First and Goal (Moving the Chains #1) (13 page)

“Is Chelsie gonna be pissed if you talk to Evie?”

“Nah, I’m just gonna find out what happened to her. If Evie needs help, I can’t exactly bail on her even if it does piss off Chelsie.”

“Good to know you put your sister above your girlfriend,” I snark at him.

“Listen up, asshole. Just because you’re in a bitchy mood doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me. It’s not my fault last year blew up in your face. You have nobody to blame for that but yourself.”

“What the hell really happened between her and Eddie, Mike? She’s been doing and saying shit that really makes me wonder. Did he hurt her?” I’ve been meaning to start looking into my suspicions. This is the perfect opening.

“It’s a long story that starts way before Eddie ever came into the picture. Let’s just say emotional scars don’t heal as quickly as physical ones. Sometimes the people you trust to love and protect you are the ones who end up doing the most damage.” The conversation ends abruptly as we near the bleachers. Mike looks up at Evie with a frown. “What happened to you?”

My head’s still spinning over Mike’s cryptic, and very disturbing, morsel, but as always, Evie’s presence scrambles my brain and reduces my focus on anything other than her.

She grimaces as she gingerly makes her way down to the lowest bleacher and stands slowly, clearly not supporting her weight on the injured ankle. “I may or may not have fallen off the podium at practice and may or may not have sprained my ankle.”

“Jesus! Are you all right? You need a ride to the hospital or anything?” Mike sets his duffel bag down at his side and moves forward to grab her arm for support.

I hang back, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my shorts, unsure what to do or say after the roller coaster of the past few days.

Evie waves his hand off and glances in Chelsie’s direction to find her watching them with a glare. “No, Mike, I’m good. It’s just a sprain. One of your trainers already looked at it.”

“You sure? You want a piggy back ride to your car?”

She laughs at his offer. “No, that’s okay. I can gimp it for a while. Besides, I don’t want to get you in any more hot water with Chelsie. You better get over there before her eyes burn a hole in my head.”

I promised myself I’d remain silent and just make sure she’s okay, then head for the showers and home. But, I can’t seem to control my mouth when she’s around anymore.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work by six?” Great, I just casually let her know I pretty much stalk her every waking hour. No big deal.

Evie levels me with a deadpan glare which surprisingly or not, kinda turns me on. “Can’t really be on my feet all night if I can barely stand on one of them, Superjock. I called off.”

“Oh. Right.” Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Well, uh, why’d you stick around to watch practice? Shouldn’t you go home and ice that ankle?”

She shrugs her shoulders and studies the ace bandage. “I thought since I didn’t have to go in, maybe you could help me with calc?”

Holy shit. She’s been waiting for me? Her voice is so subdued that I’m positive I didn’t hear her right. When she’s being halfway decent to me, I wonder if I’ve hallucinated all the bad stuff.

“Well, let Falls carry you. If you wanna be able to march next week, stay off that ankle for a while. Seriously, let him help you. I gotta split. Later.” Mike jogs over to his girlfriend, and Evie and I watch in silence as he clearly tries to smooth things over with her.

I had no idea there was ever anything going on between Evie and Chelsie. It makes me wonder what else I’ve missed all these years.

Evie turns slightly to grab her bag off the bleacher, then winces when she shifts her weight onto both legs, losing her balance and nearly tumbling backwards.

Grabbing her by the waist to stop her fall is a reflex, but as soon as I realize what I’ve done, I expect her to punch me. Instead, her hands come to rest on my chest as she regains her balance. My breath hitches at the contact. And lack of violence.

“Thanks,” she breathes. She doesn’t look up, but she doesn’t jump away from me, either.

I release my hold on her before I do anything stupid. Hoisting her bag over my shoulder, I look down at her with a barely contained smirk of triumph. “Think you can make it across the field?”

Warring emotions swirl through her azure eyes until she gives up the fight. “Yeah, but I might need a little help.”

I hold my arm out for her to grab onto, and we begin walking slowly back towards the main building. It’s obvious every step causes her pain. “If your ankle really hurts that badly, I can carry you like Mike suggested. No problem.”

