Chapter 31 Gray
We lost.
Jett and I were still reeling. This team was easy. We should have won. We should have won, and we should have won well.
Everything had gone against us. Every call, every fumble, every fucking turnover. Kowoski hadn’t even played badly. Luck just hadn’t been on our side. Ash got tackled more than any other player on the field. The defense even went for him more than Kowoski — and Ben was the goddamn quarterback.
“We can still make the championship game,” Jett said to me as we watched our offense come off the field.
“We play ‘Bama next after the bye,” I reminded him. “I need this splint off.”
“Your hand’s broken, but my shoulder will be better.” Jett turned to me. “Let’s go motivate the team. We cannot let this beat us down.”
In the locker room, the defense was already stripped and heading for the showers, Coach was yelling at some poor fucker, and we turned to see our cousin coming in with his head down and his shoulders sagging. Looking up, he met our stares before he kicked a bench out of his way.
“What the hell was that?” he asked us angrily. “What a fucking shitshow.”
“It was an odd game,” Jett said, and we both looked at him incredulously.
“It was a freak of nature, where was the defense?” Ash asked angrily over our heads toward the showers. “What the fuck, Woods, you couldn’t even tackle today.”
Jamie came out of the shower like a raging bull, regardless of the fact that he was stark naked. “You’re not blaming my defense. Where the fuck was the offense? Oh, that’s right, sitting on the fucking bench.”
“The offense is not just me and Jett,” I snapped back at him. “Look, everyone, calm down and, Jamie, for fuck’s sake, can you cover it up? I’m sitting right here.”
Ash snorted as I made a show of moving away from Jamie’s limp dick.
“Everyone get showered and dressed,” Jett said to the team. “We can discuss strategy and where we went wrong on the bus. It’s a setback, it’s not the end of the season.”
Grumbles and mutters filled the locker room as we sat side by side. Coach walked down to sit across from us.
“How’s the shoulder?” he asked Jett.
“Needs a few more days, but I’ll be fine Wednesday, maybe Tuesday.”
“Docs will look at you Monday.” Coach turned his head toward me. “Pain?”
“No.” His eyes narrowed. “Slight discomfort.”
“Can you catch a ball?”
I sat back and looked between him and Jett. “Honestly? If he only throws it to my left, maybe. Probably. I do like a one-handed catch. Passing, same. You’ll need to move Ash to the right-hand side; I’m more likely to incomplete if I have to run to the right.”
“We could work on your wide receiver skills,” Coach mused. “You can catch well, move Lopez to the RB for the next game.”
“Against ’Bama?” I asked him skeptically. “He isn’t me, and I’m not that good a wide receiver. If I were, I wouldn’t be your best running back.”
“You take too many hits and land on your hand, and it’ll be more than a few breaks.”
“I could promise not to run and flip?” I said with a sly grin to Jett, who was frowning as the conversation continued.
“Why the hell did you both get injured at the same time?” Coach asked as he pushed up to his feet.
“Bad luck.” We both answered at the same time.
“Stop twinning,” Coach snapped as he stalked back to the visiting team’s office.
“You can’t play the next game,” Jett said quietly. “You fuck up your hand more, you fuck up your career.”
“I know. He knows that too; he’s just entertaining insanity,” I reasoned as I looked at the floor. “It does suck though.”
“You speak to Quinn before the game?” Jett asked as he kicked his feet onto the next bench.
“Yeah, she’s fine, back at her own apartment.”
“Good. Ava said Onyx was impressive but a complete dick to her.”
“Nothing new there,” I grunted.
“You going to talk to him about it?”
I looked toward the showers where I could hear the team discuss the game, but there were no loud voices or worse, punches. “I’m thinking he may come around when he realizes she’s not going anywhere.”
“I think you need to spell it out to him,” Jett said dryly as the team began to exit the showers. “Drill it home.”
“I know.”
On the bus home, we discussed the defeat in detail.
Jamie, despite being a hothead, was a good captain for the defense, and he wasn’t shy about telling people where they failed.
He was also honest enough to admit his own bad choices during the game.
When the defense had been stripped down and analyzed, we moved onto the offense.
By the time Jett was finished with Kowoski, I felt bad for him.
