Page 19 of Replay
FALCON: I’ll have that info by tonight. Be ready.
ME: How bad?
FALCON: I don’t know, but Riggs’s chick is saying it's pretty damning for the boyfriend.
ME: He’s not her boyfriend. He’s no one.
RIGGS: Pretty sure he thinks he’s her boyfriend from the way he talks about her.
ME: The fuck. What does he say?
RIGGS: Isla is at the hockey parties a lot. Apparently, he doesn’t mind sharing how amazing she is at things.
FALCON: Like sexual things?
RIGGS: No, like at breathing. He has it bad.
ME: I don’t give a fuck. He’s overcompensating for something. I want the details.
FALCON: One breakup coming right up.
I toss my phone back in my locker and flip Riggs the middle finger while he cackles at my expense. I wash up quickly and dress, so lost in my thoughts that I barely register the conversation around me, until I hear my name. Glancing up, a few of the guys are watching me. Riggs coughs discreetly and his eyes flick to one of the defensive players. I recognize him and know he’s one of Kellan’s friends.
“Sorry, what?”
The guy laughs, but it sounds forced, more like he’s pissed I’m ignoring them. Tough shit, I have no plans to befriend half of these guys until they can play up to the caliber we’re aiming for. I have too much riding on this season, and I will not be leaving the campus my girl is at.
“I was just wondering what could pull you to our little neck of the woods. Michigan is a great school and we hold our own, but to leave the team that gave you two national championships, that's interesting,” the guy repeats with a shrug of his shoulders.
My jaw clenches and my teeth grind around his veiled barbs and insinuation that my previous team gave me anything. It's a team sport, but without my guidance, they would have zero rings. Something this team is going to learn real fast, and I’ll cut down and take out anyone who threatens my plans for this team. I force my lips to turn up into an easy smile, masking my emotions and true nature, like I have in years past.
“Nothing much to tell. My girl plays hockey here. I couldn’t go another year without her.”
The silence is deafening, except for Riggs who is smiling like a Cheshire cat. Whatever they were expecting, it clearly wasn’t that. Once again, I pluck my phone out of my locker and pocket it before grabbing my bag and leaving them all behind. I make it to the parking lot before Riggs catches up to me and we head towards my truck. I need to get out of here and think.
“Well, that was fun.”
I glance at him briefly. “They’re a bunch of morons.”
“True. You just really lit the fire back there. Those gossip mongers are vying for information on which girl from the hockey team is yours.” Riggs shakes his head.
“They’ll put it together. What, there’s only four girls on that team from Crimson Bay?”
“Yeah and two are taken, one of them being your girl. The other is spoken for and then there’s Isla. Which makes it even more interesting.” Riggs grins and my brows rise a little.
“I’ve heard the rumors.” I shrug at him, not judging the girl at all. Who cares if her reputation is a little sketchy with the stalking rumors. I’ve been practically stalking my girl since I landed in the state of Michigan; it's not like I can judge her for having a decade long crush on someone.
“She deserves better,” Rigg’s replies, this time his jaw is tight. After Riggs’s cousin put him in touch with Isla to help me out, those two kept talking. I know he considers her a good friend. “Hungry? I was thinking of stopping by ChuChu’s.”
Riggs nods his head and we jump into my truck. “I could definitely eat.”
By the time we get to the off-campus pool hall that happens to serve the best buffalo wings in a twenty-mile radius, I’m past the point of starving. Coach worked us hard today and I need toreload. Riggs follows me in and a few of the guys from the team are there. They wave us over and we join them at the tables.
“Did Parker quit crying long enough for his friends to jump off his tits?” one of the bigger lineman on our team asks, his eyes filled with humor. Riggs busts out laughing at the joke, but I tamp it down. I’m the quarterback, a team leader, and the last thing I need is any excuse for the guys on the team to try to undermine me when I’m aiming for another championship trophy this year.
“He’ll get over it and we’ll move on.” I glance around the table at the other guys and see several gazes of respect and a few that are just unsure. Before anyone can comment, the waitress makes her way over and we order.
An hour ticks by and we’ve all eaten our wings and drank multiple pitchers of water when the crowd gets rowdy. Riggs looks over my shoulder and then nods at me. Glancing over in the direction he was looking, I’m not surprised to see a few guys from the hockey team, with none other than Jax Kellan among them. My jaw clenches, watching him work the room. I want nothing more than to slam my fist into his face. Guess I’ll have to settle for destroying his life instead for thinking he could touch what was mine.