She looks up at me, mischief playing across her beautiful face. “Thanks, but no. You kinda reek. I don’t want that smell rubbing off on me. Besides, walking across the field with me using you for a crutch must be bad enough for your stud image. You know, out in the open where everyone can see.”

Wait just a damn minute. She’s changing up her defense. Which can only mean one thing: she isn’t convinced I’m only trying to get into her panties. I must’ve gained some ground with her without even knowing it, so she’s trying to find another reason to push me away. Like the good quarterback I am, I’ve gotta test my limits and see if I’m reading her right.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Something you said this week has been bothering me, because I can’t make any sense of it.”

Her body tenses beside me, but she nods for me to go on.

“You said that you’re a stereotypical geek, a nobody, right?”

She nods again, keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead.

“Why do you think that if so many guys are constantly coming onto you? Even if it is for sex, that implies they’re interested and you’re
not
a nobody.” Don’t get me wrong, I think those guys are dickwads, but her lack of self-confidence makes absolutely no sense to me. She’s fucking gorgeous and…perfect.

“Sex is sex. It’s a biological function. Teenagers are horny animals de facto; everyone knows that. Lusting after someone has absolutely nothing to do with liking them. They’re not interested in
me
. They’re interested in how my vagina or mouth can make their dicks feel.”

My brain trips and stumbles over the word “vagina” falling from her mouth so casually, but I push on. “Those two things aren’t always mutually exclusive. Someone could be interested in both you and your…body.”

God knows I am.

“Yeah,” she hedges. “I guess someone could, but it’s highly unlikely. Eddie proved that point. It’s just like how you said girls are only interested in you for one thing.”

“So you think I’m a nobody too, and girls only want me for sex?”

She sighs. “I think you’re a horny jock like all the rest of them.”

Maybe I haven’t gained as much ground as I thought. “You’re kind of being a bitch again. You told me to give you a break if it happened, so I’m giving you a heads up on that.”

“I’m not trying to be a bitch. I’m stating a simple fact.”

“Why are you so convinced that all jocks are horny assholes? Mike’s a jock. You obviously don’t think he’s like that.”

“Neveah Winters,” she offers as if that should be explanation enough.

I lean down a little closer and lower my voice. This play has the potential to make or break me. “Can you keep a secret?”

I expect this little reference to one of the few conversations we’ve ever had to make her happy, but instead she looks sad. “Are you going to tell me you’re gay now?”

Well, at least she remembers that exchange from so long ago. “No, but what I am about to tell you is highly classified information and could get me in deep shit with the rest of the team.”

That’s enough to pique her interest, but not in the way I’d hoped. “You were the ante collector?”

“No!” I scoff. “I’m the one who got Anthony kicked off the team for what he did to her. Well, me, Mike, and Alex to be exact. Which is another reason you can’t say anything. I don’t want any blowback on them.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Mike never said anything to me about this, and I didn’t even know Anthony got kicked off the team.”

I shrug. “Admin didn’t want what happened with the team to be made public, so they kept it quiet. And Anthony wanted to save face. That’s why he made up that dumbass story about getting too many concussions right after he was suspended. Did you ever see him get hurt in a game last year?”

She seems to think it over. “No, but I just figured he got injured off the field. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t feel bad for him at all because he couldn’t play anymore. I just didn’t realize it had anything to do with his disgusting little bet.”

“Oh, it did. About half the team was in on it, but Anthony was the supreme dicklord that charmed his way into her panties first.”

She tries so hard to stifle her laughter, but fails spectacularly. “Dicklord?”

“Can you think of a more fitting name for that guy?”

She smiles up at me. “I cannot.”

I have to cough to make my heart beat again. When she genuinely smiles at me, it’s like a singularity in the universe.

“Wait.” She tugs on my arm to halt our slow walk, then narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you even telling me any of this? To make yourself look better because you weren’t in the running to deflower Neveah?”

“Not only was I not in on the bet to see who could take her virginity first, I didn’t know about it until it was too late. What I’m trying to tell you is that if I’d known, I would have done whatever I could to stop it. Not all of us are like Anthony…or Eddie. I’m running out of ideas to make you believe I’m not a horny jock only helping you so I can get laid. Are you ever going to trust me?”

