13. Dylan
CHAPTER 13
DYLAN
Two weeks.
Two fucking weeks of bliss and perfection.
Best time of my damn life so far, and fuck me, I hadn’t been able to shake off this feeling of impending doom. Like at any moment, Mattie would put things together and figure out I had stalked her. That I kept following her around, watching her when she didn’t know it. We might have been practically inseparable, but I still couldn’t get the thing inside me to stop pushing to do things. To overstep one boundary after the next.
“Tackle!” the coaches shouted, and I shook my head, trying to bat away my Mattie-filled thoughts. We ran drills like a well-oiled machine. One after another, going after another, trying to hold each other off. Sweat dripped down my back.
“Water break!” one of the coaches shouted. I rolled my neck and felt someone bump into me. I hadn’t expected it and stepped back.
“Watch it, Macabee,” Tucker Pearson mumbled under his breath. My hands fisted at my sides, ready to push him back.
“Relax,” Crank’s voice sounded behind me, handing me my water bottle. “You can’t let him get to you.”
I had no idea how the hell our little fight at the party didn’t spread to our coaching or admin staff; but they never caught wind of it. But Pearson had been trying to rile me up on the field, trying to get his retribution these last two weeks. “He’s a fucking jerk.” I exhaled. It hadn’t been lost on me the way he tried to talk to Mattie when she watched practices. The way he headed to the trainer’s room twice in the last two weeks.
“You can’t let him get under your skin,” Crank noted. I tried not to roll my eyes.
“Whatever.” I swallowed, knowing Crank was just looking out for me.
“I’m serious. He’s been pushing your buttons at practice for a reason. He wants you to hit him here.” Crank wasn’t wrong.
“And he’d deserve it.”
“Hey!” Crank lifted his arms with innocence. “I never said otherwise. I agree with you, man. But witnesses? Coaches seeing that? They won’t be able to turn the other cheek when his daddy’s pricy lawyers come after you and try to get you kicked off the team.” My jaw clenched.
“It would be worth it if I got at least one more shot in,” I murmured and didn’t miss Crank’s deep chuckle.
“Again, agreed. But you’ve worked too hard to give up your shot at going pro.”
“What about you?” I asked, turning to look at him, “You want the scouts to come back to look at you again?” I asked. Crank had had the chance to graduate but decided to change his major last minute. Or maybe that had been his plan all along? Who knew, but honestly, the way he scheduled things out, not to mention how damn smart the guy was, I wouldn’t put it past him. The asshole just shrugged.
“Come on, we gotta get back out there again.” I sighed. I wasn’t completely surprised with the fact he didn’t share. All I knew was that one day, the medical field, or whatever damn field he chose, would be damn lucky to have him. But I had a feeling the NFL wouldn’t be having that privilege.
I started to run onto the field, my eyes searching for my shortcake like they usually did. I saw her standing with the trainer she worked with. Our eyes connected from a distance, and I winked at her. I didn’t miss the slight blush on the apples of her cheeks. A blush that faded away almost immediately when fucking Tucker Pearson headed over to them. I could tell by the way he sauntered over that he was doing it to piss me off. I stopped in my tracks and watched as he stood in front of Mattie, blocking my view of her pretty face. He looked over his shoulder with a shit-eating smirk, and I felt Crank’s hand clamp down on my shoulder
“Don’t.” Crank stopped me, and my hands fisted at my sides. “You need to clear your head,” he murmured for my ears only.
I tried to contain it as I watched Tucker talk to the trainer just as a coach called for her. The trainer looked torn, and Mattie must have said something because the trainer simply shrugged and my girl nodded before waving for the son of a bitch to follow her.
“What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath.
“Dyl,” Crank warned.
I knew he had good intentions.
He was trying to stop me from doing something stupid, but I couldn’t get the idea of that asshole alone with her out of my head. “She’s going to be fine. This is her job. He’s been seeing the trainer about his calf.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I said. I didn’t like the idea of my shortcake being alone with the asshole. If he touched her, I’d kill him. I unhooked the chin strap from my helmet. Crank’s fingers dug deeper into my shoulder.
“You should.” I turned and glared at him. “You go after them, you’re going to lose your shit like you did at the party and with it your starting spot.” A muscle beneath my eye twitched, and I knew he didn’t miss it.
“If that were Libby going into the locker rooms alone, into one of the private trainer rooms, you really telling me you would just wait out here and not give a shit? You and I both know he’s a dipshit.”
“He’s trying to get a rise outta you,” Crank reminded me. I tore my helmet off my head and handed it to him.
“And if he’s treating her in any way that’s not respectful, he’s going to get one.” I turned, ignoring him calling my name or the fact I got some of the coaches’ attention.
I didn’t look back. I jogged towards the lockers hoping to god my girl was safe.