However, as much as Jett liked to forget, the offense was not purely the quarterback.
I picked up on the breakdown of the rest of the offense when Jett finally took a breath.
Coach listened to us throughout; he always had.
He would hear what the players thought they did wrong, and then on Monday, he would smash our beliefs to pieces as he told the team what they actually did wrong.
When we finally reached the stadium, I was glad to be off the bus, and those of us who lived in the football house headed home in silence.
“How’s the hand?” Jamie asked as we approached the front door to the house.
“I’m still out for the regular season,” I told him.
I heard six despondent sighs and held back my own. “Pity,” Jamie said as he unlocked the door.
As one, we walked to the kitchen, and I grinned when I saw the breakfast bar filled with food. Jett walked over and picked the note up.
“Sorry for the loss, you’re still the best. Fridge is full, eat up!” He grinned at us all. “Quinn and Ava.”
“Your girls are too kind,” Ben said eagerly as he walked toward the food. “It’s still cold, they must have just left.”
And just like that, their spirits were lifted. Ben called some of the other guys, and then they were all eating and drinking together.
Pulling my phone out, I texted Quinn.
Me: This is really appreciated, it’s exactly what the team needs.
Quinn: Don’t tell them it’s all healthy
Me: See you at yours later?
Quinn: Where else would you be?
She sent the wink emoji, and I grinned as I shoved my phone in my back pocket.
As I reached for a chicken wrap, I saw Jett put his phone away as more of the team arrived to share the food.
“It must have taken them a while,” Ash said as he ate some chips.
“It’s needed,” Jett said quietly. “Look at the difference, one defeat and we were ready to roll over.”
“Good thing you converted the little lion,” Ash said as he nudged Jett with his shoulder.
I said nothing as I ate my wrap. This was Quinn, I knew it, and yeah, she may have had Ava’s help, but as I looked over the food, I saw all the things in the food plans, and I said nothing as my teammates ate the healthy food with no complaints. She was so perfectly amazing.
“You guys ditching me?” Ash asked with a groan.
“No,” I answered quickly. “I’m going to kick your ass at Madden.”
“Yeah,” Jett laughed as he flicked Ash’s ear. “Teach you how to actually catch the ball.”
When the food was gone, and Ash beat me at Madden, I headed upstairs to shower and change. Jett wasn’t far behind me on the stairs, and we shared a grin before we went into our rooms to get ready to go meet our girls.
As I was heading back down the stairs, I heard the hollering and cheers from the team and saw Ava blushing furiously under the attention before she curtsied and reminded them all that Quinn deserved the credit.
Passing her, I gave her a smile, and she hesitated before she returned it.
“She’s okay,” she said to my back.
Glancing back at her, I nodded. “I know. Thanks for helping, last night and today.”
“Anytime,” Ava said easily, and the tone of her voice made me hesitate, and I turned back to her.
“This doesn’t make us friends.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said with a grin.
“We didn’t bond.”
“Absolutely agree.” Her smile was wider.
I closed my eyes in despair. “You’re going to make this a thing, aren’t you?”
“Definitely.”
“And if I ignore it?”
“You can’t ignore my awesomeness.”
“Your awesomeness?”
“You know you like me,” she teased. “I grow on you.”
“So does fungus.”
“And you’re a fun guy,” she quipped back.
I groaned at her terrible humor. “I’m leaving. This isn’t a thing, Ava. We’re not friends.”
“Night, buddy, I miss you already!”
I couldn’t help but grin as I left the house and made my way to Quinn’s. She opened the door, and I was finally at ease as I wrapped my arms around her.
“You smell good,” I mumbled into her neck as I walked her backward into the living room.
“You eat?” Quinn asked as she held me close.
“Hmm.” My lips moved down her neck along her collarbone as I pushed her shirt down. “You?”
“Yeah, Ava and I had Thai.”
Drawing back, I looked at her. “I got healthy and wholesome, and you had take-out?”
“My body isn’t a temple,” Quinn murmured as she brushed her lips against mine.
“Really?” I ran my eyes over her. “I worship here.” My hands cupped her ass, and I grinned. “I need five minutes of this, then you can tell me about last night,” I said as I eased her down onto the couch.
