Page 123 of Spin The Bottle
“Really?”
Coach nods. “This is very serious. Not only is blackmail a criminal offense, but tampering with one of his teammates’ drug testing is not the kind of guy I want for this team.” He glances at me. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Aiden. I know how hard it must be, with your family.”
“You knew?” I didn’t really know whether to believe Jordan when he said Coach knew about my past. He never made any comments on it, never treated me any differently.
“Of course I did,” he says. “As soon as I saw you in that janky high school gym, I knew you’d be one of the greats. And I still believe that. You’re one of the best damn players on this team.” He presses his lips together. “And I’m proud to have been your coach. You’ve become like a son to me,” he says, making my throat clam up. “I can’t wait to watch you play in the NBA.”
Fuck. I’ve never had someone be proud of me, or want me to succeed. “What about the pictures?” I ask him. “If I get drafted, they won’t want someone from a background like mine.”
He shakes his head, offering me a smile. “That doesn’t matter to me, and it won’t matter to them,” he says. “Nothing is going to stop you from achieving your goals unless you stop working for it. Coming from a background like yours doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t impact how you play,” he says, pressing his finger to my chest. “If anything, it makes it more impressive that you managed to work as hard as you have knowing you didn’t have the best environment.”
His mouth tips up. “I’ve already had teams interested in you.” He has? “Just keep working hard and show up. You play like you always do? There’s not going to be a damn team that doesn’t want you.”
Well shit. “You’re serious?”
“I sure am, son.”
I nod. “Thanks, Coach.”
He gestures behind me. “I was going to wait until everyone left, but… do you want to do the honors?”
I grin. “Hell yes.” He tried to ruin my life, it’s just as fair I get to do the same.
“Glad to have you back, Pierce.” Coach says before I walk out of his office and head to the locker rooms.
“Holy shit,” Ethan says when I walk in. “Look who it is.”
“Where have you been, Cap?” Andre asks.
I turn to Jordan who’s avoiding me, stuffing his clothes in his locker.
“You ok?” Carter asks.
What the hell is going on? I fully expected to come in here and see the guys laughing at me, talking shit and looking at me like I’m a pile of trash. It’s what I’m used to back home. Pushes from my own teammates, pranks in the locker rooms. It was brutal, but I kept at it because basketball was my only escape from home.
But these guys are still talking to me, calling me cap? I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
“I’m good,” I tell him. “Finally back on the team.”
Jordan twists around, his eyes in slits. “Aren’t you suspended?”
I grin, shaking my head. “No, but you’re off the team.”
“What?” Jordan asks.
The anger on his face makes me laugh, knowing that after everything, he lost it all. Jealousy got the better of him and he lost. “You should have checked my pockets, asshole.” I shake my head at the guy who I thought was a friend here. “I recorded every goddamn word you said. Coach knows I haven’t used. You, on the other hand, have been caught tampering with drug tests and blackmail.”
The guys murmur, their faces contorting with what I felt when I found out Jordan was the blackmailer… betrayal. Hurt. The team is supposed to be a family, not turn on each other.
“You can’t kick me out,” he says.
My shoulders lift. “Coach thought I should do the honors.” His gaze darkens, finally realizing he has nothing. “You’re off the fucking team. None of us want to work with someone like you.”
Jordan laughs, looking around the room at the other guys who’ve iced him out. “Please,” he says, turning his eyes to me, shooting me a glare. “He’s a fucking loser.” The words still manage to hit deep even after all this time. “He shouldn’t be captain. The pictures are proof enough. He’s a nobody.”
Everyone is silent. I wonder if they’re thinking over what Jordan said, maybe warming up to the idea of agreeing with him. I’m not a nobody. I know that now. My past or my family don’t make up who I am. I’m my own person, I have my own morals and beliefs and goals, and guys like Jordan aren’t going to make me feel like that anymore.
When Carter stands up, everyone’s eyes turn to him. “I had next to nothing growing up,” he says, swallowing hard. I flinch at his confession. “Tell me I’m not supposed to be here.” He glares at Jordan. “Fucking say it.”
