Page 82 of Candygrams

“It’s great, but, uh,” he reaches into the back of his car, “I’d feel better if you wore this.”

He holds it up. “Your jersey?”

He nods. “Yeah. That way people who don’t know you’re my tutor won’t give you any shit.”

“Um, okay, sure.” Whatever. I take my coat off and pull the shirt over my head but not before giving it a cautious whiff. I’ve smelled some of the players when they come off the field from practice. Not that Rip has ever smelled anything but good. In fact, he has always smelled very, very good. Too good. Just like his shirt when I pull it over my head and the scent drifts up to me.

Once we get there, Rip takes my hand and holds it. People are all over the place and I find myself shrinking into him the closer we come to the door. When Rip steps through the door everyone turns and greets him. His teammates have all met me so they also greet me but lots of people don’t.

Will Rip leave me so he can go off and boing a girl? He said he wanted me here to avoid that but there are a lot of pretty women here. And they are wearing a lot less than I am. One of Rip’s teammates hands me a drink but before I can drink it, Rip is taking it from my hand.

He pushes his lips against the shell of my ear, and I fight to keep from shivering from the sensation of his breath moving the tiny whisps of hair that have escaped my ponytail, “Don’t drink anything you didn’t pour or open yourself, sweetheart.”

I let the nickname slip by since he was trying to offer me good advice. Aaron comes up beside us with a beer in one hand and a cup in the other.

“Unless me or Aaron give it to you.” He takes the cup from Aaron and sniffs it before he passes it to me.

I take the cup and give him a nod. When I drink some of it, I find that it’s soda with something else in it.

I yank on Rip’s shirt to get his attention, “What is this?”

“Rum and Coke.”

“Rum and Coke?” Should I keep drinking it? I’m not really supposed to drink yet but it doesn’t seem to stop anyone else here. I’m sure a few of them aren’t twenty-one yet. I cautiously sip on it instead of just sitting it down.

Arms wrap around my waist, and I’m being twirled before I can identify who has me. “What’s up, girlie! I’m glad you decided to come!”

Rip’s head whips to the side and he shoots one of his teammates a go-to-hell look. “Holmes!”

He snaps the name out in a pissed growl. The arms leave me and he slaps Rip on the shoulder. “Come on, man. I know where not to touch. Just wanted to say hi and tell her we’re glad she could make it.”

“Next time do it with your damned words and not your hands.”

“Noted, brother, noted.” Holms has always been one of the sweeter players who is quick to offer me a smile but not a leer. “You want another drink, Tandy?”

I look over to Rip and shake my head no. I’m sure Rip would grab me something if I wanted it, but I’ve still got half of what Aaron handed me.

“You tell her not to drink anything she doesn’t get herself?” Damn, Holms is the third person to say something about that. I wonder why. “Of course I told her. Like I wouldn’t let her know that.”

“Why?”

The men look around at one another and for just a second I don’t think they’re going to answer me.

Finally, Holms does, “About two years ago, some of us were at a party for an away game and they dropped shit into our drinks.”

I gasp and turn to look at Rip. Is that why he wants me with him? Was he one of the guys that got drugged? He leans forward so he can speak close to my ear again.

“I had the flu and didn’t go but a lot of the guys on the team drank the shit and one of us, Robbins, had to go to the hospital.”

“Oh my God! Did…was anybody ever…charged? Punished?”

He shakes his head.

“Some of the guy’s girls got the shit too. Brian woke up in bed with a stranger and didn’t remember how he got there or what he did. His girlfriend broke up with him afterwards. It crushed him and for a long time he wasn’t right.”

That’s fucking scary as hell. The three big men seem sad and I can tell without them having to say anything that it affected them.

“Now, we got each other’s backs.”

---