"He's going to be feeling like crap tomorrow," I said as we walked out of his room.
"Yeah, and ornery as hell. Wish me luck," he said.
We walked out into the open living room and kitchen area. I was planning on heading home, but Wilder asked if I wanted anything to drink.
"You got a bottle of water?" I asked.
"Yeah." He reached into the fridge and threw me a water.
Catching it, I unscrewed the lid and took a long drink.
"You want to tell me why my girlfriend is staying with Scarlet tonight and not me?" Wilder asked, taking a sip of his water as well.
I almost choked. Coughing, I said, "Nope."
"Bullshit," he said. "You and I both know why Scarlet was all of a sudden feeling like a girls' night."
"I don't know what you want me to say."
"How about the truth?" he challenged.
"What? That I screwed up?" I yelled. "That I hurt the one girl I never wanted to hurt, multiple times? That I might be kicked off the football team for the foreseeable future? That it was my idiotic plan for us to date in secret and that it blew up in my face? Is that what you want to hear?"
"Yes," he yelled back. "What were you thinking? Risking football is bad enough, but putting Scarlet through all this crap? I mean, you kissed another girl tonight, Rush."
"I know!" I bellowed. And I hated myself for it.
"Do you?" he argued. "Scarlet isn't just some groupie. She's my girlfriend's best friend, and she's also one of my friends. She doesn't need someone jerking her around."
Anger swirled in my veins, even though there was a small part of me that was grateful Wilder was sticking up for Scarlet.
"You don’t think I know that? You think I don't know how incredible of a person she is and that I screwed up my chances of ever being with her again? I'm well aware of how bad I've messed things up. I don't need you throwing it in my face," I snapped.
Wilder pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rush, I'm sorry. You and Scarlet are both my friends, but I hope you can understand that I'm more protective of Scarlet than I am of you."
I breathed through my nose, trying to calm down. "And I appreciate that. You and Coach have yelled at me enough about how stupid I was to think I could be with Scarlet. I got it. I won't be going near her anymore."
Wilder's brows shot up and his eyes widened. "Coach knows about this?"
I clenched my jaw. "Yeah."
Wilder ran a hand through his hair. "Shit."
"I won't be doing winter workouts with you guys," I informed him, my voice monotone. "I'm not sure if I'll be allowed back on the team."
His head snapped up. "Are you serious?"
"He said it was indefinite, and that maybe he'd consider letting me stay on the team if I made sure not to be anywhere near Scarlet."
He blew out air between his lips. "Man, that sucks."
We stood there in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts.
"I'm going to head home," I finally said, throwing my now empty water bottle in the garbage. "I'm sorry I ruined your night."
I headed toward the door, but before I left, he said, "Rush, if you need anything, let me know."
I gave him a nod and walked out the door.
