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“I know, but I would have been a better pro player. I’m sure of it, but I’ll never know for sure because I made the wrong choice. I don’t want you to make a wrong choice too.”
He squeezed my shoulder then moved his hand away. I had never seen him get so personal before. The idea of him being with a woman had never entered my mind.
“I’m not saying break it off completely, but tell her you need to cool it off for the next year. By that time, you’ll be in position to accept offers from some pro teams. She will be more than happy to wait for you.”
“It’s not like that, Coach. She doesn’t care about the money.”
He laughed and shook his head.
“You kids these days. Think you have it all figured out, don’t you?”
“I know I love her.”
“That’s well and good, but this is your one chance to do what thousands of other players in college right now can’t do … go pro. Do you want to throw that away, Austin?”
“No, Coach.”
“Exactly. The best way to do it is leave her alone. Don’t even talk to her again for now. By the time the semester is over, she’ll be dying to get back with you. At that point, you can explain your long-term goals to her. Trust me, son. This is for the best.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded, trying to let his advice sink in.
“Now go get ready.”
“Yes, Coach.”
I lied to my coach, a man I respected. But I didn’t care, I had to know Brooke’s reaction to the letter. She was the main priority now.
THIRTY-FIVE
Brooke
I woke up with Austin on my mind immediately. We hadn’t spoken in a few days, not since I had told him it was over. Maybe he had wanted to break up too?
My phone rang as I stretched in bed. I grabbed it off my nightstand, hoping to see Austin’ face on the screen. It was an unknown number. What the hell?
“Hello?”
“This is a collect call from the Buffalo Jail. Do you accept charges?”
“Yes,” I said then sighed.
“Brooke?” Jocelyn asked.
“Yeah. What do you want?”
“Will you please come and bail me out? I’m so sorry about everything.”
“Are you insane? I don’t have the money to do that, but even if I did, why the hell would I do it after you told them I was with you that night?”
“Brooke, I’m sorry. I’m so screwed up.”
“Sober up Jocelyn, get some help.”
I ended the call and turned my phone off completely, knowing she would try to call again, whittling away at my resolve until I felt bad and helped her. She had to learn, and I had plenty of my own problems to deal with.
As I got dressed and ready for my day, Austin kept popping into my thoughts. I missed his body, but I also began to realize I missed his laugh and good vibes too. By the time I left the house, I was running behind, so I didn’t stop to read the campus paper like I usually did.
Walking through the Quad to my first class, a swarm of what looked like freshman rushed up to me, asking questions and shoving voice recorders and cameras in my face. What the hell was going on? I wondered as I kept walking, trying to brush them off.
