Page 6 of Hidden Plays
“Her grades won’t fall. She’s smart as hell.” I smiled, my heart warming with her memory. My sister had no problemaccepting me. In fact, she was happy to get my take on any guy she liked. She found it helpful to have a gay brother. “So, I wonder when Nicole will call me about this guy?”
“Soon, I’m sure.” Mom chuckled. “How are you doing on that front? Is anyone catching your eye since Myles?”
My heart pricked. I wouldn’t mention the hookup. I had tried to push Myles out of my heart. “No, not yet. I’ll be focusing on football this year, not guys.”
“Oh, so…does it still hurt a little?”
I shifted, breathing through the ache in my chest. It had taken such a short time for me to fall for Myles, a hockey player who I’d met in a class last year. But we weren’t meant to be. “Yeah.” No reason to be evasive with Mom.
“I’m sorry, honey. I’m sure the right man will appear when you’re good and ready.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mom.” She was always so positive. I glanced at the time in the corner of my screen. I had practice in the morning. “Hey, I need to go to bed.”
“Of course. I’m glad you called. Maybe next time your father will be home, and you two can talk.”
“Sure.” If it were the three of us, speaking with Dad would be easier. Would my relationship with him improve once I hit the NFL? “Talk to you soon, Mom.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too, bye.” I ended the call. Holden would be at practice in the morning. Fuck.
TWO
HOLDEN
Ineeded intel on JJ. No way would I let that fucker get to me this year. About an hour before practice, I strolled to the door of Coach Barlow’s office, our offensive line coordinator, and knocked on the open door. These guys were always here early.
Coach looked up from his open laptop, resting on his desk. “Cox, what can I do you for?” He gave a smile that wrinkled the corners of his brown eyes, his dark hair cut short and gelled.
“I have a few questions.” I stepped inside the office, scanning the rich dark wood of his desk and the bookshelf behind him and the tall, leafy plant. The football coaches always had the best offices. But then, ASU was a top team in its division. The organization had substantial funding.
“Sure, ask me anything. We need to work closely together this season.” Widening his grin, Coach leaned backward, tilting his black leather desk chair, and rested his head against his threaded hands.
“Okay.” I dropped into a chair opposite him and pursed my lips. How the hell could I start this conversation? Maybe from the beginning. “So, Matthews and I have a history.”
“You both played at Desert Mountain, I know.” He pitchedforward, focusing on me and planting his forearms on his desk. “Something tells me you think your history will be a problem.”
Raising my brows, I took a deep breath. “I don’t know if it will. I’m anticipating how he’ll react to me training him, and I want to prepare so I can stop any problems in their tracks.” Because JJ could be a stubborn son of a bitch. Let alone, he just rubbed me the wrong way.
“Tell me what happened in high school. You were his quarterback, and the team did well that year. If a quarterback isn’t getting along with a receiver, that’s no good.” He twisted his lips.
“Yeah, we sort of held it together for the team’s sake. But he’s…” I glanced at the picture on the wall of Coach on the field holding a trophy. How much should I say? “I’m not sure he’ll want to take direction from me.” Rubbing my damp palms along my athletic shorts, I said, “I think he blames me for not getting MVP in his junior year.” I furrowed my brows. “He might think it was because he’s gay and was out.” Swallowing hard, I gauged Coach’s reaction. “He might think I didn’t pass to him on purpose.” But fuck, what was I supposed to do? Pass to him when a better opportunity presented itself? Keep my opinions about his over-the-top behavior to myself? Everyone saw it.
“This team welcomes gay players.” He leaned in closer. “Did you do those things?”
“I…no.” I worried my lower lip. “I think JJ was overcompensating for something that year.” Although he was a skilled player, he still needed to mature. “He’s uh, he was immature. He accused me of not passing to him when he was open, but I made the right decisions.” Fuck, did I sound like I was the asshole?
He straightened. “I’ll admit, Matthews is still growing into his ego, but he’s much better than he was coming into the program. He’s more of a team player now.”
Nodding, I said, “Okay, so maybe this is a non-issue.” I rocked once, glancing at the open laptop. “If I have problems,though, can I bring them to you, so you can address them?” There was the big ask.
While he studied me for a moment, a grin teased his lips. “If you’ll be working with athletes in your career, you’ll encounter egos of all sizes, and you won’t always have a coach to lean on. So, I believe working this out on your own will be good for you.”
I stared at him. Fuck, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I understood his point. “Okay, do you have any suggestions?” He couldn’t leave me hanging here.
“Yeah, how about I assign you to him directly? If you’re having problems with him, talk it out.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. Gain his trust. Take him to lunch. Get to know him.” His grin widened. “Make sure his hip doesn’t cause any problems this season. That’s your mission.”
“Sure, okay.” Fuck. This conversation had backfired. I clenched my jaw. Lunch with JJ would be like ripping my hair out. But I’d do it. “I’ll take good care of him, Coach.”
