“Well, then get on with the story so we can get to the apology,” I teased. At that moment, we needed a little levity.
“Colin was a freshman at Georgia. We’d met the first day of August practice, and I didn’t like him right away. He had a gigantic chip on his shoulder and constantly talked about women like they were sexual objects. Not to mention he had a short fuse that was easily lit. Guy’s still an asshole.”
Whereas before Brody sounded like he was close to breaking, speaking of Colin changed his tone. “Anyway, one night, some of the guys in my frat dragged me to a party. It was off campus, and I really wasn’t in the mood to begin with. When we got there, it wasn’t the standard keg-and-plastic-cup college drunk fest. The place was a hellhole, and there were some pretty seedy looking people smoking crap from a glass pipe that smelled like burned plastic. Colin was already there with some of the other freshmen from the team. He was bragging about some girl he was going to get with. She was getting high with his buddy, and he could tell she was down for it—it was shaping up to be a good party. The way he was talking about the woman made me sick. I voiced that if the woman was too high to know what the hell she was doing, it was shaping up to sound like fucking rape to me.”
“I knew it had to be something bad for you to react that way today.”
“That’s not the half of it.”
It was getting worse by the moment. My original assumption that two men had fought over sharing some cheerleader was starting to feel like wishful thinking.
“I had driven to the party, and some of the guys wanted to stay for a while, so I wound up staying longer than I wanted to. More and more people were showing up, and I didn’t like the looks of most of them. I wanted to get the hell out of there before the cops arrived. Eventually, I told the guys I was going to the bathroom and then leaving. They could come or find their own way back to campus. There were people all over the place, so at first, it didn’t seem strange that two guys were waiting outside of a closed door next to the bathroom. While I was waiting my turn, I asked what they were doing, and one of the guys said their friend was inside with some hot crackhead.”
“No—”
“I don’t know why, but I still didn’t put two and two together. I went to the bathroom, came out and saw the two guys still standing there. Halfway down the stairs, I heard one say to the other, ‘What’s the chick’s name Colin’s got in there?’ The other asshole responded, ‘I don’t know. Rose, Violet, Meadow? Some sort of flowery shit.’”
My hand went to my chest. “Oh God.”
“I’ll save you the details, but Willow was in no condition to make a decision to be with anyone. She could barely speak. I had to carry her out of there.”
“That’s rape.”
“It almost was, if you ask me. Luckily, it never got that far. Colin claimed they were fooling around, and then he realized how out of it she really was and tried to help her up. With his pants fucking open, he was trying to help her.”
“Did anything ever happen to him?”
“Other than my fist breaking his nose, no. I went to the police. But it was pretty much my word against his. Willow didn’t remember anything and had disappeared again by the time they finished their investigation. The whole thing was sealed, and I had to throw him the ball for another two years. I thought I was finally rid of the asshole, until the Steel’s midseason trade.”
“And then he used me to screw with you by making that comment about sharing.”
“I’m sorry he said anything to you.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Maybe. But I’m sorry about the way I acted. And about not coming right to you after the coach reamed me a new asshole.”
“Did you get suspended?”
“I won’t know until tomorrow. A fine is definite, but I’m hoping that’s all I get. Coach was a lot calmer when I left.”
“Where did you go after you talked to him?”
“I just needed some time to clear my head. Get my shit together before I came to you. I don’t want the past to be part of my future anymore.”
“I appreciate that. I really do.”
“Do you forgive me?”
There was so much more I wanted to know. The least of which was whatever became of Willow. Was she still a part of his life? But looking into Brody’s eyes at that moment, I saw what telling the story had done to him. He really needed a break. “I don’t think I forgive you yet.”
“No?”
“Maybe I will after I get those multiple apologies you promised.”
Brody reached down and grabbed a handful of my ass, squeezing. “There’s nothing else I would like to do than fuck you full of sorry.”
What became of Willow could certainly wait until tomorrow.
Chapter 17