Page 96 of Third and Ten

“And where might you be coming from, Coach?” demands the cocky little twerp.

My lip twitches, and I squeeze my arms tighter over my chest. “I’m just returning from none of your damn business,” I reply.

“Oh, yeah, and how was your stay?”

“Very nice, actually.” I step out into the hall, and the other kids glance at Ethan as if this is the last they’ll ever see of him.

“Meet anyone I know there?”

I lean in and lower my voice. “Are we gonna keep playing this little game all night?”

Then he glares up at me, and the look in his eyes says that he’s pissed because he knows I’ve been upstairs with Tenley all this time.

Well, technically, he’s right, but it isn’t quite as bad as he thinks.

“Any of you have a problem with me doing my job and monitoring the girls’ floor to make sure you little pervs don’t make it up there?” I ask after a minute of awkward silence, fighting the smirk that might give me away.

“No, sir,” Ethan’s entourage answers.

“What about you, E? Anything you wanna get off your chest?” I might be picking a fight, but I also figure this conversation needs to happen, regardless. And I’ve spent enough time around teenage boys to know that if I don’t get a jump on the situation, his resentment will only grow.

He blinks a few times, his anger seething. “Do I have a choice?”

“The rest of you, get back to your rooms,” I order, making them scatter. I nod for Ethan to follow me, and he obeys. Though he doesn’t seem to be in the mood for a heart-to-heart.

“Look,” I begin, attempting to soften my tone. “It’s not what you think. I mean, it’s not like that, anyway.”

“Isn’t it?”

I quirk an eyebrow. If I weren’t so offended by the audacity of the little punk, I might’ve been proud of his newfound nerve. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from my time in the classroom, it’s that behind every teenage jerk is a kid trying to cover up the fact that he’s going through something way too tough for him to handle at his age.

I insert a key into the card reader, but the lock beeps and flashes red. I cringe, realizing I’ve inadvertently rubbed it in by using Tenley’s card instead of my own.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mumbles behind me, and I glare at him as I swap keys and try again. I’m rewarded with a green light this time, and I give Blake a short warning knock before opening the door.

“Well, if it isn’t Coach Thirsty,” he remarks from his bed. “You’ve been up there so long that I honestly thought you weren’t coming back tonight. Did our old ‘no shirt under my hoodie’ trick from college work on Tenley, or what?”

I clear my throat, willing him to look up from his phone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”

“Come on, bruh. I won that bet fair and square, and now you owe it to me tell me whether you finally sco—”

“Hey, look who I caught trying to sneak up to visit the cheerleaders!” I cut him off and push Ethan forward.

“Oh, hey, Big E,” Blake says, sitting up quickly. “Didn’t see you there at first.”

“Nobody ever does,” Ethan replies before turning to face me. “And, for the record, I was actually going to check on Aunt Ten because my grandma said that she hasn’t been able to reach her all night.”

I look away, the guilt churning inside my stomach.

“I should probably make another round, just to be sure everyone’s back in their own rooms,” Blake announces before grabbing his shoes and giving me a pity shoulder pat on his way out the door.

I sigh once we’re alone. “I’m sorry, Ethan. Is everything okay back home?”

“Yeah, we just got worried when Tenley quit answering her phone. But I guess she’s too busy for us tonight.” His eyes are trained on his feet, and it’s obvious that he’s not just mad at me for allegedly hooking up with Tenley. He’s afraid of something, and the anger is just a cover-up.

“Would you like to go talk to your aunt?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “I’m sure you already know whether she’s okay.”

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