30. Riding the Bench
30
Riggs
“What in the hell did you think you were doing? I should bench you both.”
Coach Nesbit’s face is an apoplectic shade of red, and his eyes are bulging out as he huffs in each labored breath. Luckily for me, no members of the press were invited to this event, so we can keep this incident private and deal with it in-house.
“It wasn’t my fault, Coach,” Grady says, his voice grating on my ears. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Malone sucker punched me just for talking to his girlfriend.”
I’m out of my chair in an instant, looming over him with my fists clenched and my chest heaving. “You fucking liar. Tell him what you said. If you don’t, then I will.”
“Sit down, Malone.”
Coach’s firm tone breaks through my rage, and I inhale deeply before stiffly retaking my seat. I know I’m already skating on thin ice, and I need to tread lightly, but Hollis playing the victim in all this is more than I can take.
“Hollis, get out of here,” Coach snaps, breaking the silence that had fallen over the small office. “Don’t speak to anyone about this incident. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Coach,” Grady replies, the respect in his voice ringing falsely in my ears.
I wonder if Coach Nesbit can hear it, too.
“Malone, stay where you are,” he orders when I move to stand.
We remain silent until Grady closes the door behind him. Coach leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. I remain quiet, watching him until he sighs again and meets my gaze with tired eyes.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Hollis, Tessa, and I have a history that dates back to high school. He had dishonorable intentions toward her, and I overheard him bragging about it. I let him rope me into a vulgar bet to protect her and all the other innocent girls in his orbit, and it blew up in my face. I recently reconnected with Tessa, and like Hollis said, she’s my girlfriend. He approached us earlier and insulted her repeatedly. I guess all the built-up hatred I still hold for him came rushing out. I’m sorry, Coach. I shouldn’t have let him get under my skin like that. I can see now it was intentional on his part.”
Coach stares at me for a few silent beats. I have to fight to keep from squirming in my chair under the hard gaze. Then he sighs again, and his shoulders slump.
“I expect you to be a leader on this team, Riggs,” he says, his soft voice almost more unbearable than his angry one from before. “That means keeping your cool and guiding your football brothers to a winning season. And that now includes Grady Hollis.”
“I understand, Coach,” I say simply.
“Do you?” he shoots back.
I give him a firm nod. “I do.”
“Okay, good. You’re on probation for the next few weeks. Any more confrontations of this sort will result in you being suspended for the first game. I don’t want to see you riding the bench, but I will do what needs to be done. And I’ll remove you as team captain and give that role to someone else. Understood?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Good. Now get out of here. I think it’s best if you leave the party as quietly as possible. I’ll see you at camp next week.”
“Thank you, sir,” I say, then push myself to my feet.
He stands, as well, leaning across his desk with an outstretched hand. I take it in a firm grip, pumping it up and down before releasing him. His expression fills with regret as he waves for me to leave.
I like and respect the man, and disappointing him this way leaves a hollow feeling in my chest. I know I should’ve walked away. If I’d ignored Hollis and pulled Tessa away from him, none of this would’ve happened.
Tessa. Fuck.
I close the office door behind him and hurry my steps as I head back to the main part of the house. I left Tessa out there on her own, and Grady has had several minutes to approach her again. I search for her chestnut hair and that red dress as I push through the crowd, heaving a sigh of relief when I find her still surrounded by Miles, Porter, and Foster…with Grady Hollis nowhere in sight.
“We have to go,” I say as I approach the group.
Tessa nods, quickly moving to my side. Miles starts to ask what happened with Coach and Hollis, but something in my expression must warn him off because he snaps his mouth shut. I tell the guys goodbye and take Tessa’s hand, pulling her through the crowd to the front door.
She doesn’t speak as I help her into my truck and close the door behind her. I jog around the hood and climb in behind the wheel, using my keys to start the engine before backing down the drive.
Once we’re on the road home, Tessa clears her throat. I keep my gaze ahead, pretending I didn’t hear it. I’m sure she has questions. I’m just not ready to talk about it, yet.
“Riggs,” she says softly a few moments later, “are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I grit out between clenched teeth.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, trying again.
“Not really,” I say. “I just want to forget it ever happened.”
“Okay,” she says softly, then turns to stare out the window at the dark forest beside the road.
Her acceptance of my wishes eases some of the tension in me. She gets me. Understands that I need some time to decompress and get my anger under control before I’ll be ready to talk about what happened.
At this point, I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to remain civil towards Hollis, much less form the bond of brotherhood teammates need to be successful on the field. Fuck, I know I’ll never be able to do that.
So, if we can’t ignore each other, one of us will have to go. I’d like to think I’m the more valuable asset to the team, but after my behavior tonight, who knows? Maybe Coach now sees me as a liability.
What if he trades me to another team? That would mean moving away and leaving Tessa behind. Again.
And I don’t know if I can do that.
When we pull into my driveway, Tessa barely waits for the truck to stop before she pops open her door and hops down. I open my mouth to stop her. To beg her to stay with me tonight.
But I snap my mouth closed as I watch her round the truck and walk toward her place. I’m not suitable company right now, and I don’t need to drag her into this drama any more than she already is.
I’ll talk to her tomorrow, after I’ve calmed down and gotten a full night’s sleep. I’ll have a clear head, and we can work out how to handle this whole Grady thing, together.
With my head hanging low, I climb out of the truck and head inside. Alone.