Page 72 of Hidden Plays
“No.” He huffed. “Dad is the enabler in this situation. He has to stop giving him money.” Holden scanned the table. “The worst part about last night? My brother was cool with me and JJ, but said my dad might cut me off financially if he found out about us.”
The entire table stopped eating and stared at Holden.
“But this was your brother saying it.” Malik knitted his brows. “Was he drunk, and does he have a reason to lie about it?”
“His brother kept calling him Golden Boy.” Was Noel jealous of Holden? I sipped my juice and eyed our coffee maker. I needed some caffeine and maybe a diversion from this topic before it ruined Holden’s day.
Eli set his fork on his plate and tented his fingers. “It seems like when people drink, they tell the truth, but who knows? Maybe he said it to hurt you for whatever reason?”
With a flinch, Holden said, “Yeah, maybe.” He dug into his pancakes.
Eli tapped Holden’s forearm. “You were going to talk to your mother first. I think you can count on her a lot more than yourbrother. Addicts lie to get what they want from you. Who knows what he was after?”
Chewing, Holden swallowed and said, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll talk to my mom at some point and see what she thinks.”
“Hey, you want some coffee?” I rose from the table. This was a good time to end the conversation.
“Yes, that would be great.” Holden squeezed my forearm. “Thanks, babe.”
“Oh, babe, huh?” Casey’s eyes lit and he smirked. “Are we in love yet?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, Carter, but yes, we are.” Bending over, I planted a hard kiss on Holden’s mouth.
His eyes widened and closed before I broke the kiss.
“So, what’s the plan for Stanford tonight?” Patting Holden’s shoulder, I sauntered into the kitchen and made some coffee. If I could keep them talking football, maybe Holden could get his mind off his family.
We’d spentthe day together, relaxing and reviewing game footage with the guys. Holden’s spirits had improved throughout the day. After our pre-game routines with the coaching staff, we’d taken to the field. Stanford was the hardest team we’d played all year, and the scoreboard showed it. With two touchdowns down and five minutes left, I was yet to score. If nothing else, I needed to keep my stats up for the combine. I paced to Carter after he’d talked to Coach during a timeout. “What’s up? Are we throwing a pass?”
“Yeah, I’ll need you to get as close to the end zone as possible.” He eyed me through his helmet’s facemask.
“You got it, buddy.” After patting his ass, I lined up with the other guys along the thirty-five yard line, ready for the snap. Success here meant I’d have a touchdown every game this year. I was pushing for an ASU record.
Carter yelled out commands, and the center snapped the ball to him.
Sprinting like my career depended on it, I hightailed it inside the end zone with a Stanford defender hot on my ass. I turned and sidestepped.
Carter marched backward, faking the ball to Hayes and then, spying me, threw his arm back and shot a perfect spiral my way.
Ducking around the defender, I jumped in the air, snatching the ball over my head and dropping, tucking the ball against my chest. “Fuck yeah.” I’d gotten my touchdown.
The defender fell on me and rolled off. “Damn it.” Shaking his head, he stretched a hand out. “Sorry, I couldn’t stop.”
“No worries. Thanks, man.” I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up. This guy was all right. It was nice to see good sportsmanship. Tossing the ball to a ref, I jogged to the sideline, where Holden waited.
Holden slapped my ass. “Good job out there, Matthews.” His gaze swung toward Coach, and his jaw fell.
“I’m glad to see you two getting along so well.” With a smirk, Coach stepped to us. “You’re taking quite in interest in Matthews’s career.” His smirk widened. “Just don’t forget about your other players, Cox.” He pointed at Carter. “Our QB has a little limp he’s trying to hide.”
“Oh, yes, sir. I’m on it.” Sneaking a peek at me, Holden rushed off to Casey.
With a snicker, I took my place along the guys at the sideline to watch the kickoff return. Hopefully, we’d get another shot at scoring.
After our post-game routines,everyone had been quiet in the locker room. We’d lost the game, and in the end, Stanford had proved to be the better team. But it still didn’t sit well witheveryone. I showered and dressed in my team sweats for the ride home and then drove Eli and Casey home.
The drive was quiet. Would these guys ever snap out of it? But then, they didn’t have a boyfriend spending the night to look forward to. I parked in the driveway at the house, noting Holden’s Civic on the curb. Malik and Tex had gone out somewhere. How long had Holden been waiting?
I stepped out of my SUV as Holden appeared from inside his car with a bag slung over his shoulder and a twelve-pack of beer in his hand. “Hey.” I walked to him, hitching my duffel up my shoulder.
