Shutout (Rules of the Game, #2)(61)
Realistically, we should both get to bed, but it doesn’t seem like sleep is anywhere in sight for either of us. I’m trying to read, and Reid is stumbling around our room getting undressed.
“Saw you with Carter’s sister the other day,” Reid remarks, nearly losing his balance as he tugs off his dress pants.
My blood turns to ice, and I set my copy of Atomic Habits next to me on the bed. “You did?”
“Yeah. You two were leaving the arena after dark. She’s got pink hair, super hot? That’s her, right? I remember her from Chase’s party.” He casually tosses his dress shirt onto the desk chair, seemingly unaware of the fact he’s sitting on information that could blow up my life.
Panic takes hold, and my thoughts start to race. I was definitely more handsy with Seraphina than I should’ve been on our way back to my car after our encounter in the announcer’s box. Thinking with my dick yet again, even after we’d already had sex.
If Reid saw us, who else did? Has he mentioned this to Chase? Or to anyone?
“Listen,” I start. “That’s complicated.”
Smooth, dumbass. Reid is so drunk I could tell him I’m an astronaut and he’d probably buy it. Yet I chose to go the worst possible route: admitting guilt and making it seem like an even bigger deal than it is.
“Complicated how?”
I’ve already dug myself this deep; might as well keep excavating. “Carter doesn’t know, and you’d be doing me a solid if you helped keep it that way.”
He flops onto his bed next to mine, stretching out his legs. “Fair enough. I won’t say anything.”
“You won’t?”
“Nah.” Reid scans my face, a grin springing across his. “Relax, man. You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”
“Just didn’t think we’d out ourselves like that. Sloppy on my part.”
It’s tricky to navigate because I like spending time with Seraphina and doing things together. Actually, the two of us in public isn’t the issue; it’s that I need to keep my hands to myself when we are. Easier said than done. She’s so soft, and she smells so good…
“I take it Carter wouldn’t approve?”
“Chase would blow a fucking gasket. Besides, he doesn’t need to know. We’re not dating, we’re just…”
“Fucking?” he supplies.
My stomach clenches. Categorizing it that way feels wrong.
“Friends with benefits, basically.” Well, fuck. That doesn’t sound great, either. “We both have a lot going on right now.”
Reid drains the last of his Stella and sets it on the nightstand next to the alarm clock. “Smart. All of the advantages without any of the drawbacks. Makes it easier on you if things go sideways.”
“I don’t think they’ll go sideways.”
He snorts. “That’s what I thought, and then she fucked Grady.”
My head whips to look at him. “What?”
I pick up my book and slip a metal bookmark inside to hold my page, setting it on the bedside table. Suddenly, it all makes sense. This is why Reid transferred in the middle of the season. This is why he’s been so tight-lipped about the circumstances around it. And this is why he’s shown zero interest in all the chicks who’ve been throwing themselves at him since he arrived. His girlfriend cheated on him with his team’s head coach. Dude got burned. Bad.
“Fuck my life.” Reid runs a hand down his face. “I’m not s’pposed to be talking about this.”
“I think you already did, dude. You can tell me if you want. Remember, you’ve got leverage on me, too. Consider it a vow of mutually assured destruction.”
He stares at the patterned bedspread, drumming his fingers on his thigh, then his gaze snaps up to mine. “Fine. Grady fucked my girlfriend. That’s why I transferred. One day I went to his office after hours to ask him about something, and he had Michelle bent over his desk. Some mentor, right?”
“Holy fuck. What did you do?”
The very thought of seeing Seraphina with someone else like that makes my stomach lurch. I was pissed enough about Rob picking her up and trying to convince her to spend the night. I have a newly discovered jealous streak a mile wide when it comes to her. If I found someone else fucking her, I’d end up in jail.
“What do you think I did? I waited for him to get his pants on and then I kicked his ass. His fighting skills must’ve been rusty because it was pretty one-sided.” He laughs, but it’s bitter. “Woodbine was more worried about keeping everything under wraps, so no one pressed any charges. Guess they figured it’d be a bad look if people found out their thirty-year-old head coach was fucking undergrads, especially his star player’s nineteen-year-old girlfriend.”
“That’s brutal, Holloway. I’m sorry.” My empathy skills leave a lot to be desired, but I feel for him in this case. I’d have done the same thing in his shoes.
“I couldn’t stay there and play for him after that happened. I couldn’t even look at him. They made me sign an NDA in exchange for helping me transfer. All I had to do was leave quietly and keep my mouth shut, which I’d been doing a good job of until I had all this beer and now… fuck. Telling you puts me in breach of contract.”