But the next text froze my blood.
Why didn’t you tell me about Sydney
Ohhhhh, fuck. So much for her blending in with the wives.
As I was reading through the messages, Leroy approached me.
“Hey, Mike,” he snapped. “Tell your stupid girlfriend to stay the fuck away from my wife.”
I turned to face him. “Excuse me?”
“Your little bimbo got Sydney kicked out of the wives’ party.”
Stelle was already rushing to get behind me, sensing the mayhem in the air. “Hey!” he warned.
“What did you call her?”
“And while you’re at it, you stay the fuck away from my wife.”
I laughed. “You’re deranged if you think I want anything to do with her. She’s all yours, bro.”
“Oh, I’m deranged, asshole?” His voice boomed. Guys gathered in various states of dress. It was about to go down. “It’s your little whore who bullied Sydney and made her feel bad about fucking you.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Romelski said, shaking his phone as if to prove he had receipts from his wife.
“Did you call Jessie a whore?” I shouted, stepping to bump my chest with Leroy’s.
And then the wrestling match began. In seconds, Leroy and I were battling on the locker room floor. I had him pinned under me, pummeling his cheekbone, when Coach demanded Sorrento and Stelle pull me off him.
“Both of you, in the office, NOW.”
We sat in two chairs across from the desk, not looking at each other.
“One of you had better start talking. We can’t have this bullshit right before the playoffs.”
“I haven’t talked to my girlfriend yet, but it seems Leroy’s wife harassed her at the party back home.”
“Sydney wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Leroy exclaimed. “It was your scrappy little bitch.”
I stood, ready to pound his face again, but Coach pulled me down.
“Leroy, quit being a dick. Mikey, settle down. Whatever this is, it ends right this second. You don’t have to like each other, but you have to have each other’s backs out there. Out there, we are one big happy fucking family. Got it? I don’t want to hear another goddamn thing about your wives fighting.”
“She’s my girlfriend,” I corrected in a mumble. Coach glared at me and I raised my hands. “You’re right.”
Things were tense as I got changed in the locker room and got on the bus. I texted Jessie as soon as I got out of the meeting.
I’ll call you as soon as I’m back in my room, honey. I’msorry.
I felt like I was riding to my funeral on the bus back to the hotel. Instead of grabbing food with the guys, I went straight to my room. I could order room service later. Jessie needed to come first. My throat was dry as I dialed her number.
Jessie’s voice was tearful. “Hello?”
Already off to a bad start. Not her usual “hey, Jockey,” or “what’s my favorite thug doing?”
“Hi, Sweet Cheeks. You wanna tell me what happened?”
She sniffed. “Everything’s awful.”
