“Andrew,” Gray said, training his eyes on me. “When you punched someone, it had to do with Danny Ennick, didn’t it?”
It was like a bolt of lightning going through my chest.
The sound behind me was subtle. Subtle enough that I thought I might have imagined it.
But something about it seemed off, like a sound that shouldn’t have been there.
I paused for a moment, feeling Gray’s Adam’s apple bob under my palm.
“Wait,” Gray whispered.
Time slowed for a moment as I slowly turned my head to look down the hallway behind me.
Please let it be nothing.
But as I turned I saw that it wasn’t.
There was someone standing there.
He had his phone in his hand, then quickly slipped it back into his pocket. I dimly recognized the guy as one of the running backs from…somefootball team I’d played against in the past.
He’d been holding his phone steady, trained on us. And he’d likely gotten a video of me between Gray’s legs, shoved up against him with my hand collaring his neck.
Talking about Coach’s son as I did it.
Talking about the fact that I not only hooked up with Coach’s son, but that I punched someone because of him, too.
Don’t freak out.
Don’t panic.
But as I saw the guy turning to run, I knew exactly what had happened.
“No,” I whispered, pulling away from the wall. “No.”
I bolted for him as he ran down the hallway. He tried to slip away fast, but I was faster—I was trained for this, and I didn’t give a fuck if this wasn’t football, I couldn’t let him get away with that video.
The end of the hall had a narrow corner. I juked to the side, blocking his path right before he could turn.
“Delete it,” I said as I got him up against the wall.
Up close, I recognized who he was.
Colby Forren, a cornerback from Tennessee Tech.
He smelled like pure, potent vodka, and was clearly so drunk that he didn’t give a fuck what I thought about him.
“Not fucking deleting it,” he said. “People deserve the truth about you. Been trying to act like you’re God’s gift to college football this season but Coach Ennick only likes you because you’re secretly his son’s boyfriend, huh? Well now your boyfriend will know you’re cheating.”
Colby’s entire view of the situation was warped.
“Ennick isn’t my boyfriend.Heis the one who cheated onme?—”
Colby snickered under his breath. “And now I have you sayingthatrecorded, too,” he said, flashing his phone at me.
“You’re deleting that video,” Gray said from behind us.
I saw a flash of metal and when I turned, I saw that Gray was holding an opened switchblade in his hand.