Her stare makes sweat break out on my upper lip. I have no clue what’s going on in that pretty head of hers. Without another word, she faces forward, and we move again.

“Is that a yes? No, you don’t give a damn? Help me out here, Evie.”

“Eva. And go on. What happened after you found out about the bet?”

It’s not lost on me that she doesn’t answer my question. “Anthony had been a problem on the team for a while. After word spread through the locker room about what he and his buddies did, a couple of us guys realized we had a bigger issue than we knew what to do with. We argued for hours about what to tell Coach, who was gonna be the one to blow the whistle, that kind of thing.”

She fixes me with an expression conveying distrust. “You would turn in your own teammate? Isn’t that against the bro-code or something?”

“I’m not the kind of guy who would put bro-code over basic, human decency. What Anthony did was unspeakable, and he fucking deserved to be punished for it. But if it makes it easier for you to believe that we turned him in, his shitty attitude and behavior was negatively affecting the whole team. We didn’t need an asshole like that bringing us down when we were on a championship run.” I shrug like what I’m about to tell her isn’t as big of a deal as it is. “So me, Mike, and Alex told Coach everything.”

“How did Coach not know that Anthony and half the team had set up a bet to see who could sleep with that poor girl first? Is he never in the locker room with you guys?”

“No, not usually. And I didn’t know about it while it was happening, so I guess that makes me ignorant too. Anyway, about another week goes by, and I realize that none of the guys who were in on the bet were gonna get punished in any way. Anthony only got suspended because he was the ringleader of the operation. No criminal charges were ever filed because technically, it was consensual. Which is total bullshit if you ask me since she’s special needs. How does anyone know if she even understood what was happening? I can’t believe her parents didn’t go to the cops. If that was my daughter, I sure as fuck would have done something more. And I get that we couldn’t afford to lose half the team in the middle of the season, but come on. Any one of them could have gotten to her first, but Coach didn’t do a damn thing to the rest of them. So, I got a little revenge of my own…for Neveah’s sake, and to make sure nothing like that would ever happen in the locker room again.”

“What did you do?”

“You swear this never goes beyond you and me?”

She stops again and studies me. “You mean, Mike and Alex don’t know this next part?”

“No one knows this next part.” God, she’s so beautiful. She could get me to spill all my secrets, and she doesn’t even know it. “Promise me you’ll keep this secret, Eva. I mean it.”

She rolls her eyes, and we walk again. “Fine. I promise. What’s your stupid, little secret?”

“I figured everyone involved deserved to suffer as much as Neveah did. Sooo, I snuck into the locker room one night and laced all their jock straps with cayenne powder. Then I hung up a sign above the locker room door that read, ‘If you only think with your dick, you’re going to get burned.’” Memories of the chaos that ensued the next day as they all suited up for practice bring a wide smile to my face. “They all thought Coach did it.”

The look she gives me when she glances up is a mixture of horror and disbelief. “You did not.”

“If anyone else asks, no I didn’t. I have no idea who did that. That’s not even the best part though.”

She rewards me with a laugh. “There’s more?”

“Alex took Neveah out on a real date the following week. He thought she deserved to be treated like an actual person after being treated like meat for so long.”

“Now I know you’re lying.”

“Why would I lie about that? I have nothing to gain by telling you that Alex is a good guy. Why won’t you believe me?”

She shrugs. “What I believe doesn’t matter. Just because I’m trying not to be a bitch to you doesn’t mean I’m going to be stupid about things, either.”

This time I’m the one who stops us. “What’s it gonna take?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

Fuck, I should’ve known that admission wouldn’t phase her.

“Wait. You were the starting quarterback last year. Why didn’t you just lay down the law in the locker room after you found out about the bet?”

“Eva, do you even remember me last season? Unless I had a football in my hands, no one took me seriously.”

“Yeah, I remember,” she mumbles. “I’m thankful that I never knew until now just how awful you smell after holding a football in your hands for a while. Dear God, it’s like you’ve been rolling around in a pig sty.”