Page 29 of One Last Puck

Liam slid next to me and nudged my shoulder.

“You need to move on, nigga. The pussy couldn’t have been that damn good.”

I shot him a glare. I felt heat rising in my chest.The pussy is that good.Shit, I thought about that tight, spitting motherfucker daily.

“It’ll be best if you minded yo’ motherfucking business,” I said, standing up from the bench.

“Shit, I guess the pussy is that good.” He stood and tried to walk away. “Now I’m mad I ain’t get to sample it.”

That was it. He was pressed up against the locker without a second thought.

“I owe yo’ bitch ass so many ass whuppings. You trying to cash in on the first one?” I snapped, eyeing him down.

The tension had been high between Liam and me since we’d returned from L.A. I didn’t fuck with him before, but I really didn’t fuck with him since he’d opened his big ass mouth in front of Faye.

“What? You gon’ whup my ass over a fat ho?—”

He didn’t finish his sentence before my fist was against his face. Blood sprayed from Liam’s mouth along with a few of his teeth. I reached back, connecting another punch and another until I felt one of my teammates pull me back.

“Aye, Jax. Chill!” Le’Andre shouted, pulling me off Liam.

“Over a bitch, bro?”

Liam charged me, swinging wildly. I pulled away from Le’Andre because this ass kicking was long overdue. Landing another blow to Liam’s jaw, I shoved him to the ground.

“Alright, enough. This is a locker room dammit!” Coach Sullivan’s voice rang out as my feet were about to come down on Liam’s head. My eyes narrowed in the coach’s direction. “Cut the shit! I’m warning both of y’all asses now!”

“Got it, Coach,” I mumbled, standing upright. Anger was still running through my veins. “Keep Faye’s name out yo’ motherfucking mouth!” I barked as I attempted to move to another area in the locker room, but coach grabbed me, pulling me to the side.

“Jax? What the hell?” He threw his hands up in the air. “You’re supposed to kick the opposing teams’ ass.”

“He started fucking with me first, Coach. I’m sorry.”

“I bet he did.” Coach shook his head. “I’m not going to report that because I’m sure his ass deserved it. Besides, it’s Johnson’s last game as a Penguin anyway.”

My head swiveled. “What?”

“He’s getting dropped. He’s too much of a liability with all his bullshit.”

Damn. I ran my hands through my hair, taking in what the coach had just said. Liam was getting fired. Good. His bitch ass should have been fired years ago.

“Take a minute, Saint. Get your head back in the game.”

Coach patted me on the back before walking away. I nodded, pushing my phone into my pocket.

“Get your head back in the game.” I left the locker room and headed for the elevator. I knew exactly where to go if I needed to get my head in the game. Taking the elevator, I headed up to my family suite. The elevator doors slid open with a ding, and I stepped inside.

“Hey, sweetheart. You okay? What are you doing up here? Why aren’t you in warm-ups?” she questioned with a look of concern on her chocolate face.

“My head’s not in it, Mom,” I admitted, making my parents move in my direction.

“I can’t stop thinking about Faye. I just whupped Liam’s ass, and everything seems to be moving too fast and not fast enough at the same time.”

Shit, that was a lot to get off my chest. I looked at my parents, who were staring at me. Both had looks of concern and amusement on their faces. They thought it was so funny that I was sick over Faye. I almost regretted telling them about our encounter, but I had to tell somebody. Hell, I thought they would be able to give some sound advice, but all they had to offer was “give her time.”

“Listen, baby,” my mom began in a comforting tone. “Focus on tonight. This is your dream, and you owe it to yourself to be present.”

I nodded, taking in her words like medicine.

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