Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
~DEX~
The night that we had all hoped would have been more triumphant has turned a little more somber.
This wasn’t loss. I heard Jase and Nate Watts say that time and time again.
I wasn’t sure if they were looking to convince themselves or the others who were listening.
The reporters have been attempting to talk to them and the players, but they’ve been held at bay by the PR team.
August appeased them and spoke a bit about how confident he still feels in this team and their chance of making playoffs.
There is no doubt in my mind that he’s right.
The Blaze is a hard-fighting team; we just can’t seem to finish the ball.
Or at least that is what Nate has repeated a few times.
It looks like Mac is taking it harder than anyone because she’s the striker, and as I heard Danny point out in the past, “It’s her job to score. ”
“Hey, man.” A hand slaps me on the shoulder lightly and I turn to see Danny standing there.
Speak of the devil, I think to myself.
“Hey, I didn’t realize you were in town.” I turn to face Danny.
He shrugs. “This is a big game, so when I can make it to see her play away, I do.”
I nod. “How is the University of Tampa swim team looking this year?” I walk towards him smiling.
He grins. Danny, a former highly decorated former swimmer, recently picked up the job of working of for the University of Tampa as a swim coach. He was fired from the paper he worked at for mixing business with pleasure with Mac, I was told by August.
“It’s looking pretty good. It’s September so my season is going to be getting underway here pretty fast. I had this opportunity while my assistant was running the practice, so I figured why not get out here for her while I could. I knew this was going to be a rough one for her if they lost.”
I nod. “We tied.”
He shakes his head. “It feels the same as a loss for them. You’ll see, the more you’re around the sport or the team. Ties are fine for some things but not all. This is one of those times. They all wanted Kansas City bad, so this one will sting.”
I nod. “Thanks. I’m still learning.” I shrug; I have no idea what to say. I feel like an ass. I was thinking that the tie would be a better option than a loss.
“I know. It takes some time is all. You’ll pick it up. Plus, I see Mac a lot and we have a lot of conversations about the games and the competition. So, I might know more than you do in some aspects.”
“Yeah, I would say so.”
“How’s that going by the way? You living with Amelia?” He cocks his head and studies me carefully.
I break into a smile at the intensity of his gaze and shift uncomfortably from foot to foot. “It’s going alright, I guess.”
“Uh-huh,” he breaks into a wide smile. “I really like Amelia. She’s one of Mac’s friends. She’s been to my house a few times for swimming and a barbecue. One of the quiet ones; doesn’t say too much but when she does it’s funny and witty. Can’t stand still to save her life.”
I nod. That sounds like her.
He waits and watches me before he speaks again. “She’s a sweetheart too. I feel a little protective of her because I know that Mac is, especially with you living with her.”
There it is. The lecture about behaving myself that I have almost been expecting, since they are all so close.
“I get it. But I’m behaving myself. We’re talking a bit, getting to know one another and figuring out how to live together.
I can appreciate that this is not what she would have wanted.
I was forced upon her and now she’s dealing with it to keep August happy.
But I’m doing my best not to cramp her style, and to be thoughtful and respectful of her while I am there. ”
Danny nods and there’s bit of finality in it like he got exactly what he hoped from me.
I guess I passed whatever test he laid out for me.
“Good,” he replies and then I changes the subject.
“The team is going to have a low-key night. Pizza and hanging out at the hotel. Thankfully, Coach Watts will let me come along for that.”
“That’s good. I’m sure it’s great for Mac to have you there.” The topic change is like whiplash, but I let it go.
“Yeah, it helps.”
August comes over and claps me on the back. “We’re getting ready to head on over. I have to go pick up the pizza, if you want to ride along with me.”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll come with you.”
“Great, we head out in five.” He turns to Danny, “What’s up, man, we’ll catch up at the hotel.”
“You got it.” Danny reaches out and the two bump fists.
I follow August so we can head out whenever he’s ready. The Kansas City stadium, like the Blaze’s, is a bit of a maze. I like the way the colors line the walls, all the way around it. New England had that too, and the similarities make it feel like home.
“I’m surprised that you are the one that is picking up the pizza for the team,” I tell him as soon as we hit the street and jump into his rented SUV.
“It’s the least that I can do for the team right now,” he admits, starting up the car and heading out.
It’s very unlike August. The August that I knew in college did nice things for the people that were closest to him.
I was one of those people. But doing things for the team wasn’t something he was big on.
Just his O-line and those that protected him on field.
He’s really evolving and it’s actually nice to see.
The frat boy that I grew to love is still there but everyone else is seeing that softer side.
I decide not to say anything further and shoot for a topic change. “I may have to head back to New England at some point, to grab a few things that I left with my mom. I didn’t take a lot when I first came here, and it’s a lot to ship them.”
I glance over and hate that I’m adding to his load right now. But for whatever reason I’m at a loss as to what to say to him.
“Yeah, no worries, man, do whatever you have to do. We’ll make it work here,” he replies.
“Thanks,” I reply, and we fall into a comfortable silence.
August’s phone rings and I can see from where it rests on the console that it’s Maxwell.
“Well, goody, I thought Dad was going to wait to call me and let me know that he’s disappointed in the outcome, but I guess that is not the case.” He rolls his eyes and picks up the call, “Hey, Dad, how are things?”
