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I didn’t have a clue if that was true—though he did have a way with charming people. Jude considered it, nodding slowly.
“You think?”
“Jude, have you ever had trouble getting laid?”
“The ladies do love me,” he said, his grin returning.
“God.” I rolled my eyes. Sometimes confidence really was just stupidity with good branding. Before I could tell him that, the locker room door swung open. An older man I vaguely recognized from somewhere on campus stood in the doorway. Professor, administrator, professional joy killer—I had no clue. Whatever he was, he looked like he already regretted coming anywhere near us.
“Everybody up!” he barked. “We’re going to start doing interviews.”
Complaints immediately followed.
“More like interrogations,” Wyatt grumbled as he pushed off the bench.
Around us, everyone slowly started moving, making an obscene production of standing up. To be fair, I blamed no one for not wanting to go. None of us wanted to be interviewed about our coaches’ dicks. That sounded beyond unpleasant. And maybe a little illegal. Was it illegal? Maybe I’d ask that.
“What are they even going to ask us?” Wyatt muttered before dropping his voice into an exaggerated growl. “Did you know your coaches were trading cheerleader pussy?”
“I would pay to hear that man say that shit,” Jude replied with a laugh.
“Do you think they’ll cancel the season?” Isaac’s question cut straight through everything else. The room went quiet. It was the one question none of us had wanted to ask because joking about our coaches’ sex scandal was considerably easier than acknowledging what all of this could mean for us.
Five coaches were gone, training camp had effectively come to a halt, and nobody knew who was running anything. For some of the guys in the room, losing a season of play time would suck. For others, it could change everything—scholarships and scouts. There was a lot on the line.
My stomach twisted as all eyes turned on me. Them looking to me for answers wasn’t a new thing. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it any easier.
“They’ll probably get at least some kind of interim coach in until they can hire someone permanent,” I told them loudly. I was grasping at straws. I didn’t have a clue what they were going to do. It wasn’t like they didn’t have a good reason to cancel the season. And I certainly didn’t know what that meant for us if they did. Still, I forced a big grin and said, “Come on, guys! No one’s canceling football!”
A few shoulders relaxed, and the conversation started up slowly again. I kept smiling because that was apparently my job in this whole thing.
But as everyone filed toward the door, the knot in my stomach stayed exactly where it was. For the first time that morning, the scandal didn’t seem nearly as entertaining, and I had no idea if I was right about the interim coach thing. And I definitely didn’t know what I’d say to everyone if I was wrong.
CHAPTER 02
Rhodes
WOLF: Did you hear about the coach drama?
Yes.
WOLF: It’s about to be an episode of Maury up in here.
How do you even know about Maury?
WOLF: I watch trash TV.
Watch trash TV from your generation.
WOLF: I could… but then how would I relate to you?
You’re lucky you’re cute, little wolf.
The whole point of renting a house was to be left alone. I loved my family, but that didn’t mean I wanted to live under the same roof with them again. Almost a year had been enough. There were only so many shared breakfasts, arguments with my father, conversations I wasn’t ready to have, and moments spent pretending that I wasn’t watching my mom get sicker that I could handle before I needed somewhere that belonged solely to me. Going back to Florida wasn’t an option, so I rented a house.
Technically, I was housesitting for a pair of snowbirds with no definite plans to return to Maine, but there was a lease, I paid them every month, and most importantly, no one bothered me here.
Which was why the knock at my door immediately annoyed me. My family didn’t visit. Jude occasionally threatened to, but I hadn’t shared the address with him yet, giving him one obstacle he didn’t feel like figuring out. I didn’t have any friends in Everdale anymore, and I had no desire to reconnect with the townies I’d gone to school with. I’d also successfully scared off the only neighbor who’d attempted to introduce herself.
