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"Only mostly?" Bam asked.
"I've seen him smash the shit out of guys bigger than him," Chase said. "He's not completely harmless."
"Fair point." Bam nodded.
"Regardless of whatever happened with Rubie," Hawk said slowly, "Carson Thomas is not gonna kick Ollie off the team this close to the Down Under Bowl."
"What about after that?" I asked past the bottom of my hand. "He could probably make it so no other team will touch me."
Would he do that? The idea bothered me, but I found it didn't bother me as much as the thought of never seeing Rubie again. I'd give up everything for her. Even the one thing I worked my whole life for.
Football had seemed like everything for so long, but now it seemed like nothing more than a drop of water in Storm Valley. Nothing compared to her.
"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," Hawk said. "You're a good guy even if you did forget to tell her something really important."
"Like, really, really important," Chase said.
I grimaced at him. "Thanks," I said sarcastically. "I feel so much better now."
He grinned. "Any time."
"So what are you going to do?" Bam asked.
"What do you mean?" I frowned at him.
"You're not gonna take this sitting down are you?" Bam picked up his beer and took a long pull. "If you want her that badly, you have to fight for her."
"Did I mention she hates me?" I asked. "And she lied to me too. Maybe we just weren't meant to be."
"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard," Bam said. "And I hang out with these clowns." He waved toward Hawk and Chase.
"Thanks buddy," Hawk drawled. "Love you too."
Bam grinned. "Of course you do. I am awesomesauce."
Hawk rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, but smiled. "I hate to say it, but Bam is right."
"There's a first time for everything," Chase quipped.
"Ha ha, smartass," Bam said. "What am I right about? Apart from, you know, everything."
"If Ollie cares about Rubie like he seems to," Hawk said, "then he should fight for her."
"And what if we find out that she really just hates my guts?" I asked. "Or that she was playing a game of some kind? What then?"
I didn't want to admit to myself that either of those were possible. She was better than that. Wasn't she?
"Then you find that out," Hawk said reasonably. "You move on. Things weren't always easy between Bec and I, but we both wanted to be together, so we fought for it. Even now we still have our ups and downs." He sighed deeply. "She doesn't understand why I need to put my collectible figurines in the order I bought them. She seems to think they should be separated by their fandom."
"Women," Bam said, "sometimes they just do stuff we will never understand." He shook his head sadly.
"Right?" Hawk said. "She keeps rearranging them and I keep putting them back where they were. It's a never-ending battle."
"I feel your pain, my friend," Bam said. "Would you like me to have Grace talk to her on your behalf?"
I shook my head at them. They were trying to get my mind off everything. I appreciated that. It was working, kinda.
Mostly, though, I felt like shit. I deserved to. I was kicking myself for not making the time to sit Rubie down and explain everything to her.
