Chapter 36 #2
“A few weeks ago, he knew our D-line needed a new spot,” Ash sounded completely at ease. “I was as surprised as you,” he added helpfully. “Gray said no, though. You know what Gray’s like.”
No. I didn’t. Who the fuck was Gray? Gray Santo? The Saints? I saw both Dustin and Dante relax.
“And then we heard how good he was at your spring game. I think Gray was texting him today. Maybe yesterday. I don’t know. But if he wants, you know, I think our coach would take him.”
“He’s not transferring,” Dante growled coldly and leaned over and hung up the phone.
“Not cool, man,” Dustin grumbled, firing off a text. “They’re still my friends.”
“Your taste in friends is lacking,” Dante barked, and when he saw my surprise, he didn’t look the least apologetic.
“He can move again?” I asked carefully. I knew football well, but college transfers weren’t my strong suit; Mason only ever wanted to play here.
“Yeah, he could,” Dustin acknowledged. ”He could help them win the championship, then he’s won it twice with two different teams,” he speculated while talking to Dante. “He’s all in for the Draft.”
“When was the last time a linebacker was the number one pick?” Dante mused. “But it could happen. If it did, it would be for him, especially if that happened and he won it twice.” He inhaled deeply. “What the fuck was he thinking going to them?”
Whoa, where did that come from? “Um . . . isn’t that good though?”
They both looked at me.
“Not for us.” Dustin saw my surprise. “No, I mean, we’d be happy for him, but our team wouldn’t be the same.”
“Happy for him?” Dante asked with scorn. “Not the adjective I’d pick.”
“So you’re both okay to stay here with Sutherland?” I asked.
Dante shook his head. “None of us are happy with Sutherland. Of course we aren’t. But Savannah is here.” He gestured to Dustin. “And Hadley.”
They’d stay for their girls. Which was very much not eyes on the prize if you asked me. Whereas I was fully supportive of Noah walking away from here and putting distance between himself and Sutherland. I didn’t think about why I was so certain about supporting what made Noah happy.
“I just wanted to know if you knew,” I said lamely into the silence.
The front door swung open, and Noah walked in, stopping abruptly in the doorway when he saw us.
He closed the door slowly. “What’s this, an intervention?”
Ha. If only he knew.
He kept walking to his room. “I’m twenty-one, I can get drunk if I want to.”
“Cardinal Saints?” Dante’s voice was calm but cold. He was reacting to this worse than the deal Noah made. What was I missing?
Noah hesitated and then turned. “Wow. I hadn’t even replied yet.” His eyes flicked to mine. “Mason?”
“Kind of . . . He didn’t say which team, just that there may be a team.”
Noah’s mouth twisted, but he didn’t say anything about it. “And?” he looked between his two friends. “What of it?”
Dustin didn’t speak.
Dante moved forward, and I had to step aside before I was knocked aside. “The Saints?” he asked, his voice tight with fury. “The deal I can understand now I’ve had time to digest it, but this? This? This is bullshit. Utter bullshit. Why not look me in the eye as you twist the knife?”
Noah stepped closer. “Me? Me twist the knife?” He looked ready to throw down. “They’re a good team—”
“We’re better,” Dante cut him off.
“They only focus on football, not all the other noise, nothing that gets in their way of their game.”
“You think—”
“Actually, that’s not true,” Dustin cut in calmly. “Mayhem. They get involved in all kinds of shit.” He looked between his friends. “They just don’t get caught.” The twin glares he received for his input were enough to make him throw his hands up. “Jesus, I’m not the one signing to another team!”
Dante stepped back. “Going rogue with Sutherland, I get. This, no.”
Noah scoffed as he looked away. “Going rogue with Sutherland saved your ass.”
“My ass?” Dante looked skeptical. “And how’s that?”
Noah didn’t look away and didn’t back down. “Who do you think was putting your packages from Knox in the locker?” He folded his arms across his chest and looked so mature and adult. I envied him. “He knows everything. So judge me for wanting some fucking distance from this program.”
“What packages?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s nothing important.”
“Painkillers,” Dante said flatly. “I hurt my shoulder. It’s better now.”
My question and Dante’s confession seemed to break the tension. He looked over at Noah.
“Did I fuck up so badly that your answer is to walk away?”
Noah didn’t hide his pain quickly enough, and I wanted to go over, but knowing I hadn’t reacted any better than his friends . . . I was a lot of things, but I was not a hypocrite.
“It’s not that . . . Look, I’m considering options.” Noah’s voice was detached.
“Ash said Gray reached out to you today.” Dante looked so sad, and I felt myself get emotional.
“Yeah.” Noah waved his phone. “I went out for a walk as I thought it over.”
“What did you decide?” Dante asked.
“Honestly?” He shrugged. “Not sure.” He turned back to his room. “It’s my choice to make. It’s nothing personal.” He closed the door behind him.
“Nothing personal? I think we fucked up.” Dustin had a flair for stating the obvious.
Dante looked torn, but then those cool blue eyes rested on mine. “Your turn, Briar.”
“I have zero influence on where he plays football.”
Dante nodded once. “Neither do we, but I think you came here for more than that.”
He tapped Dustin on the shoulder. “C’mon, I need to walk off some steam.”
I’d expected him to be the difficult one. I hadn’t expected their fight to be so much more than football. They left me standing in their dorm room. The door clicked shut behind them.
I looked from the front door . . . to Noah’s.
We’d all fucked this up.
The coward in me wanted to leave. Mason was right.
But the woman who faked an ID, got a job at a college to expose her brother’s old coach, pulled up her big girl pants, and walked to his bedroom door.
I squared my shoulders and rapped my knuckles against the wood before I could overthink it. My hand rested on the handle.
“Noah?”
I swallowed loudly as I opened the door.
“Can we talk?”