AllFreeNovel
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One of the team’s rookies was hanging out in the back. Nate Sven. His eyes darted to mine a few times. Leaning into Ciaran’s personal space, I whispered, “I’ll be right back. I need to talk to one of my teammates.”
Ciaran nodded and we separated. Me to Nate and Ciaran to Joan and Zoey.
“Hey Nate,” I said as I made my way to him. We were alone at the edge of the patio and out of earshot. “All good?”
“Ah, so, um,” Nate stammered. He could barely look me in the eye. “Coach had something on me, too.”
His Swedish accent came through strongly. Coach Anderson had recruited Nate, a strong relay swimmer, hard for USC’s men’s swim team last summer. His speed in the water alone could shave seconds from a team’s overall time.
“It’s not easy, is it?” I said gently. “Thinking you got to deal with it alone? I’m sorry he put you through that. You don’t have to disclose anything to me, Nate, but I’m here for you if you need someone to talk to.”
Nate was slow to nod in agreement. God, he was so young. Just a kid, really, far from home. It didn’t even matter to me what Coach had on him. I just wanted Nate’s haunted expression to disappear for good.
“And the videos are gone?” His tone was hopeful yet distrusting at the same time. “Forever?”
I pointed at Joan, who was typing furiously on Coach’s laptop. “She’s getting a degree in cyber security. If anyone can destroy the videos to ensure they never see the light of day, you can trust Joan completely. I do.”
“Thank you, Matty.” Nate’s shy smile brought out a protective older brother feeling within me.
As the rest of the team said their goodbyes, Brian slapped me on the back. “Thanks for looking out for the team, Matty. And rest that shoulder, man. It’s not been looking good. Can’t have you fucking up our relay times. If we’re going to kick ass, need you in good shape for trials.”
“Plan to, my friend. See you at practice.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What about Coach benching you?”
“I have a feeling there will be some changes over the next few days.”
“The less we know, the better, I’m thinking,” Brian said.
Inside the kitchen, Franky and Filipe were doling out brownie squares like the brownie police. I shook my head.
I crossed the patio to Joan, Zoey, and Ciaran. I stood behind my boyfriend and wrapped my arms around his waist. “How’s it going?”
“Almost done,” Joan said. She was so energetic that I swore sparkles of animation emanated from her.
“Joan,” I started, and Joan paused her typing. “There’s no good way for me to ask this, but did you find anything super illegal that should worry us?”
Joan grinned. “Like, the kind of highly illegal videos that have police swarming your house?”
Zoey sighed like she was a prisoner on death row. “Guys, this is my dad we’re talking about.”
“Who we’ve established is not above blackmailing college students for personal gain,” I countered.
“Can you please be less of a dick right now?” Zoey pleaded.
“Fine. Sorry.”
“Nothing super alarming, thank God,” Joan said. “It’s what we expected. We found your video of the Cockaine Party.” She snickered.
I felt Ciaran laugh in my arms.
“It was certainly an interesting video,” Ciaran said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
Still, I groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t actually watch it?”
“Twice,” Ciaran said. “It was a very nice cock, Matty. I’m not sure if I could have resisted, either.”
“Oh my God. Delete it!” I said. “I really don’t want to watch it again. Ever. I was a different person back then.”