“Talk first, sex later?” Quinn’s grin was wide, and I rolled my eyes at her.
“Do you know Ash had to talk me out of coming home last night?” I asked as I raised onto my elbows over her. “Then Jett. So yes, talk first.”
Quinn had lost her playfulness as she reached up and brushed my hair back from my forehead. “You were really coming back?”
“Yeah.” I dropped my head to her shoulder. “I probably overreacted. I know. But Jett told me I was being an ass. You had it handled, and then we spoke later, and I knew you were okay.”
“You can’t make impulsive decisions, your career is more important,” Quinn admonished me. “Actually, we need to talk.”
“We are talking,” I said against her throat.
“Serious talk.”
“No.” I traced the tip of my tongue slowly up her neck to her jaw and smiled when I heard her light moan. “I changed my mind, this first.”
“Gray . . .”
“Shh.” I kissed her before she could say anything else. Talking was overrated.
* * *
As I slammed my brother’s head off the wall, I narrowly missed the punch he threw to my face, but I didn’t miss the vicious stab to my kidneys. Onyx shoved me backward as he straightened.
“I will kick your ass. Back the fuck off,” he warned as he rubbed his jaw. “You hit me with the splint? You’re a fucking savage.”
“You offered to pay her?” When Quinn told me last night, I had exploded, and I had left her this morning to make it to Nashville with the sole intent of kicking my brother’s ass.
“It was a test,” he said as he walked to the coffee maker in the corner of his office. “She failed.”
“She didn’t accept,” I said in confusion as I pulled my shirt up to look at my side.
“No.”
“Then how did she fail?”
“She should have taken the money. People tell me she’s intelligent.” He made a coffee for himself and then one for me. “You have got to stop hitting me with that fucking cast.”
“I will when you stop messing with my girlfriend.”
“Ugh, it makes my skin crawl when you call her that.”
“I don’t care,” I barked at him as I sat down. “And the shit with the scouts, that was low.”
“I didn’t lie. I have one interested,” he said and gave me a smug smirk when I faltered.
“You’re so full of shit.” I took a drink of the coffee he had made me. “How much will it cost for Friday?”
“For the janitor?” He saw my nod. “He comes on Monday; I’m giving him one hundred.”
“I wish I could be here,” I muttered as I glared at the wall.
“Paying off one assault is enough, no?” Onyx said dryly.
Looking around his office, I took in the creams and browns and shuddered. “Who redecorated your office?”
“The Bitch sent in a contractor when I was overseas for two days.”
“When were you overseas?” I asked him in surprise. “Angel did this?”
“She’s a swear word that starts with a C.” Onyx’s smile was tight.
“Is the office bugged?” I asked him with a laugh.
“It was. Bitch.”
“Maybe you should just bang her and get it over with?”
“More like bang her with a gun in my hand,” he snorted as I laughed.
Watching him, I placed my cup down. “You need to lay off Quinn. She’s not going anywhere.”
“And Ash?”
“Also going nowhere.”
“He loves her too.”
“No. He loved her. Once. Even then, I have my doubts. He cares for her, and that I don’t deny.”
Onyx threw his head back and laughed. “Of course you have your doubts, you’re blinded by her.”
“Believe what you want. I don’t need to justify myself to you about Quinn. Tell me what else you found out from the mutual acquaintance we had.”
“I got three names.” Onyx held his hand up to stop me. “I’m not telling you them, but I can tell you I’m looking into it.” He opened a drawer and handed me a file. “As is dad and our uncle,” he told me. “Third photo.”
I looked at the image of the guy with broad shoulders, buzz cut hair, and angled away from the camera. “Who’s this?”
“Well, that’s the million-dollar question, but from what I can guess, I believe George Lawrence may have recruited his own help.”
“Navy?” I asked in surprise.
“Ex SEALs, I would say, but yeah, there are too many players on my board.”
Closing the file, I let out a frustrated sigh. “What do we do?”
“We do nothing. You? You heal your hand and leave this to the adults.”
“So, what are you going to do while that’s happening?” I snarked at him.
Onyx smirked at my dig. “What I do best. I’m feeling like it’s time for some mayhem, my style.”
Ah fuck, I was afraid of that.