Page 207 of Whistle

Ryan Walsh, Jamie Owens, Wes Sinclair, Jason Rush, Lars Eriksson, Ben Kruger, Matthew Prism, and, bringing up the rear, Landry. All of them were wet and wearing nothing but Speedos. Except Landry, of course.

“Who’s running practice if you’re back here eavesdropping?” I asked.

“We’re taking a water break,” she told me. Then to the dean, she said, “Hydration is important.”

Hydration, my ass.

Pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and finger, I said, “What gave you all the impression that you could stand outside my office and eavesdrop on a private conversation?”

“To be fair, Coach, you were yelling. You weren’t hard to hear,” Jamie said.

“Thanks for that,” Wes added.

“The dean never comes to the pool like this. We knew something was up,” Ryan said.

“Again, I ask what makes you all think this is your business.”

“We’re Elite,” Ryan needlessly pointed out. That was his excuse for everything.

“Actually…” Dean Cardinal spoke up. “Coach Resch just tendered his resignation. So he actually won’t be Elite much longer.”

“You aren’t quitting,” Bodhi argued.

“Is this because of your relationship?” Ryan asked, looking between me and Goldilocks. His voice and demeanor were calm.

The dean let out a strangled sound. “You all knew?”

“Bro, we were listening at the door.” Rush reminded him.

“But none of you seem surprised,” he observed, glancing around at everyone.

“We already knew,” Lars put in.

Philip’s mouth dropped again, and twin spots of color bloomed high on his cheeks. Spinning to me, Dean Cardinal said, “You’ve put this team in a very precarious position, Resch. Forcing them to be complicit in your relationship with a student and using your power to?—”

“Whoa!” Kruger cut him off.

“How dare you talk to him that way?” Landry followed, voice high.

“It’s the truth,” Philip replied.

Jamie shook his head. “Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me.”

“My dog is smarter than that, and he chases his own tail,” Kruger noted.

“You don’t have a dog,” Prism pointed out.

“You should tell Arsen you want one. We’d get one so fast.”

I gave them a look.

“Sorry, Coach,” Prism mumbled.

“Coach Resch didn’t force the team into anything. None of us knew about his relationship with Bodhi until a few nights ago after they had their accident and we met them at the hospital.”

Dean Cardinal seemed surprised. “You all went to the hospital?”

“Coach is our family,” Rush stated.

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