“Yep.”
“You expect me to believe that an elite athlete like yourself simply lost his balance over nothing?”
Ah shit. Yeah, that’d be pretty hard to believe.
“Actually, my roommate was mopping the floor, and I didn’t notice. It was one of those stupid moments of distraction.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, realizing too late that I should have thought of a better story before I called the coach.
“Right. There’s nothing for it now. I want you to come in and see the team’s physician anyway.”
“Sure thing. I’ll drop by later.”
Coach ends the call without another word. I should be glad he didn’t chew me out over the phone, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
It’s my fucking fault that I got hurt. I should have never tackled Charlie. It wasn’t only anger that propelled me to do so. I wanted to touch her, to wrap my arms around her body. If I hadn’t lost my balance, I might have kissed her right then and there. Though she probably would have ripped my nut sack off in that moment.
But later, on her bed, she kissed me back. I’m sure of it.
I text Andreas and Danny, telling them I’ll be out of commission for a while. I should have known Andreas would want an explanation in person. Ten minutes later, he and Danny are knocking on my door and calling my name.
With a sigh, I let them in, then veer back to the kitchen. I need coffee, stat.
“Dude, how the fuck did you dislocate your shoulder?” Andreas asks as he follows me.
“I told you, I fell.” I reach for the coffee jar, but opening it with one hand is a struggle.
“Jesus, give me that.” He pries the jar from my hand and then proceeds to fill the coffeemaker.
“That must have been a pretty epic fall. What did you do?” Danny asks.
“I tackled the wrong person,” I mumble, immediately regretting my slipup.
Andreas whips his face to mine. “Come again?”
I walk around the counter, turning my back to him on purpose. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. I knew your accident had something to do with your roommate. Was it another prank?” Andreas is angry, which is never a good thing. I definitely don’t want him gunning for Charlie when she’s not at fault.
“Relax. She didn’t do this. If she had, she wouldn’t still be living here.” I sit down on the high stool, facing him again.
He’s staring at me through slits, trying to sniff out a lie. There isn’t one though.
“Okay, fine. Charlie didn’t do this, but I don’t get your comment. Who did you tackle if not her?” Danny pipes up.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I did tackle her. We got into a whipped-cream fight, and things got out of hand.”
Andreas’s jaw drops, and he’s looking at me with a goofy expression now. I stunned him into silence.
“A whipped-cream fight? That sounds like foreplay, buddy.” Danny chuckles.
Hell, I don’t want them to know how close his comment is to the truth. It would have been foreplay if I hadn’t gotten hurt.
“Trust me, it wasn’t.”
Andreas crosses his arms and continues to scrutinize me. “Whatever. If you’re not going to fuck her, then why keep her around? Even if she didn’t plan what happened to you, she’s still partially responsible. Please tell me you’re going to retaliate.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not going to punish Charlie because of this.”
The sound of a key turning interrupts our conversation. Charlie comes in wearing skintight gym clothes that serve as a shot of desire straight down my crotch.
Shit. Why does she have to be so stunning?
She glances apprehensively at Danny and Andreas, maybe catching the tense vibe in the air, and then looks at me. “Oh, hey. You’re up.”
“Yeah. Where did you go so early?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Andreas shaking his head.
“I had to return the chickens.”
“Uh, what?” Danny looks at me.
Ah fuck. I had forgotten about them. If I tell the guys what Charlie did to my room, Andreas will have my balls for not doing something about it.
The thing is, I’m tired of this bullshit war between Charlie and me. I’m more interested in getting to know her than getting revenge.
“Troy didn’t tell you?” she asks.
“No, Troy seems to be tight-lipped these days when it comes to you,” Andreas retorts angrily.
Charlie’s eyes widen a bit, but that’s the only sign that Andreas’s comment caught her by surprise.
“Oh, well, never mind then.” She veers for the stairs but stops before she takes the first step and glances at me. “I don’t have class until later, but I can drive you to school if you need a ride.”
“Uh….” I turn to Andreas, who is watching everything with rapt attention. “I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. I’m headed for the shower.”
Why is she telling me that? Does she want me to imagine her naked? My cock twitches in my pants. Son of a bitch. I have a hard-on. What am I, fifteen?
She goes up the stairs two steps at a time, almost as if she’s running away from me. I don’t blame her. This was an awkward conversation. It would probably have gone better if we didn’t have an audience.
“Okay, what was that?” Andreas asks.
“What was what?” I look at him innocently.
“Something happened between you and that girl.” He points accusingly.
“Nothing happened,” I grit out.
“Bullshit,” Danny replies. “Even I noticed.”
“You fucked her, didn’t you?” Andreas says.
“No, I didn’t. And since when are you a gossipy old fart?”
“Since that girl just cost us our QB!” He throws his hands up in the air.
“Danny is more than capable of holding down the fort until I’m better.”
“That’s not the point, Troy. Yeah, I know Danny will do an amazing job, but this is your senior year. It’s the last time we’re going to play together.”
Ah hell. Now I get why Andreas is upset.
“What do you want me to do? I fucked up. Don’t go blaming Charlie for something that was totally my fault. Besides, the doctor said I could be back in four weeks.”
“Okay, that’s not too bad,” Danny chimes in, trying to defuse the tension. “That means our ski trip isn’t canceled.”
“Yeah, thank fuck for that.” Andrea snorts. “Seriously, Troy, you have to get your head straight. Fine, I get it. Charlie is a hot piece of ass. But she’s also a fucking menace. If you need to screw her to get over whatever it is you have going on, do it. And then kick her to the curb and out of your life.”
Danny whistles. “Things escalated fast.”
I curl my left hand into a fist, fighting the sudden anger that’s bubbled up my throat. “You’d better watch your tongue, Andy. I’m not a fucking pussy who needs to be rescued by his friends.”
His face remains closed off, but the storm has vanished from his green eyes. He knows he went too far. “Good. I’m glad you’re not completely whipped.”