Good. He deserves it.
“They’re going to have to sub him out. He might have a concussion.”
“He can get evaluated in the locker room when he’s sent off. Did you not see my signal for a red?”
Mike sighs. “Andi, you can’t give him a foul because he ran into you. You should have moved out of the way.”
I grit my teeth. “I know I should have moved out of the way, but he shouldn’t have touched my ass. GIVE HIM A RED CARD,” I all but growl.
Mike rolls his eyes. “Fine, but you can’t go carrying on every time something like this happens. If you want to be in the men’s league, you have to toughen up a little. You know, not wear your heart on your sleeve so much.” He turns away, holding up his red card again.
The crowd erupts into cheers.
It takes me a minute before I realize what they’re chanting. “Andi! Andi! Andi!”
My breath rushes out. I scan the crowd, making eye contact with Hannah LaRosa in the first row. She’s screaming my name at the top of her lungs. I smile and wave to the crowd, garnering even more applause.
Mike looks at me, exasperated. “Can we please finish this stupid game?”
I manage to stuff my feelings down for the last three minutes of play, plus nine minutes of stoppage time, much of which is thanks to Brandon Nix.
Brandon.
Oh, this is not going to be good for his career. He’d had such a good game. No fouls, a hat trick. And then he threw it all away.
For nothing.
Finally, Mike blows his whistle to signify the end of the game. I keep my head high as I exit the field and walk through the tunnel. There are too many eyes on me to let my emotions show. Once I finally make my way back to the referee locker room, I all but collapse, sagging against the wooden bench in front of my cubby. Mike comes in a moment later, totally hot.
“What the hell was that crap, Andi?”
I’m about to give Mike a comeuppance when Rico Lopez stands up. “We should be asking you the same question. What the hell was that crap, Mike? The touching was inappropriate. It’s undeniable. Andi was signaling for a red card before the fight.”
“Yeah, ” Hamilton Regan joins in. “It’s sad when Brandon Nix is the one who has your back rather than your colleagues.”
Mike stares at me, seething.
That does it for me. I stand up too. “I was assaulted mid-game, Mike.”
“He crashed into you. It was an accident.”
“Are you blind?” Maybe the harassment referees get is not all totally unfounded. Maybe Mike needs to have his vision checked. “He grabbed my ass! It was no accident. It was on purpose, and it was inappropriate. He should be sanctioned or suspended or otherwise punished.”
Mike tilts his head and gives me a tight smile. “I don’t know that you’re one to be making a big deal about inappropriate contact. I mean we all saw how Brandon Nix reacted. There has to be a reason for his behavior.”
“What are you saying?”
“We’ve all heard the rumors. We’ve seen the videos.”
I open my mouth and then close it again, not knowing what to say. I sit back down in silence. I can’t explain his behavior without disclosing that we’ve spent time together.
In all fairness, until the event this morning I hadn’t seen him in a month. One little kiss shouldn’t change anything.
But it did.
Hamilton laughs. “Brandon Nix is a bad seed. He’s a loose cannon, and there’s no place in this league for someone that unhinged. We should make sure to request a drug screen, just to make sure he’s not on something.” He glances at me and continues, “But at least he did something.”
I want to laugh because I know just how absurd that is. I need to stand up for Brandon like he did for me. But if I do, that’s it. This will all be over. I need to think this through before I say or do anything incriminating.
