Page 12 of Jockstraps & Newspapers
“Then drink up,” he chided her cheekily, his grin smug and oozing with mischief.Cass glared at him before taking a slow sip of her green water.It was a hint of green apple.Mostly, it tasted like the inside of her mouth.Despite having drank water that morning, she did in fact feel a smidgen dehydrated.Standing in the burning sun, it zaps life from the body.Cass also took some of the sunscreen from her cheeks and rubbed it into the back of her neck.It wasn’t sweet smelling like hers, and it left her cheeks greasy, but she did enjoy the cooling touch on her warm cheeks.
“So, what’s the low down.What do you owe Pearson?Just the article on me, or is there more?”Elliot bent at the hips, stretching out his arms over his head.
Cass snorted when he caught his wrist sweatband on his horns.His eyes shot wide with a moment of panic.Rushing to his aid, he kept bent so she could slip the band off the tip of his horns.He chuckled, “Thanks.”
“I kind of owe you for saving me from Slimy Stevie.”She jutted a thumb back at the benches.Stevie and the other guy with him entered the stands and were in the announcer booth with a gaggle of other rich bootlickers.
“You do not owe me anything for keeping you out of his grubby grabbers,” Elliot snorted hard, his nose ring shaking.
“Grubby grabbers?”she snickered, flipping to a new page as a joke.“Do tell.”
Elliot roared with laughter, hands on his thick hips.Warmth filled her face, and it wasn’t the sunshine.Her stomach twisted in knots as he tried and failed to dry his laughter tears on his messy tanktop.She took pity on him and handed him the blouse she’d worn to the field from her pockets.He beamed at her.Dabbing lightly with the edges of the shirt, he handed it back to her.
“Stevie is a right d-bag.He doesn’t see anyone that’s not him as anything more than meat.We’re all toys for him to play with until he’s bored.Basically, it doesn’t matter if you’re the coach, the captain, or a random bystander, if you’re in his dad’s league or on his dad’s field, you’re his meat to slap and push around however he likes.”Elliot dropped into a low squat and patted the grass in front of him.Cass took the opportunity to sit with him.He flopped down onto his backside and spread his hooves to the point of being scandalous, only to stretch over his lap.He offered his hands and she took them.“Put your boots to my hooves, it’ll give you better leverage.”
So, foot to foot, hand in hand, she helped tug him across the ground then eased her grip.He would sit up fully and lift the weight slowly over his head, then back down before she’d stretch him again.“I’d ask why no one puts Stevie in his place, but I know why.”
“I did once,” Elliot groaned as he touched his belly to the ground.
“What happened?”She furrowed her brows.
“We were out celebrating a win, everyone at Mumfords pub.He showed up and was buying people rounds.Then, he came up to me and Coach, chatting us up.When he went to leave, he slapped my ass.I whirled around to tell him off when he tugged my tail.”Elliot sat up, letting out a slow breath.
“Elliot, oh, I’m so sorry,” Cass blurted out.
“No problems, Cassie, he took his lumps in the form of me knocking all his teeth out.”Elliot shrugged nonchalantly, lifting the weight up and over his head.
Cass turned, looking up into the announcer booth.“Wait… all his teeth?”
“They put them back,” Elliot groaned with irritation.
“That’s unfortunate,” She sighed, returning her attention to him.“So, he just gets to sexually harass and even assault you in public, and get away with it?”
Disgust filled her body at the thought of Elliot being harassed.If someone as relaxed and breezy as Elliot lost his cool, it had to be bad.She couldn’t imagine him punching anyone.Granted, she hadn’t seen him play yet but…even then, she couldn’t imagine Elliot Bonesaw mustering up the anger to deck anyone.It made her uncontrollably furious.
“His dad pays our bills, and the last person, other than me, to say something was mysteriously let go.It’s the game you have to play in order to play the game, you know?”Elliot sat the weight down with a sad, forlorn look filling his features.
Cass hated seeing the embodiment of sunshine frown, eyes lost in the pattern of grass beneath them.
“I’m sorry, I…” But there was something she could do.And a protective, mischievous feeling pumped through her veins like angry wasps in her blood.There was something she could do.Mr.Pearson wanted an interesting story?She had something that could hit the front page.However, she needed to do her due diligence.Research was in order.“So, uh, to answer your original question.I’ve got your piece, obviously, and he wants me to do a mini piece on Coach Renner’s retirement.Breakdown of the game like a ‘how to’ for people who’ve never seen SportsBall.A breakdown of stats and games per game, and interviews.Basically.”
“Oooh, okay, a full work up, right on, right on.”
She rolled her eyes.“Yeah, unless I can find something juicy to write about.”
“Yeah?What’s juicy?”he chuckled.
“You wouldn’t happen to be hiding a fight club underneath the field full of debauchery and illegal goods?Would you?”She grinned from pointy ear to ear as Elliot tossed his head back.His laughter was contagious.
“Sorry, I’m an open book but I’m not that kind of book,” he chortled.
“Mmm, there’s gotta be something dirty I can dig up on you.”She playfully narrowed her eyes on him.
“Well, I can’t tell you my secrets if I don’t know yours.”Elliot put his hands behind his back, stretching backward.
“I’m not the subject of an article.”She picked up her notebook and pen once more.“So, what’s your secret?”
Elliot let out a playful huff out of his nose, “Alright, you really want to know?”
