Page 52 of Tumbling the Cornerback

"Who is it?" I called out as I passed Rye, hoping he'd say Lucas.

He rolled his eyes. "Your new BFF."

Huh?

I stopped by my locker, grabbing my shirt and some loose shorts. If it wasn't Lucas, I didn't want to shock whoever it was by standing there mostly naked. It might be Phil, but according to his last text, he was in Beaumont dealing with some player drama for another client. Stepping out into the hallway, the slightly hungover person of Jameson Creel greeted me. "Oh lord," I sighed. "What is it?"

He chuckled dryly. "You got me thinking last night. To be honest, it wasn't something I hadn't thought before. And something my agent mentioned."

When he fell silent for a long moment, I leaned back against the wall. "Go on."

"Look, I'm not saying what I did was wrong. Lucas wasn't gonna fit my image, and there's no two ways about that."

"Okay then," I muttered. "Good talk."

"Hey," he barked when I turned to walk away. "I'm not here to make excuses."

"Seriously?" I whipped back around, crowding him against the opposite wall. "That's all you've done! Why are you here, Creel? You gotta understand I will not be on your side in this. You cost Lucas his job. You treated him like trash. Why would I sympathize with you?"

"I'm not asking you to," he snarled, but I was sure he was lying. "I wanted you to know... I'm trying to make things up to him."

"Huh?" I rocked back. "Why are you telling me and not him?"

"Because he won't accept it coming from me. So it's going to be private. But you'll know." He gave me a nod. "And so will I."

"Forgiveness in secret? It doesn't work like that," I laughed. "Creel?—"

"What're those head shrinkers fond of saying? You can't love anyone till you love yourself?"

"That's RuPaul."

Brushing that information aside, he waved one hand. "Whatever. The point is I'm patching up holes I've made. And right now, Lucas don't need to know I've tried. But I'll know. And now you will too." He eyed me one more time, a smile curling over his expression. "You're gonna go far, Coppertop. You're one of the best out there. Don't fuck it up like I did."

"You had a blown knee and broken femur," I said. "Wasn't your fault."

"I don't mean the game. I mean everything else."

As he walked down the corridor, back towards Coach's office, I stared after him. "What the hell was that?"

Lucas was curled up asleep on my sofa when I got home. He'd let himself in with the spare key I'd given him before heading out that morning. He'd made himself right at home, from the looks of things. Quietly, I toed off my shoes and set my keys and wallet down on the table by the door. Padding past him carefully, I took my things to the laundry room to sort and headed into the kitchen. It was late, past ten, the day stretched out by interviews with various sports agencies, meetings with coaches and medical team checkups. A rumor zipped around that Byrne was fired from Texas Sports News, and none of us were sad.

Lucas was still snoozing when I found the leftovers he'd put in the oven for me, a little heart drawn on top in parmesan.

I grabbed my phone and called Ouisie. "I think I love him," I said as soon as she answered.

"Hello to you too, Coop," she yawned. "Is this a good thing?"

"Yeah... yeah it is." Lucas snuffled in his sleep but didn't wake as I carried my plate to the table and sat down, Bluetooth in my ear and phone in my pocket. "I wasn't sure, but... he put a heart on my food, Ouisie."

"Well, that does it. Now you have to marry him," she said dryly. "That's true love right there."

"There's more," I laughed softly. "God, this week has been a mess."

"Tell me about it," she said, sounding sleepy. "I'll make some coffee."

"Don't keep yourself up. I'll call tomorrow. I just... I had to say it. I had to let someone know."

"Maybe you should let him know, huh?" she teased. "And when you call, don't make it too late. I've got a date."

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