Page 43 of Look What You Made Me Do

“Where on earth did Jake find you? Did he free you from a lamp or something?”

Pete laughed. “Something like that.”

“Weren’t our boys dynamite today?” she said to Pete as she took a sip of her cocktail.

Pete glanced at Jake. “It was great to see them get up.”

Narrowing her eyes, Ella side-eyed Jake before turning her attention back to Pete. “What? Am I missing something?”

Pete shook his head. “No.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “You think I don’t know when someone is obfu… obfusca…” She blinked. “That’s a hard word to say when you’re tipsy. Being evasive,” she substituted.

Jake traded anther look with Pete and Ella waved a finger between them. She looked at Rosie. “They just did a thing, didn’t they?”

Rosie nodded. “Yep. There was a definite thing happening.”

“What’s going on?” Ella demanded.

Clearly, Ella wasn’t going to let it rest so Jake nodded at Pete to spill the beans. Reluctantly, he obliged.

“We had a good result today but that’s because we were lucky and the other team thought we’d be a walk over. They didn’t try in the last half. They thought they had it in the bag. They were sloppy. We won on the back of their mistakes.”

“Oh.” Ella pulled her drink closer and took another hit.

Rosie shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” Jake said. “It matters. It’s alright for now, for the first game, but it’s going to get tougher and if we want to get anywhere near playoffs we have to be better. Counting on the other team being lazy or choking is not a strategy. We didn’t win today. The other team lost.”

“But… you were so good with them after,” Ella said. “So full of praise.”

Jake shrugged. “They deserved their moment in the sun. To feel ten feet tall and bulletproof for a couple of days. But Monday afternoon they’ll be coming right back down to earth.”

“Don’t be too hard on them,” she said, worrying her bottom lip. “You don’t want to crush their spirit.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured, “I’ll tread carefully. We’ll mainly be reviewing the tape with them so they can see their mistakes. It’s often easier to show than tell, isn’t it, Pete?”

“Absolutely. It’s an invaluable tool.”

“Or…” Ella smiled at Pete. “Maybe we can just rub our genie and make a wish?”

She gave Pete’s arm a rub and he gave a wicked grin and said, “Lower.”

Ella laughed which irritated the crap out of Jake. “I think you’re needed at the bar,” he growled.

Pete winked at Ella. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Jake watched him go. “I should sack him,” he muttered. The kid always had shown a distinct lack of respect.

“We can take him home with us,” Rosie suggested.

“Just what your place needs,” Simon remarked drily. “Another stray.”

Ignoring Simon’s keen observation, Rosie raised an eyebrow. “What’s Pete’s story anyway?”

Jake took a long pull of his beer, wondering where to start.

“Pete used to come and watch Founders practice sessions and he attended every home game religiously. He was this skinny fourteen-year-old with a quick wit and smart mouth who lived and breathed football. A super fan. He disappeared for a while then I saw him in his car one day in the stadium parking lot – he was seventeen at the time – and I realized he was living in it.”

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