pill."
I stared.
"Is that Dan?!" Dr. Pruitt demanded. "You’re having this conversation in front of Dan Lawson?! What kind of idiot did my daughter pick up?!"
"Two more minutes, sir. Just two. It’s a family emergency," I said without hesitation.
The lie slipped out so easily, I could barely believe it. Before Willow, I would’ve never dreamed of lying to my coach.
But things change and I couldn’t hang up now.
The second I had Lawson’s approval, I jogged down the hallway, keeping my voice as low as possible. "Dr. Pruitt, I’m sorry, I’m calling because I’m making a gift for Willow and you’re the only one who can help me and I’m begging here."
He paused. But he didn’t give another threat.
"Why would I help you?"
"Because it’ll make your daughter happy. We both want that."
"Hm."
"She means everything to me, sir."
"Sure."
I picked my words carefully. "This gift is part of the apology and you're one of the most important people to her. I was thinking…it’d be a good opportunity for you and I to spend some quality time together. Sir."
"Oh, Jesus."
I cleared my throat. "So…if you have any questions…"
"I want you to know, under no uncertainty, if I ever find out you’ve hurt my daughter again, I will come down on you like wrath itself."
"Yes, sir."
He sighed for so long, the line crackled. "The things you do for your kids. What’s the gift?"