Page 66 of Perfect Storm
“But he’s good on the right. Not as good as you, obviously, but Aidan’s not left-handed, so it’s kind of a moot point.”
If Aidanhadbeen left-handed, then Levi playing right tackle would’ve covered his blind side. But Aidan wasn’t left-handed, and so he needed a dynamite left tackle.
Levi nodded.
“Don’t let it get you down. It was a decent first practice,” Ned said, clapping him on the back, despite his sweaty pads. “And don’t let him pull you into any posturing bullshit, okay?”
“Sure, Coach,” Levi said.
He’d been planning on ignoring Ross’ comments anyway, but it gave him a little bit of extra motivation to do it as Ross sat two lockers down from him and kept muttering insults under his breath.
They weren’t surprising or honestly very creative. Levi had heard way worse.
Griff stopped in front of him as he was finishing getting dressed after his shower.
“Great effort today,” Griff said.
“Thanks, dude,” Levi said.
“Don’t listen to him, okay? He’s just pissed. He’ll get over it.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “Even if I thought he was right, I wouldn’t listen to him.”
Griff nodded. “You’re gonna get there.”
Levi hadn’t needed the reminder that he wasn’t there yet, but at least Griff had been nice about it.
When he finally climbed into Aidan’s car at the end of the day, dusk rolling over the city, Aidan apparently wasn’t going to be the same.
He was quiet for a long time after they pulled out of the parking lot. “You should tell Ned you changed your mind,” he said, when they were more than halfway home.
Levi wished he was surprised. But of course, Aidan had zero fucking patience for the time it would take for him to get up to speed. He wanted to be pissed off. Offended, even, that Aidan had no faith in him. It didn’t feel great, that was for sure.
“No way,” Levi said. “I know today wasn’t as good as it needs to be, but, dude, you’re kind of being a dick.”
Aidan’s hands clenched white around the steering wheel.
“I’m not, I’m being realistic. You arelock downat right tackle. And Acker will get better. It makes the most sense to go back to what we did before.”
“He’s not getting any better, and Iknowthis is gonna work.” Levi frowned.
Aidan didn’t say anything.
“I really took you for someone who doesn’t just try something for a day and then give up ’cause it’s too hard,” Levi continued,because now hewasa little pissed. Had he read all this wrong? Was Aidan actually the unrelenting perfectionist that the world had made him out to be for all these years? He’d seen something more, lurking under the surface, and assumed he was right about what that something more was. But what if he’d actually been wrong?
“That’s not—” Aidan broke off. “I’m notgiving upbecause it was too hard. We tried it.”
“For one fucking practice!”
“Yeah, well, one was enough. I . . .you’renewto this team, Levi. You don’t have the automatic goodwill you had in Seattle. There aren’t unlimited fuckups available to you.”
Levi’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe this.
“I’m trying to keep you upright, you idiot.” Levi couldn’t believe this needed saying. “I don’t need your protection, but the opposite is sure as fuck true. It’s why I’m here. That’s myjob.”
Aidan had known when he got into the car what he needed to say to Levi, and even though he’d been dreading it, because he knew how it would sound, he’d felt like he needed to do it anyway.
He was in meetings that Levi wasn’t in. Meetings with Zane and Robertson, their head coach. Meetings where everyone was bluntly honest about how the line and the whole offense was coming together and clicking. Nobody bothered to sugarcoat things for Aidan anymore. He wouldn’t have wanted them to.
