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“Yes.”
“Goddamnit, James!” He slams his fist down on the desk, making it rattle. “You can’t do that, even when you’re upset. Even if your personal life is going to shit. When you’re being paid todo this—paid millions of dollars—you’re not going to have the luxury of choosing when to perform! You can’t bring your issues onto the field. We’ve spoken about this. You might hate all your teammates, but they’re your teammates, so you stick by them.”
“I know that, sir.”
“So why didn’t you do it?”
I wipe my bloody mouth. “Because he scared my girlfriend. He forced himself on her. And as much as I love football, I love her more.”
The moment I say it, I feel lighter. It’s the truth, and while I’m not looking forward to telling my father that, telling Coach eases some of the tension inside me. If the price to have Bex and make sure she’s safe is my football career, then I’m willing to let it go. I can always do something else with my life. What matters, at the end of the day, is the future I know I can have with her.
“You didn’t just hurt him,” he says, his voice softer. “You hurt the whole team. Men who have worked hard beside you for an entire season. They trusted you, and you let them down.”
“Yes, sir.”
He leans back, cupping his jaw. “I don’t agree, but I respect why you did it.” He drags his hand over his mouth, thinking. “James. You might get suspended for this, even though he started the fight. The university almost always punishes both parties in these situations. You were still in uniform, representing the school, and if McKee doesn’t act, the NCAA could.”
I just nod. I expected as much.
“I’ll explain that you were defending yourself,” he says. “I don’t think either of you will get expelled, although if Bex chooses to report Darryl’s actions, then that’s a possibility. Sexual misconduct is a serious offense.”
“Good. He should.”
“And I don’t disagree. But that’s not for you to decide. You can’t act like this, no matter how you feel. I thought you learned this lesson at LSU, but apparently not. You can’t make a bad pass on purpose because you don’t like the guy.”
“With all due respect, this is different.”
“How?”
“I’m going to marry Bex one day,” I say. “This is my present, but she’s my future. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Maybe it’s wrong, but I’m going to defend her. I couldn’t just give the ball to him.”
He sighs. “And what good did that do? We lost.”
“Even if I did throw it right, there’s no guarantee he would catch it.”
“No, but he deserved the opportunity to try. Even if you’d have hated it, he deserved that.”
“And I disagree.” I meet his eyes. “Sir.”
He presses his lips together tightly. “I hope you’re willing to explain that to all the guys out there.”
He rubs at his temples, making his way around the desk to clasp my shoulder. He looks me in the eyes. Seeing the disappointment in them hurts, but I don’t back down. I’m willing to stick by every word. “And to her.”
Chapter 41
Bex
The longer I stand outside the locker room, the worse I feel. People are starting to recognize me—James Callahan’s girlfriend, the photographer—and the looks of sympathy sting. They assume that the tears I can’t quite hide are because my boyfriend lost and I’m sad for him, which is true—but only I know the real reason it happened in the first place.
Even if he tries to deny it, he lost the game for me. He was so close to making it happen, and at the last minute he sabotaged himself. The exact thing Richard warned me not to let happen played out, beat for beat, because I couldn’t hold it together long enough to lie. He would have been pissed that I lied about the kiss, but at least he would have won. I could deal with his anger after that, but this? This is unbearable.
What if it ruins his career in the NFL before it can begin? What if he gets suspended or even expelled because of the fight? I ran into the locker room as soon as I heard shouting, and my heart nearly dropped out of my body when I saw James’s face covered in blood as he wrestled on the floor with Darryl. If Darryl did worse than kiss me, I’m not sure that James wouldn’t have committed actual murder.
My stomach rolls at the thought. I bend over slightly, fighting back a sob.
A pair of arms wrap around me.
“James?”
