"Fuck, guys. I don't know what to say?" Pierre says, slightly overwhelmed.
"We know that our arrivals have not been smooth," Felix adds.
"It's made shit interesting, that's for sure," Fish adds. This makes the guys smile.
"Honestly, it's kind of bonded the team too," Bouch confesses.
This surprises them.
"What the two of you have gone through with your teams, Cap made it abundantly clear that shit will not fly at the Mavericks."
He's not wrong. "Guys, come sit," I say, moving us into the living room. They take a seat beside each other, and instantly, I notice their shoulders relax.
"Yesterday was a shit show," Nelly states the elephant in the room.
This has Pierre chuckling. "Totally."
"Are you okay? The stuff online is rather brutal," Evan asks.
Pierre nods. "It was worse when they thought I had cheated."
"Can't believe she did that post accusing you of cheating when she was the one," Bouch says, shaking his head.
"You don't have to talk about this. Just tell these nosey fuckers where to go," I tell the guys.
"Funnily enough, I want to explain myself," Pierre says.
"You don't owe us an explanation," I tell him.
"It might help if the media asks. So, you're not caught off-guard by anything," Felix adds.
I look around the room at my friends, and they all nod but don't say anything.
"Guess I should start from the beginning, where I caught Kitty and Bill fucking in the middle of our welcome dinner in Italy."
A couple of guys choke on their beers. I'm stunned. We all look at Pierre.
"I can laugh about it now. I think." He smiles.
"You caught them?" Fish repeats.
"I wish I could wipe that visual from my existence."
"That is fucking messed up," Evan states.
"Why him? Like you're not an ugly guy, and he's well ..." Fish adds.
"Money and influence. He was funding her lifestyle," Pierre explains. "The messed-up thing was we would always go to family lunch on Sunday if it didn't interfere with a game. At their house. We were part of their family. Bill had brought me in to build this team into cup winners. That was his biggest dream. To own a team that is cup champions."
"And you guys would have done it too. Your team was young. But fuck, give it another year or two ..." I tell him.
"Yeah. They are good guys. I felt protective of them. I wanted to not only build a team but a community in South Dakota. Give the state something they've always wanted."
"And he fucked it all away," Sully adds. Pierre lifts his beer in his direction.
"Men can be simple creatures," Felix adds.
"What happened to you, too, Felix, was messed up. Your teammate. Best friend. Linesman," Evan says, shaking his head.
