“James!” I hear Bex scream. “Stop it!”
Someone grabs at me from behind, but before I’m hauled away, Darryl works his way out from underneath me and takes another swing. He catches my cheek this time, and by the way it stings I know I’m going to have a hell of a bruise. I scramble to my feet. Everything is a blur around me except for Darryl, dragging himself to his feet as well. I can’t even hear over the ringing in my ears. He grabs at me, pulling me in so close I can smell the sour sweat on his skin.
“You fucking warned me, huh? Think you’re all that? She was fucking moaning into my mouth. I had her first and she’s still my little bitch.”
I slam my fist into his stomach. He staggers backward, coughing up spit and blood, and has the nerve to grin at me. I launch myself at him, but before I can smash his face into the floor, two strong arms grab me around the middle and haul me away.
“Callahan!” Bo shouts as he drags me to the other end of the room. “Fucking stop it!”
I struggle against him, trying to get back to Darryl, but when I see someone has him wrapped up too, the fight goes out of me. I lick my lips, tasting my own blood. My head is aching so badly I’m worried I split it open somehow. Where the hell is Bex?
“Get your hands off me,” I say. “Where’s Bex? Bex!”
I spot her across the room, her hand clasped over her mouth. I try to go over to her, but Bo doesn’t let me, even when I start struggling.
“What the fuck was that?” Coach roars, looking between me and Darryl. I’ve never seen him look so pissed. I straighten up as best I can while still held back by Bo, glaring at Darryl. His chin and mouth are covered in blood, and I’m not in the least bit sorry. I hope he swallowed a fucking tooth.
“Into the office,” Coach says, stalking over to the office and ripping the door open so intensely the hinges rattle. “Now.”
He slams the door shut behind us when we’re both inside. “Want to tell me what just happened? Two of my seniors getting into a knockout fight two seconds after a loss? I thought I was coaching men, not fucking children!”
His voice rises with his last words. I look down at my dirty cleats, swallowing down a mouthful of blood, before looking up and meeting his eyes. He’s right. I’m a man, I can handle the consequences of my choices as a man. But he deserves to know why I did it. Darryl, for his part, doesn’t say anything. He’s glaring at me like he wants to shove his thumbs into my eyeballs, so I just stare back. I imagine throwing a football right at his crotch. I can be plenty violent with a football.
“He kissed my girl and then bragged about it. Called her a slut and a whore, sir.”
Coach rounds on Darryl. “This true?”
“He stole her first,” Darryl retorts.
“I didn’t steal her,” I snap. “She’s not an object. She broke up with your sorry ass and found someone better.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Coach says, pinching his nose with his fingers.
“He should have made that pass,” Darryl says. “He sabotaged us all on purpose.”
I turn to look at him. “I’d do it again. I warned you what would happen if you didn’t back up, you slimy fuck.”
Coach crosses his arms over his chest. I hate the surprise on his face, but even if he hates me forever, I’m sticking by what I did. If he recommends that the university suspend me for the fight, I don’t care. Let it come.
“Darryl, go wait outside,” he says.
“Sir,” he protests. “He lost us the fucking game!”
“Out. Now.”
After he goes, Coach just stares at me. I resist the urge to fidget. I’m sure he’s expecting me to start apologizing, but I’m not going to. If he wants to punish me for defending myself and my girlfriend, he can go right ahead.
Eventually, he sighs. “You did throw wide on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Goddamnit, James!” He slams his fist down on the desk, making it rattle. “You can’t do that, even when you’re upset. Even if your personal life is going to shit. When you’re being paid to do this—paid millions of dollars—you’re not going to have the luxury of choosing when to perform! You can’t bring your issues onto the field. We’ve spoken about this. You might hate all your teammates, but they’re your teammates, so you stick by them.”
“I know that, sir.”
“So why didn’t you do it?”
I wipe my bloody mouth. “Because he scared my girlfriend. He forced himself on her. And as much as I love football, I love her more.”
The moment I say it, I feel lighter. It’s the truth, and while I’m not looking forward to telling my father that, telling Coach eases some of the tension inside me. If the price to have Bex and make sure she’s safe is my football career, then I’m willing to let it go. I can always do something else with my life. What matters, at the end of the day, is the future I know I can have with her.
“You didn’t just hurt him,” he says, his voice softer. “You hurt the whole team. Men who have worked hard beside you for an entire season. They trusted you, and you let them down.”
“Yes, sir.”
He leans back, cupping his jaw. “I don’t agree, but I respect why you did it.” He drags his hand over his mouth, thinking. “James. You might get suspended for this, even though he started the fight. The university almost always punishes both parties in these situations. You were still in uniform, representing the school, and if McKee doesn’t act, the NCAA could.”
I just nod. I expected as much.
“I’ll explain that you were defending yourself,” he says. “I don’t think either of you will get expelled, although if Bex chooses to report Darryl’s actions, then that’s a possibility. Sexual misconduct is a serious offense.”
“Good. He should.”
“And I don’t disagree. But that’s not for you to decide. You can’t act like this, no matter how you feel. I thought you learned this lesson at LSU, but apparently not. You can’t make a bad pass on purpose because you don’t like the guy.”
“With all due respect, this is different.”
“How?”
“I’m going to marry Bex one day,” I say. “This is my present, but she’s my future. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Maybe it’s wrong, but I’m going to defend her. I couldn’t just give the ball to him.”
He sighs. “And what good did that do? We lost.”
“Even if I did throw it right, there’s no guarantee he would catch it.”
“No, but he deserved the opportunity to try. Even if you’d have hated it, he deserved that.”
“And I disagree.” I meet his eyes. “Sir.”
He presses his lips together tightly. “I hope you’re willing to explain that to all the guys out there.”
He rubs at his temples, making his way around the desk to clasp my shoulder. He looks me in the eyes. Seeing the disappointment in them hurts, but I don’t back down. I’m willing to stick by every word. “And to her.”