Chapter 4
brEAKING: TEAMMATES QUESTION TANNER LONG’S MATURITY Sources confirm “He started it”
Tanner
Don’t forget our discussion.
Behave while you’re on Smuggler’s Hideaway.
No partying.
No girls.
No drinking.
I shove my phone in my pocket. I’m about done with Sam and all his warnings. My agent is acting as if what I did was wrong. It wasn’t wrong. Maybe – just maybe – I didn’t exercise the best judgment but wrong? Nah.
But what if the world doesn’t agree with me? What if Coach Knox can’t save my career this time? What if…
I stop the runaway questions and force those thoughts out of my mind. Everything will be okay. I’ve gotten in trouble in the past and everything worked out. It will this time, too.
I paste a smile on my face before opening the door to the gym at the Hideaway Haven Resort.
Gage, Nolan, Brock, and I decided to stay here for a few weeks before the Seals’ training camp begins at a college on the Mainland.
Corbin is on the island, too, but he found an apartment to rent because apparently we’re too ‘loud’ and ‘obnoxious’ to be around 24/7.
I thought we’d have a blast goofing off in the ocean and carousing the bars. Instead, Nolan drafted a schedule for us to follow to ensure we’re in shape at the start of training camp.
“Your entertainment has arrived!”
Nolan scowls at me. “You’re late.”
I roll my eyes. As the quarterback of the Seals, Nolan thinks he’s the boss of me. No one’s the boss of me. Not Coach Knox, not Nolan, definitely not my parents.
“Dude, chill out. It’s off-season.”
“Training camp starts in a few weeks,” Brock grumbles.
“Good morning, Mr. Grumpy. How did you sleep?”
I’m not joking about Brock being grumpy. The oversized fullback is always grumpy and always hungry. He’s also the biggest guy on the team, which – unfortunately – means there’s a limit to how much I can tease him. It’s a good thing I’m fast.
Brock glares at me. “Call me Mr. Grumpy one more time.”
Naturally, I oblige. “Mr. Grumpy.”
His nostrils flare as he stalks toward me. Nolan steps in front of him. “No fighting.”
“It’s not fighting if I knock him down with one hit.”
I bat my eyelashes and clutch my chest. “Why do you want to harm me? I’ve never harmed you before. I thought we were teammates and friends. You’re breaking my heart.”
Nolan sighs. “Knock it off, Tanner, before I let him hit you.”
“Why is everyone violent this morning?”
Gage chuckles. “They weren’t violent until you arrived and riled them up.”
I bow. “Thank you. I do my best.”
“One of these days, you’re going to piss off the wrong person and there will be consequences.”
My heart squeezes, and my chest tightens. Has my time for consequences already arrived? Did I go too far this time?
I shove those thoughts away. There’s nothing I can do about it now anyway. I waggle my eyebrows at Gage. “The same way you pissed off a certain red-headed singer?”
Gage was practically drooling over one of the singers at karaoke the other night. He went after her but she claimed she didn’t know who he was before rushing off. It was hilarious.
“Do not speak about Addy.”
Ah, the singer has a name. And Gage is already enamored by her. Maybe this summer will be fun after all.
“Why not? Did she get a gag order against you?”
He cocks an eyebrow. “You know all about gag orders, don’t you?”
“Me?” I feign clutching my pearls. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Your manager didn’t issue a gag order for you not to discuss your latest snafu?”
“Nope. The word gag was never mentioned.”
“Are we going to work out or gossip all morning? If we’re going to gossip, I have places to be,” Corbin says.
Corbin is a tight end on the team and he is very serious about his football career. He needs to chill out. Unfortunately, chill is not a word in his vocabulary.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you need to search for another apartment since your landlady hates you.”
He growls. “Siena doesn’t hate me.”
“Didn’t she say you’re an oversized gorilla who should be kept in a zoo for observation?”
“I’m done talking about this.”
“I’m with Corbin,” Brock says. “If we’re not going to work out, I have places to be.”
I tap my chin. “Where would those places be? With May, the sexy surfing instructor?”
“May is my son’s instructor. Nothing more.”
“But you wish there was more. You wish you could spend as much time with May as your son, Jace, does.”
“Women are not to be trusted,” he grumbles.
I understand where he’s coming from since Jace’s mom abandoned him and Brock. But I’d go further. People in general aren’t to be trusted. Especially family members. Family is supposed to love you – unconditionally. Ha! My family invented the word conditional.
At least my fans love me. As long as I can catch a football and score a touchdown, they love me. But will they stick around if the football disappears? And will my football career disappear if Sam drops me?
“Hey now,” Nolan says. “Not all women are bad.”
“Even if they turn you down when you hit on them?”
He snarls at me. “Mind your own business.”
“But it’s not often I get the chance to witness our big, bad quarterback being rejected by a woman.”
It was hilarious. Nolan swaggered over to one of the staff members at the resort, full of confidence any request he uttered would be honored. Instead, she sneered at him before marching off.
Nolan whistles. “Enough chitchat! It’s time to work out.”
Brock makes his way toward the weight bench he was using when I arrived, while I casually stroll toward the treadmill. I wait until he isn’t looking before quickly swapping out his heavy weights for lighter ones.
Gage notices me but I wink at him as I place a finger over my mouth for him to keep quiet. He rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything.
Brock settles himself on the bench. “Need a spot.”
“I got it.” Gage stands behind him.
I wait for Gage to tell Brock what I did but he doesn’t. Good. At least one of my teammates isn’t a fuddy duddy.
I fiddle with the controls on the treadmill as I watch my plan come to fruition. I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. Mr. Grumpy is going to lose his mind.
Brock lifts the weight and it flies into the air. His brow wrinkles in confusion but he doesn’t think to check the weights. He does a set of fifteen before dropping the weight back on the stand.
“Huh. That went better than expected.”
I shout across the gym. “You’ve been putting in the work.”
Gage rolls his eyes. “Tanner switched out the weights for lighter ones.”
Nolan and Corbin chuckle, but I am not amused. “Snitch!”
Gage shrugs. “Brock can’t take a hit for me if he’s not strong.”
“Not strong,” Brock grumbles. “I’ll show you not strong.”
He launches himself off the weight bench and rushes toward me. For a big guy, he can move fast. But I’m faster.
“You want to race, Mr. Grumpy? You’re on.” I sprint out of the gym with him chasing after me.
I have to slow down when I reach the hallway since there are several women crowded around ogling the team through the glass wall of the gym. One of the women rakes her gaze over me. “Tanner Long. How is it possible you’re even sexier in person than on television?”
I smirk. “I do my best. And you are?”
She extends her hand at the same moment Brock yells, “I’ve got you now, Long!”
“Oops! Need to go. Maybe I’ll catch you later.” I wink at the woman before sprinting away.
I race down the hallway but Brock gives up chasing me. Bummer. I was in the mood for a nice, long run. Good idea. I’ll go for a run along the beach. Nolan can’t say I didn’t work out.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it. I’m done listening to people tell me what to do or how I disappoint them.
I force all thoughts and worries about the future out of my mind as I increase my pace until I’m sprinting along the beach with such speed that I can’t think about anything else but maintaining the proper posture and my breathing.