Page 4 of Topping the Jock
Blue Harbor had changed a lot in the ten years I’d been gone. Shopping centers had been added, as well as a second movie theater, multiple restaurants, and a flourishing downtown area along the harbor.
But in many ways, it was exactly the same. The catfish joint everyone used to go to for lunch after church on Sunday was still in business. The convenience store where I’d talked Zane’s older brother into sneaking us a beer for the first time was too.
The duplex I moved into was new, though. I had lucked out in not only finding an available place to rent for a good price, but also one that was nice: two bedrooms, a full kitchen, one bathroom, and a decent-sized living room. I had moved in a few days ago and had finally got everything unpacked.
Feeling restless, I hopped in my truck and went for a drive.
Wind ruffled my hair through the open windows, carrying a whiff of the sea. The familiar smell of saltwater and fish filled me with nostalgia, taking me back to my teen years of running around with my buddies and going on joyrides in my dad’s boat. Most of my friends had moved out of state just like me, but some had stayed. It’d be weird to meet up with them again after all these years.
A truck hauling a fishing boat passed me heading to the marina. I turned the opposite way, driving toward the high school. I didn’t have to be there until tomorrow, but I wanted to look around first and see what all had changed. The answer? A lot.
A new gymnasium had been built, along with a new baseball field. The football field had been remodeled, and the bleachers that had once been creaky wooden ones on the verge of collapse were now metal and bigger too.
I parked close to the main office and got out. The summer air had a slight chill due to a cold front coming through later that night, but I welcomed the cooldown. After living in Texas for the past ten years, I was sick of the heat. Winters there were a joke. Skin-melting summers and mild winters. Little to no snow.
“Well, I’ll be damned. If it ain’t Montgomery fucking Adams.”
I turned at the voice, not recognizing the bearded man it belonged to. Then I gaped. “Wes?”
“Damn straight,” Wes said, stepping forward to clap me on the back.
He’d been the wide receiver during our high school football days. Back then, he’d been insanely good-looking. Tight body and a sharp jawline. Now? Well, not so much. We were only twenty-eight, but he looked like he was pushing forty. His hair was thinning on top, and he’d packed on a few extra pounds.
“It’s good to see you,” I said. “How have you been?”
“Can’t complain much,” Wes responded. “Don’t know if you heard, but Christy and I got married. We have three kids. Can you believe it? All girls too. They’re hellions, but they’re my whole world.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, brother.” He ran a hand over his beard. “What brings you back to town?”
“Work, actually,” I answered, pushing my hands into my pockets. “I got a job here at the school as a health teacher. I’ll also be coaching football.”
“No shit? Never pegged you for the teaching type. I always thought you’d go pro and become a star quarterback.”
“Yeah, I did too.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Something I tended to do when I was uncomfortable. “But things changed when I got injured back in college. Had to reevaluate a few things.”
“That’s right.” Wes snapped his fingers. “I remember reading about your injury. Man, that must’ve been tough.”
Toughwas an understatement. The injury had basically made it impossible to play football anymore. After the surgery, the doctor said my knee would never be the same again, even after it healed. I lost my speed on the field, and the coach benched me for the rest of the season. I’d spiraled out of control afterward. Depressed and feeling like my whole life was over, I had partied it up and tried to drown my sorrows in booze and random men. I’d dropped out of college and had been on a bad road for a long time.
It was a miracle I had pulled myself out of that dark place. But I had. Eventually.
“Since I couldn’t play ball anymore, I decided teaching it was the next best thing,” I said, trying to keep a light tone despite the heaviness in my chest at the memory of when I’d been at my lowest. “What about you? What are you doing these days?”
“I’m a contractor,” Wes answered. “Have my own lawn business. I keep up with the school grounds and ensure the parking lots stay clean. I was just about to get started, actually.”
“Of course,” I said, taking the hint. “We can catch up another time.”
“Sure.”
It was one of those things you said to people, knowing it would never happen. Judging by the polite nod goodbye he gave me before walking toward his truck, I got the feeling he had the same hunch I did. We weren’t the same guys we used to be. Our lives were completely different.
I grabbed dinner from a sushi place before going home and settling in for the night. It was the end of July, but as the new head football coach, I was going to meet the team the next day and prepare for the upcoming season. They’d already been practicing with the assistant coach and working out all summer, so I was coming in a bit late. It wouldn’t take long to catch up.
This wasn’t my first rodeo.
Back in Texas, I’d coached high school ball. The boys on the team and the whole community had been great, but I had left it all behind. They used to call me the Uncatchable Monty back in college because no one could take me down once I got the ball and took off like a bullet from a pistol.
