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“No, I’m fine. Really.” Steely determination punctuated my response.
“If you need anything, let me know, Aspen. If I’m not here, my wife, Janet, will be. I’ll fill her in tonight when I go home.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you being so understanding.” I could tell he was a fantastic boss, and I loved the environment.
After we wrapped up our talk, I returned to check on my tables feeling supported, which went a long way to bolster my feeling that everything would be okay somehow. If only I had the same sense where Phoenix and I were concerned.
CHAPTER FIVE
PHOENIX
After a long weightlifting session, as I dropped my towel in the bin and headed out of the locker room, my phone pinged. I pulled it out, and my mood soured to see a message from Stan, my academic advisor:Can you come to my office? We need to talk about your progress.
Shit. As if I didn’t already know how bad it was going, I would have to go and let Stan explain it as if I was some stupid jock.
I had no choice, so ten minutes later, I sat in his front reception, staring at the generic artwork on the off-white-colored walls. My leg bounced as I waited for this guy to call me in for what was no doubt going to be the get-your-act-together meeting. Or worse. But I couldn’t think that way. I had to play in the game. If he took that away from me, I would be lost. Football was my future.
The longer I waited, the angrier I got with Shane. If he would have just pulled his head out of his ass and helped me with the reading assignments, none of this would be happening.
“Phoenix Bennett?”
A middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper goatee and bald head held the door open to the hallway where his office was. I stood, towering over the portly man as he smiled and ushered me in.
“I’ve caught up on your stats the last few days. You’re projected to have quite a season.” He ran a hand over his shiny head. “How’s your hand feeling?”
I flexed it as we entered his small office, where papers and folders cluttered every surface.Weird. Shouldn’t everything be online?“It’s fine. I’m back to practices and playing this weekend.”
“Good. Good.” He gestured to a seat on the opposite side of his desk. I sat, and he clicked a few times on his keyboard then let out a long breath. My gut tightened, and I braced myself for what was coming.
“I try to schedule these chats early, as soon as the first grades come in, so that I can head off any potential issues, but since I was out sick recently, you slipped through the cracks. I’m very sorry about that. But I’m back, and you’re on my radar.”
“Okay.”What am I supposed to say to that?
He turned his monitor so I could see it and leveled me with a serious look. I didn’t like the direction we were taking.
“Here’s the bottom line. Your grades aren’t where they need to be to maintain your scholarship requirements or to stay active on the team. In all three classes—English Literature, especially—your grades are low enough that you’re in danger of losing financial aid and scholarships. You need to do well on the next few tests and your midterms to get them up.”
Fuck. I stood from my chair and paced as much as the cluttered space allowed. Stan waited, letting me work through my emotions. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. Time would tell, I guessed. But I needed him in my corner, and I had to curb the urge to lash out.
My options were limited. Even though he hadn’t said anything, it was clear that Shane was furious with me for lying to Tracey this past summer and ultimately causing the viper to dump him via text. I’d done him a favor, though, and one day he would see that, but that day wasn’t now, which meant he wouldn’t help me as he had through high school. My cousins didn’t know, so I couldn’t ask them. I was damn good at hiding my learning issues.
Then there was the deal with Aspen. I needed her to be my fake girlfriend now more than ever to keep as many distractions at bay as possible. But fuck if I didn’t keep screwing up with her. She brought out too many feelings, ones I’d never had with any other girl, and then there was the baby. But… we could help each other. I had to patch things up with her.
I couldn’t talk to Mom—she worked too hard, and I didn’t want to stress her out. I couldn’t go to Grandad and admit that I’d fucked it all up. He was a hard-ass, and I would never live it down if he knew. He’d helped us a lot because being a single mom had been tough on her. But it was never without a price.
I tangled my hands in my hair and tugged. It was bad enough that I would have to tell my family about Aspen before big-mouthed Shane flapped his jaw at home. It would be the next step in payback in my brother’s mind, and I had to get ahead of it. Not only that, but I had to get him to see that Tracey was spreading rumors that had gotten back to Aspen when Jillian confronted her. Maybe if he knew, he would snap out of it and return to being my brother.
I needed help. There was no other way around it.
Stan continued to sit patiently, and I had to give it to him that he probably knew how to deal with athletes. I fell back into the chair. “I need a tutor.”
Stan’s smile was pleasant, not condescending, and I resolved myself to what had to be done.
“Here is a list of tutors that will work around your schedule. They’ve helped many football players, and I’m sure you’ll find a good match. If you prefer, you can go to the on-site tutoring office and meet with whoever’s there.”
I shook my head. It was bad enough that some stranger would figure out how stupid I was. I didn’t need to broadcast it to an entire office. “Is there something they sign that says they’ll keep this private?”
“If that’s what you need, I’ll ensure a contract is ready when you choose a tutor.”
