Chapter 16
CLAY
“Ballsy of you to come back,” the new coach says. “You all know Clay.”
“Clay who?” Rookie drawls, and the guys laugh.
I’m back at practice, and though I’m expecting there to be some bumps, I’m sure we’ll be on the same page in no time. I’ve played with these guys, and I know how it goes.
I took the proposal to Harlan. He was surprised, but he’s not stupid. The deal wasn’t as good as what I’d get elsewhere, but I want to make this work. Convincing James took more effort, but I left that to Harlan—I’ve got zero interest in entertaining that self-centered prick.
Guess I was in a better mood than usual because of hooking up with Nova the other night at the club…
It was unplanned and sexy.
Maybe she was drunk and it meant more to me than to her.
But damn, did having my hands on her make me want to do it again.
She let me know she got home okay, but I want to talk in person not by text.
Which won’t happen today because I have a pile of team stuff lined up.
“We’re going to run some drills, easy to start,” the coach says. “Fall festival is this week, and the stadium’s sold out. Let’s put on a show.”
The season is off to a rough start early for the Kodiaks. There are some obvious weaknesses the team has to shore up if they want to compete.
“You need to jump through a few hoops,” Miles says with a grin.
I cock my head and tug on my jersey. “That so?”
“Mhmm. Doing my laundry and shit.”
“How about I do this?” I grab the ball from his hands and cut past him for the basket, going up for a dunk.
The guys holler. But when I turn back, Jay’s leaving the court.
“What about Jay?” Atlas says.
“You mean because he’d sooner run Clay over with his Kobes than pass to him?” Rookie says.
Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought.
I grab a Gatorade off the bench before I head in the direction Jay went.
“Where you going?” I call.
“Can’t find my practice jersey,” he grinds out.
I follow Jay down the hall toward the changing rooms.
“Jay—”
“I need my jersey.” He stomps into the changing room and rifles through his locker. “Fucking hell.”
It’s strange the team doesn’t have all the equipment ready.
“Here’s one,” I comment, reaching past him and holding up a crumpled shirt.
“I changed my number.”
“When?”
“Start of the season.”
That sinks in. Ours used to be reversals of one another.
He breezes past me toward the laundry room.
I stalk after him, the shirt still clutched in my hands. “Jayden. You’re going to have to talk to me.”
“Until when? You decide it’s inconvenient?” He spins to face me, ripping the jersey out of my hand.
My nostrils flare. A confrontation was bound to happen since I rejoined the Kodiaks, but I didn’t expect it to happen today.
“People leave.”
“But it’s how you did it.” Jay slams a fist on one of the commercial dryers. “We were friends, and you didn’t say shit. You got dreams? Well, so do I. We used to tell ‘em to each other.”
His rawness has my gut twisting.
Maybe I could’ve been more upfront with him about where my head was at. But letting people in, even friends I trust, has never been my default. You let people in too far, they’re going to see your weaknesses.
“At the time of the trade, I didn’t want to go. Before that… I thought I wanted a chance I could only get in LA. I wanted the name, the sure thing. With my knee being fucked, I needed to put everything down on one season.”
“And it worked.” He sighs, turning away.
“Nah, it didn’t.”
Jay’s head snaps up.
“I got what I wanted on paper but couldn’t figure out why it felt empty. I was so fucking ashamed I couldn’t even talk to Nova. Ended up pushing her away. But I realized something playing at Kodiak Camp with the guys. It wasn’t about the win. It’s about the game.
“I think about Final Four a lot, but it’s not the time on the court. It’s how you and Coach were there for me. It’s the guys I get to play with every day. And I want another chance to play with guys I respect. To play with Miles and Rookie and Atlas. To play with my best friend.”
I reach for the jersey in his hands, tugging on it.
“That’s trash,” he grunts.
I ignore him and turn toward one of the washing machines.
“The fuck you doing?” he asks.
I lift the top door on the machine. The jersey goes in. He doesn’t say anything but watches while I scoop soap from the commercial package. I eye the amount and dump it in.
“Shit, you washing jerseys for the entire Kodiak Camp? How dirty do you think that is?”
Jay snorts as I close the lid and read the instructions label.
Never found a use for permanent press.
Normal. Nothing normal about us.
Heavy. That seems about right.
I rotate the dial and hit the button. It starts with a satisfying rush of water.
“My rookie year, the vets made me do laundry. I fucked it up so bad they never asked again,” I say.
“Smart strategy.”
“I wasn’t trying to be smart. I was legit that bad.”
He laughs as I lean back against the machine, eyeing my friend under the fluorescent lights.
“Not a second in LA felt right,” I admit.
Now that the words have started to pour out, they keep coming.
“I had a feeling the first time I practiced with them, but when you guys came back and Kyle…” I don’t want to start shit within the team by saying how he talked about Brooke at the first game I played against the Kodiaks.
Jay eyes me, clearly wanting to believe me but still wary.
Not unlike Nova, I think suddenly. It’s one thing to have a change of heart. Another to show up until you can prove it’s legit, that it’s going to stick.
It’s going to take time to earn her trust back. And to earn Jay’s.
I want to try.
“I get that these are your guys. This time, I’m coming back to help. Not to take over.”
He exhales hard. “Then you gotta play with everyone. Kyle included.”
“Kyles a prick.”
“You’re a prick.”
“So, you don’t want me to do your laundry all year?” I grunt.
A grinding sound comes from the washing machine, and Jay jumps.
“Don’t ever touch my clothes again.”