“Maybe some other time, D.”
Evan blew out a frustrated sigh and jammed his clothes into his bag before facing me. His dark, gray gaze stared at me with such contempt. The guy fucking hated me. I had yet to apologize to him for what I’d done, but it wasn’t like it was going to help anyway. Evan had his mind set and there was nothing I could do to change that.
“You can come, Reed. As long as you don’t cause problems, I don’t mind you hanging around the restaurant. Just stay out of my way.”
I held up my hands. “Got it. No problems.”
He scoffed. “That’ll be a first.” Then he turned to Derek. “See ya later, D.” Without another glance my way, he took off out of the locker room.
Derek bumped me in the shoulder. “Give him some time. Maybe if you apologized to him he’d forgive you.”
I shook my head. “It’s too late for that.”
A small smile spread across his face. “You never know until you try. Now come on, we’ll have fun.”
“Where’s Hayden?” I asked, following him to the door. Hayden Hunter was his wife and a good friend of mine, the only female in the world I could actually say that about. She was a veterinarian and had been trying to get me to adopt a dog for months now. That girl was more stubborn than any woman I’d ever known.
“She’s working late at the clinic and told me to fend for myself tonight.”
“Nice. Well, then I guess I’ll join you. Hopefully Evan won’t poison my food,” I joked.
Derek rolled his eyes. “I’ll meet you at the restaurant in about forty-five minutes. I have to go home to let Bear out first.”
“And that’s why I don’t want any fucking animals. Your girl’s about to drive me insane with adopting one.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s my Hayden for you. She got me suckered into taking one of her animals and look at me now. It’s hard to tell that woman no.”
“I can see that,” I said, laughing. He and Hayden had the perfect relationship, something I’d never have. I didn’t do relationships; I fucked and I loved it. I was twenty-eight years old and nowhere near ready to settle down. There were too many women out there to choose just one.
Derek said his goodbyes to the team and I rushed over to catch Joel before he could leave. “Coach, hold up,” I called out. He turned around and lifted his brows, waiting on me to continue. “I’m sorry about Davis. I know he was a true asset to our team.”
He nodded sadly. “Yes, he was.”
“And forgive me, Coach, but I didn’t catch who you said was taking his place.”
There were so many great quarterbacks out there looking for a team and I could name a few off the top of my head. However, the second I heard a name escape his lips, I thought I’d stepped into a fucking nightmare.
“Excuse me, who did you say again?”
Joel stared at me with narrowed eyes. “Ryan Delaney. He’ll be here tomorrow.”
Holy fuck. Ryan Delaney was a couple of years younger than me and a complete wild card. He was good at throwing the ball, but very unpredictable. Not to mention, he was a fighter, a hothead on the field with a mouth the size of Texas. I knew without a doubt that he and I wouldn’t get along at all.
“Ryan Delaney’s an arrogant prick,” I stated bluntly.
Joel huffed and rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter what he is as long as he gets us the wins. The decision wasn’t only up to me, so we have to deal with it.”
I turned my head. “This fucking blows.”
“You listen to me, Reed,” he warned. I faced him, and his expression was serious. “The only reason you didn’t get traded is because I know what a great kicker you are. Please don’t make me regret my decision to keep you here. Stay out of Delaney’s way.” When I didn’t answer, he snapped a finger in front of my face. “You hear me?”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “I got it.”
Once he left, I sat down on the bench and watched everyone leave. Ryan fucking Delaney was joining our team. He was going to try to take over as if it were his own. Little did he know it was mine, and I wasn’t giving it up.
—
After practice, I followed Derek to Cooper’s house. Cooper and I were never friends, but we had a respectful understanding. He was one hell of a quarterback and I supported him. I would have given anything to be on that field to protect him, but that wasn’t my job on the team. The way he fell back after being tackled would always stay ingrained in my mind. His leg had twisted underneath him, and even though the noise of the crowd was deafening, it was like I could hear the sound of his bones snapping in half. It was one of every football player’s nightmares.
We arrived at Cooper’s house and I parked behind Derek’s truck. Cooper and his wife, Kate—who also happened to be one of our team’s physicians—lived in a lake house not far from mine. In fact, there was a group of us who all lived close together. When I bought my house on Lake Wylie, I thought I was going to be one of the only ones on the team to venture outside the city limits of Charlotte, but I was wrong. Cooper’s house was a little smaller than mine, but he wasn’t as pretentious or as flashy as I was. In all honesty, I didn’t need all the shit I had, but it was nice to be able to show it off.
I rolled down my windows and Derek walked up to my car. “You have a badass car, but it’s got to be hell getting in and out of that thing.”
Chuckling, I got out and slammed the door. The afternoon was breezy with a little chill to the air, which was a break considering we’d had one of the hottest summers in history. It was now October and I hoped to hell the weather stayed mild.
“It’s pretty easy for me,” I said, breathing in the cool, crisp air. “I’m not a six-foot-four, two-hundred-thirty-pound bastard like you.”
He laughed. “True, but I can’t help it if I’m sexy. Hayden loves me and my big truck.”