Page 23 of Sliding into Love
Why would he have regret about this whole thing? It doesn’t make sense.
I don’t get long to think about it because he grabs his bag and storms from the room. Left behind, I look around the space and frown.
“That went about as well as I thought it would,” I mutter as I follow in the fumes of his fury.
It doesn’t register until we’re in an all-team meeting that Bardot is gone. My guess: He’s at Bellport General.
CHAPTER NINE
ROYCE
I'm notsure why I follow Kenneth after he meets up with Bardot. Maybe it's because I'm curious to know why he turned down my offer to come with him. Or it could be because I have this sixth sense about the entire situation.
If, like Kenneth has mentioned, this other player hasn't shown any interest in wanting to step up, then that's a red flag to me. Why work so hard to become a professional athlete only to give a subpar performance?
I might be a bit biased considering who my brother and future brothers-in-law are, but it's still unfathomable to me. Why settle for less?
The minute they step into the media room, I press my ear against the door. It’s the only way I can catch every bit of what will go down.
At first, the conversation goes as I expect it to. Kenneth sounds nervous. Almost hesitant. Like he doesn’t know if what he’s doing is right.
It's when he tells Bardot about Tollide's accident that things shift in a bad way.
My body goes tight at the venom in Bardot’s tone. I reach for the door handle, seconds away from wrenching it open. When I hear Bardot shout “FUCK,” I hesitate.
There's anger in his voice, yes. There's also a great deal of pain.
My brain works to piece everything together. If Bardot and Tollide were in the same year of the original draft and something happened to make Bardot step down, maybe Tollide knows. Were they friends?
I can't recall the specific information about where they grew up or anything like that at the moment. What I do know is that there's a man on the other side of this door who sounds heartbroken at the news his friend, or maybe just teammate, will never play again.
Could it be that he's thinking about himself and what it would have been like had they switched places? Is he nervous about the opportunity to take the lead on this team?
I shake my head and take a step back. A second later, the door slams open, Bardot stomping out past me. I'm thankful my instincts had me moving away. I definitely would've had a broken nose from being so close.
Bardot doesn't notice me as he storms down the hall towards the exit. I frown. We have a team meeting. We're going to tell everyone else about what's going on with Tollide, and I didn’t hear Kenneth tell him he could leave.
I'm not quite sure what to do. I could stay and check on Kenneth but then he'll know that I was eavesdropping. Maybe he'll think more of it. More than I want him to think.
I still can't make sense of it myself. About why I followed him down here. Or why I stayed to listen.
Am I concerned about him? Was I worried?
It's all so confusing.
I spin on my heel, marching to the locker room where today's meeting will be held. Several of the guys were already there joking around and pushing one another. They pause when I walk in. Each of them giving me that up nod that's the signature of athletes. A few even wave and smile. I give polite motions back to each of them before I grab a stool from the corner and plop down on it. I cross my legs, then shake my foot, a nervous habit I wish would go away.
“You good there, Royce?”
My eyes lift to find Kenneth's friend standing before me. Gillies has his head tilted to the side like he's trying to work a puzzle.
I nod. “Yes, it's just been an odd morning. We had a management meeting earlier and trying to make decisions is… interesting.”
Gillies grins. “Oh yeah? Kenny always hated when it was time to make a decision. He's terrible at them. Poor guy really needs someone to take hold and lead him. Or maybe give him a to-do list every day. He's a forgetful bugger.”
He laughs at his own joke. Meanwhile, my mind takes off in a million directions.
I could be the one to give him that list.
