Coach’s eyebrows lift. “Ezra’s ex?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jinxy makes a noise of disbelief. “You never said you were dating her.”
“I don’t need to explain my shit to you.” Even if Abby and I never formally solidified things, I was in her bed every night. That woman is mine. My inner caveman seethes and beats his chest.
Coach holds up his hands between us and motions for me to continue, so I explain what this idiot told Abby.
Coach glares at Jinxy when I’m done. “You really said those things to that sweet girl? What the hell is wrong with you? I’m going to tell Roxy and she’ll light your ass on fire.”
I forgot his daughter is friends with Abby.
“No! Don’t do that. Please, sir. Roxy’s little, but she’s fierce.”
“You should be scared of her.” Coach crosses his arms as he stares down Jinxy. “You have bathroom duty for the next two weeks.”
I chuckle as a look of horror grows on my teammate’s face. “You mean I have to clean the toilets every day?”
“I expect them to sparkle in the morning. By the way, I’m ordering the team chili dogs tomorrow.”
“What?” Jinxy’s eyes widen. “No, Coach. Not chili dogs!”
Coach must be pissed because we usually get grilled chicken and veggies for team lunches.
He points a finger in my teammate’s face. “And I’ll be sure to tell the maintenance crew not to touch the toilets. Maybe you’ll learn a little respect. Son, I never want to hear you talking to a woman like that again. I want to win football games, but if you graduate and don’t know how to conduct yourself, I’ve failed my job.”
“Sorry, Coach.”
After Jinxy walks away, Coach turns to me. “I understand why you’re upset, but you either need to hash things out with Jinxy and get over it, or set your feelings aside until the playoffs are done.” He rests his hand on my shoulder and gives me one of those looks. “I’m relying on you to put the team first.”
Isn’t that what I’ve always done? Maybe if I’d put Abby first, even once, she would’ve given me the benefit of the doubt and stayed to work things out.
44
NICK
My professor points to the tray, and I drop my exam in with the rest of the finals. “Good luck in the playoffs,” he says.
“Thank you, sir.” I smile even though I don’t feel like it.
Abby’s been gone eleven days, and each one is more torturous than the last.
It’s given me a lot of perspective. This entire semester, I’ve been obsessed with football and making the playoffs. That’s nothing new. What’s new is now that I’ve had an undefeated season and am days away from achieving a lifelong dream, I can’t seem to find any joy in it.
After practice, I drag my ass home. I get Hazel to bed and then flop on the couch.
I grab my phone and stare at Abby’s number. Pretty sure she blocked me. I’m so tempted to call her, but what can I say if she doesn’t wanna talk to me?
A knock on the door has me leaping off the couch. My heart is in my throat as I open it. Except it’s not Abby. It’s Jinxy, Dax, and Maverick.
“What are y’all doing here?” And why is Jinxy carrying a whiteboard?
They push past me, and Mav smacks me on the back. “We think you’ve been moping long enough.”
“I’m not going out tonight, so if that’s why you’re here—”
“It’s not, bro.” Jinxy puts the whiteboard on my coffee table. “We wanna help you win your girl back.”
