Page 30 of Tumbling the Cornerback

"Hey, Cassie," I wheezed after a moment. "Just a quick question here, but...what the fuck?"

Cassie's dry, tired chuckle was familiar and almost a balm—she knew how bad it had been with Jameson, especially towards the end. How much I'd spiraled. How I'd shut down and almost gave up everything I'd worked so hard for just because some man who couldn't own up to being with me decided to tell me I wasn't good enough.

And I'd believed him.

Cooper would never...

"Queering Sports doesn't owe us anything when it comes to letting us know who they're working with or, well... anything, really. Unless you're organizing the event, which is the case for the upcoming fundraisers you have set with them..." She trailed off. "Hon, I don't think you're going to be able to avoid seeing Jameson."

"I can if I quit," I muttered, then shook my head, knocking that thought loose even as Cassie sputtered. "No, I'm not going to. He doesn't get to drive me out of this. He can eat a bag of rancid dicks for all I care."

She was silent for a moment. "That's disgusting, Lucas. But I like that. Keep that thought in mind. Is it going to be a problem meeting with Liesel on Monday for your next-step meeting?”

"Why would it be?" I hastily tabbed over to my calendar app and checked the date. "I’ll be professional. She had no idea about Jimmy."

Cassie hummed agreement. "Of course. Just thought it best to check."

I paused. She sounded weird. Hesitant, maybe a little worried. "Cassie. What's going on?"

"Well. There's been a few rumors going around. Gossip, really. You know the team doesn't get a lot of space in the gossip pages, but a few really glom onto the guys."

Damn it. Marisol was right. "Is this about me having drinks with Cooper the other night?"

Cassie's breath came out in a whoosh. "You've heard then?"

"That I had drinks with him? Well, I was there, so yes..."

"Don't be a smartass," she scolded. "Right now, management is not concerned. You have clearance to work with Cooper for this project, and you weren't acting in an untoward or overly familiar manner. At least not as was reported. But be careful, Lucas. Do you hear me?"

"Marisol already gave me the talking-to earlier," I sighed. "I know."

Cassie was quiet for another moment. "I know you're not going to screw yourself over for a bit of fun, Lucas. But I also know you lead with your heart nine times out of ten. I'm not gonna tell you what to do—I know what the contracts say, and I also think that's ridiculous, thank you very much. But I am going to remind you how much is riding on your reputation, and what it would mean for the squad as well as your future."

I promised her I'd be careful, she made some chiding noises about me running late, and we rang off.

"Well, shit," I sighed, scrubbing my hands over my face. "Shit, shit, shitty shit shit."

Not only was I going to be late, but I was also going to be distracted. This was going to be amazeballs.

"Dude. What the hell was that shit?" Marisol demanded. Practice had been rough. The new routines weren't sticking, some maintenance stuff was going on loudly, the sound system wasn't working right... And I'd fumbled two catches, nearly dropping Liz and Tori.

"It's been a day," I muttered, huddling over my knees. We were about to do our last run-through of our newest routine, needlessly complicated but definitely a crowd pleaser. "I need a minute."

Marisol sat beside me, tapping her toes on the ground in a rapid, frustrated rhythm, fidgeting with the metallic poms half the squad had for the routine. "I'm sorry I came off as bitchy today," she said quietly as the others milled around, waiting for the end of break. "You're one of my best friends, Lucas, and I don't want bad shit to happen to you, okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I whispered. "I know. Did you hear about Jimmy?"

Marisol hesitated, then nodded herself. "Tori told me just before practice started. You gonna be okay, or do I need to take up a bail money collection?"

Her brisk tone made me giggle, which infected her a second later. "I'm gonna keep on doing what I've been doing." I bumped her shoulder with mine. "I'll do my best not to let him take up any real estate in my head, you know? If he's gonna throw money at Queering Sports, then we're gonna use it. If he's gonna help the kids, then okay. But he's not part of my life, and I'm gonna make damn sure it stays that way."

Marisol pursed her lips like she wanted to say something but, after a moment, shrugged. "Okay, bestie. But just so you know, my brother Marvin works for a funeral home. If we need to hide a body, I know a guy."

Coach Dani blew her whistle, and we were on our feet, conversation over in a heartbeat. We dragged ourselves into one more round. By the time we wrapped up at ten, all of us were dragging ass. "Fuck, I wish they'd let us use the showers," Neda, one of the new members, grumbled. "I hate driving home sweaty."

"It's still in the high nineties," I pointed out. "Even if we could shower here, we'd be dripping by the time we got to our cars."

"Y'all can't shower here?"

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