August sighs deeply. I can’t hear a lot of what Maxwell is saying but I’m sure they’re not the nicest things to August. He can’t change the outcome of the game and he’s not even a coach.
But he’s the owner and I’m sure that he bears the responsibility of the record and the image of the team.
I stare out the window and watch the city of Kansas City pass me by.
It’s brightly lit; there are lights on the trees and people are sitting outside at tables having their dinner or drinks.
As we move through the city, I think of how this might be a cool place to visit.
But I don’t mention that to August. The game didn’t go our way, and he’ll associate it with the city.
Same as they did in New England and same as I did in college.
I lean forward and adjust the vents so that they are pointing the cool air directly at me. It’s hot and sticky here, same as Tampa. I steal a quick glance at August and see him pinch the bridge of his nose, moving the phone away from his mouth so he can sigh loudly.
“I’ll work on getting that taken care of, Dad,” I hear August say. “I’ll see what I can do about making it to one of Drew’s playoff games. Have a good night.”
With that he clicks off the line. “My brother’s team is going better than mine, and he likes to remind me of that. Apparently, he would like to see me at one of those games in the box. For optics or some shit like that, I don’t know. Wanna come with me?” He looks over at me, grinning.
I chuckle. I’ve met Drew a few times. He’s a polar opposite of August. A straight-laced businessman through and through. If they didn’t look alike, you’d never know they were brothers.
“Yeah, sure, why not. It would be nice to see Drew again.”
“And watch baseball. Baseball is fucking boring. Why couldn’t Dad have bought a hockey team or football team, you know?” August says.
“Probably because your dad played baseball,” I remind him.
“Whatever.” August shakes his head. “Well, either way, I hate watching it.”
I nod, and we say very little the rest of the way there.
I help him carry out all the pizzas and bring them into the hotel.
The team is already there when we arrive.
The team and the coaches are broken into smaller groups, and the sound of several separate conversations fill the conference room the hotel is letting us use as a dining room.
I look over at a longer table and see Mac, Danny, Cassie, Jase, Hendrix and Amelia are gathered around it.
“Set them down and back away. I guarantee they are hungry,” August tells me over his shoulder.
I barely get my stack of pizza boxes situated and sure enough, the table is swarmed with hungry athletes waiting for their hard-earned dinner.
I make my way over to the table where Amelia’s group is still sitting. “Did you guys not hear? The food is here.”
Mac nods. “Yeah, we’ll get there.”
I nod, noticing the somber tone of her voice.
“Go eat,” Danny says, rubbing her shoulder.
Jase whispers something in Cassie’s ear and she gets up. “Come on, everyone, we should eat.”
The girls all leave and head to the table where the food and Gatorade that Coach Watts put out is.
I steal the empty seat that will be next to Amelia when she returns.
“Oh, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asks me as she sets her plate down.
I grin and look in her direction. But before I can answer, August speaks for me. “Oh, don’t do that. Don’t speak to her with that panty-dropping smile. We don’t hit on the players.”
I shake my head, laughing at him and then I flip him off. “I was only being friendly to my roommate. A situation that you set up, so you can fuck off, Cromwell.”
My comeback is met with snickers around the table.
“You fucking tell him,” Hendrix retorts. “Let him see that girls and boys can actually be friends.”
I nod and feel a twinge of guilt. The thoughts I’ve been having about the curvy center back beside me are not exactly those that you have for a friend.
Sure, they are friendly. But friends probably don’t study the curve of her hips and think about what it would feel like to run my hands along them.
Trailing down to those toned legs and stunning ass.
One that I would like to bite a time or two before using it to hold her up to fix the height difference. I swallow.
I look up at August and he’s grinning at me knowingly. “You know, I think I’ll look for another seat.”
Her hand shoots out, and she grabs onto mine. “Just stay right here.” Our eyes meet, and the affection that I see in those brown eye has me staying put.
“Okay,” I reply and she winks at me. A warmth spreads in my chest, and I know in that moment she could have asked me to scale a fucking mountain or fetch her something from the next continent, and I’d happily have gone.
“You know the food is for you too,” Amelia tells me.
“I know, I’m making sure that you all get enough first,” I tell her.
She shakes her head. “That’s a mistake. Go get it now. Some of these girls will keep on going until it’s gone. Go and eat.”
I stare at our joined hands and wink at her. “Thanks for the tip.”
I get up and grab two slices of cheese and head back to sit beside her.
“Gatorade too,” she says with a chuckle as she examines my food.
“Yeah, yeah.” I laugh and get ready to head back over there. “Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good, but thanks.” She grins at me, and I swear there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see that smile every day. We’re getting used to each other and becoming more comfortable around each other. I like it. But this won’t last.
I shake my head, trying to shake off the feeling, and failing.
“I could use some more Gatorade and napkins if you’re going,” Hendrix calls, breaking the spell that is forming between us.
“Sure thing, Hendrix,” I tell her.
“Hendrix!” As I walk away from the table, I hear Cassie say, “Let them be, let him stay with her for a bit.” I think she says as I head away from the table.
I shake my head. That woman and her boyfriend, Jase, are so fucking insightful.
I keep hearing her words from the other night.
She may not think I’m a bad guy for what I did.
But the truth is she doesn’t know what I did and frankly, I’d do anything to keep them all from finding out.
But as close as this group is, I feel like it’s only a matter of time and then they won’t be encouraging whatever little spell I think is dancing around us.