Suddenly, he started chuckling. It started muted and very under his breath but got louder. He pulled his keys out of the ignition of his car and shook his head in disbelief. “You’re in so much trouble.”
I started to protest, but Alec climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind him. When he opened the back seat door to grab the supplies he’d brought with him, his laughter filled the car once again.
“Shut up,” I growled, but he shut the door and started off for the field without me.
I took a few minutes to compose myself. I was well aware of how my impulsivity had landed us in a very precarious predicament. I didn’t want to think my team was going to turn on me or be mad at me. Hell, if Lila could support me in Zeke’s face, anything was possible. I’d have a lot of apologizing to do, maybe even some groveling if I wanted them to see things through my perspective. We were a good team, and with more money and state support, we could be even better. We could recruit from out of state, and we could buy pads that fit. It was the final piece to the Black Widow puzzle. If I didn’t go for it, I’d be a sham to my team.
I clapped my hands on either side of my face and let the sting pump me full of confidence. “This is good. That’s what I’ll say.” I could convince them that this was a good move.
I grabbed my backpack and purse and climbed out of the car. Alec headed straight for the field, but I detoured into MontRec to grab our supplies. As expected, Kris was leaning against the front door with her arms crossed. She always waited by the door at Saturday practices to help me grab supplies, but this time, she had a slight grimace on her face.
“Quinn. The woman of many surprises.” She stepped to the side so I could unlock the door. “Wanna explain why Zeke Matheson approached you after our game yesterday?”
I avoided eye contact. Kris had a way of getting inside me that I never quite understood. She was more than a good friend. She was like a soothsayer. She always knew how I was feeling with just a quick glance and could sense when there was unrest anywhere around our team. She was a center for a good reason.
“Um, I’m going to explain it to everyone,” I replied to her. “Just gotta grab this stuff.” I unlocked the employee entrance to MontRec, but when I tried to pull it aside, Kris grabbed it and held it in place, just closed enough that I couldn’t slip through. I faced her. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
I put my arms and face into trying to express my emotions. “Yes! Everything is fine. I made a couple of…maybe impulsive decisions, but I think people are going to be on board.”
Kris looked me over, and the height in one of her eyebrows suggested she didn’t believe me, but she loosened her grip on the door so that I could open it fully. I walked in, and Kris followed. Neither of us said anything as we walked into my office, collected the balls, pads, and jerseys, and left again through the front door. I locked it behind us and led the way around the building and out back to the field. Everyone was there and waiting, and as soon as I was within view, all their eyes shot to me. I pressed on through their scrutiny, setting our materials down and holding out the jerseys for everyone to collect, but no one moved.
“Yeah,” Jazz started, her turquoise hair shimmering in the sunlight, “we’re not doing that until you explain yourself.”
I looked at Alec for support, but he turned his face away from me, so I rolled my eyes and faced the group again. “Okay, fine. Everyone sit. This could take a minute.”
Everyone sat down in the grass in front of me, except for Lila, who remained standing with her arms crossed. I didn’t know how much of Zeke’s and my conversation she heard, but Lila wasn’t stupid. She’d probably long put the pieces together.
“Um, okay, so. On Wednesday night, well, Wednesday night into Thursday morning, I submitted an application for the Black Widows to go semi-pro.”
“What?” the Widows resounded almost in unison.
“What are you talking about?” Kris asked.
Hollie raised her hand and remained quiet. I pointed at her, and she put it down. “Hi, yeah. Are you out of your mind?”
“We only have eleven players. We can’t go semi. We’d get eaten alive,” Jansen exclaimed.
“How could you do something like that without talking to us first? You’re always saying that we’re a team on and off the field,” Beck complained. “How would I swing semi-pro status? I have a full-time job and a kid.”
“Same,” Gria continued, “and half the time, I’m rushing off to get to stuff for Addy.”
A flurry of additional complaints started to fly at me, and my first impulse was to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. I could feel Alec staring at me with an unspoken, “I told you so,” but I ignored it. I expected the team to be a little shocked, but I didn’t think that they’d be so upset.
Kris jumped up out of the grass and came to stand next to me. She put an arm around my shoulders and audibly hissed at the team, who went silent. “What’s wrong with you? After everything Quinn has done for us, you can’t even hear her out before you jump down her throat?” She squeezed a spot on my shoulder hard enough to hurt. “I’m a little pissed that we were left out of the conversation,” she said but released her grip, “but I’m willing to hear what her thoughts are. I’m sure she had a good reason, or hopefully, many.”
I put my head on her shoulder for a moment and then lifted it again. “Thank you.” My hands instinctively went into my pockets to hide. “Look, guys. I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything to you. Honestly, it was a knee-jerk decision. We’d just finished watching the Vipers play, and Alec—”
“Ah,” Alec said and snapped his fingers. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“It was you, though!”
“I said it’s a shame you guys weren’t semi-pro. I didn’t say to go do it and then challenge the Vipers to a match!”
“What!” the Widows screeched, and I leered at Alec.
Alec winced. “Oops, I forgot we hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
Kris pulled her arm from around me and folded it into her other one across her chest. “You did what?”
“Well!” I bellowed, my hands flying back out of my pockets to fan out. “He was totally trashing us. I couldn’t just let him say whatever he wanted.” I pointed at Lila. “She agrees with me!”
George looked up at Lila. “You knew?”
“I don’t agree,” Lila responded to me, totally ignoring George.
“Wh—you said!”
“I was angry. You’re the captain. You’re supposed to keep a level head.”
Jansen scoffed. “You’re one to talk.” George and Max both turned to glare at her, and she scooted closer to the safety of Hollie and Gria.
“You think we can beat them, though,” I said.
“Of course, we can beat them,” Lila replied, “but I’m not about to go to some dog and pony show in some misogynistic, male-dominated ring just to prove that I’m allowed to be there. I’m out.”
I shook my head, feeling like I was going to have a meltdown any second. My frustration must have radiated because the entire team went quiet. I opened my eyes and looked into the waiting expressions of my confused and betrayed team. “Guys, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done this without asking you, but I did it because I believe in this team. I believe in us. We can be something more than just a community team. I know that some of you have jobs, jobs you like, even. This would be a full-time commitment if it happened, but we could figure something out. You wouldn’t be volunteering your time anymore.”