Page 5 of Hard Count
“Her on the other hand…she’d be feeling me for days once I was done with her. I may even leave a few marks for her to remember me by.”
That’s it. He just pulled the pin on the grenade. With a loud growl, I launch myself at Trey’s body. He falls to the ground and I drop on top of him. As soon as I have him controlled I rip his helmet off and toss it aside. I get two punches in before he rolls us over. I do him a favor and take my own helmet off. If he wants to hit me, he can fucking have a field day with it. He does and hits me hard on my cheek.
I push him off of me and punch him in the ribs with my left hand while blocking him with my other. He manages to smash his fist into my jaw again.Fuck, that hurt.I lick the corner of my mouth and the tang of blood coats my tongue. I hope his hand is throbbing from that one. I’m pulled off of him too soon for my liking by Eli. “Calm down. He’s not fucking worth it.”
He’s not but something in my gut tells me she is. I don’t particularly care for her know-it-all attitude, but she doesn’t deserve this asshole talking about her like that.
“You and you,” Coach bellows, making his way toward me and Trey. “Cool off. Get your faces cleaned up. Then I want tosee you in my office for a chat. You’ll both owe me laps this afternoon.”
Watching blood drip from Trey’s nose onto his practice jersey is worth every lap I’ll have to run later today. Zero regrets. Ten out of ten I would do it again. Ignoring the grim faces from all of my teammates, I remove my practice pads and grab my helmet from where I tossed it.
I don’t act out this way. One of the reasons I’m a good quarterback is because I’m cool under pressure. Fans screaming, taunting from other players, none of it bothers me. But the moment he mentioned something about her, I lost it. I don’t even know her damn name.
Trey stalks off toward the locker room. I won’t be following him there. I can’t stomach being around the guy right now. I know I’ll need to change my attitude once I enter Coach’s office. I’ll play nice with the guy to keep peace between teammates but it's official. I don't like him.
I drop my equipment off and stop in one of the staff bathrooms close to Coach Prescott’s office. I flip the light and let the door close behind me. I sift through all the contents under the sink, pushing aside a bunch of cleaning products and girlie shit until I reach the first aid kit in the back. Good thing I’m not bleeding out.
I wet a few paper towels and wipe the blood off my face and chest first. He punched me in the right spot. My lip is split and swelling and he also managed to cut my cheek.
“Occupied,” I shout when there’s a knock on the door. The handle begins to turn and I lurch toward the door. “I said it’s—”My mouth clamps shut when she slips inside. “What are you doing here?”
She shuts the door and locks it. “You’re an idiot. Sit.”
“I’m not taking orders from you and I asked you a question.”
“I’m here because you’re an idiot. Now sit.” She rolls her eyes when I don’t move. “I didn’t realize you were stubborn too,” she says, grabbing my biceps. I don’t want to do what she's demanding, yet, I’m stunned stupid with her hands on me and my body complies.
“Can I at least get your name first?” I joke when I land hard on the toilet seat.
“I can’t believe you started a fight.” She digs around in the kit until she finds a pack of alcohol wipes and rips it open. Stepping in between my legs, she grabs the side of my face that wasn’t punched and tilts my head back. “This might sting.” She carefully swipes the cool swab over my skin.
I wince at the contact as my skin sizzles and burns. It does sting but it’s being in close quarters with her that has me clenching my fists and grinding my molars. What is this pull I have towards her?
“He deserved it.” I stare at a water stain on the ceiling. Otherwise I’m eye level with her chest in her tight, maroon workout top. That’s a big nope.
“I’m sure he did. Trey has a track record of being a hot head. You should know better than to let him antagonize you. He does this kind of thing on purpose.”
I want to ask how she knows him so well but then I remember our conversation at the bar. She has a weird obsession with football. If she watches college football on a regular basis, no doubt she’s seen Trey get into a verbal altercation or two. If he wasn’t such a good cornerback, I’m sure Coach would have cut him by now. As it is we both could be benched for fighting. He has a zero tolerance policy for bullshit.
“I don’t regret it.” If she knew why we were fighting, I’m sure she would agree with me. But admitting I was defending her honor doesn’t seem like a smart move right now. She already has the upper hand over me in more ways than one.
“You might when you’re running laps later.” Gently she adds an ointment over my cuts with a cotton swab. “You should ice this.” She runs her thumb over my skin near the corner of my mouth. I roll my lips to mask the zip of euphoria I feel from her touch.
“Name,” I practically demand. Her eyes meet mine in shock.
“Since you asked so nicely. It’s Drew.” She packs up the first aid kit and puts it back under the sink.Drew. Not what I expected but the name suits her. I like it. Maybe a little too much. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?” she asks, leaning a hip against the vanity.
“Enlighten me. What am I supposed to be figuring out? You’re the one who keeps showing up everywhere I am.”
“Is my presence keeping you up at night?” She takes a step toward me. Her eyes drift down my bare chest.
I scoff. “No. I haven’t given you or anything you’ve said a second thought.”
Her head tilts in disbelief. “Maybe you should. Or else your ass is going to hurt a lot more than your face does by the end of the season,” she says, then slips out the door like a wraith.
I swing the door open and step out into the hall. “My ass will be just fine. Thanks for caring,” I shout, hoping she’s somewhere in the crowd of athletes roaming the hall.
“Pierce! My office now!”
