I tug both hands through my hair. “I can’t believe you guys did that.” I shake my head. “Aren’t you worried you’ll get in trouble with the team?”
They all shrug.
“If we get in trouble, it’ll be worth it,” Leo says, like it’s no big deal.
I stare at him, stunned at how unbothered he is right now.
“What if Coach benches you guys?” I ask.
Nick shrugs. “It’s fine. I’ve been benched before for worse stuff. Remember when I stole his car during that prank for homecoming week sophomore year? No way he’d be as pissed as he was for that.”
I stand there and look at them. Quiet understanding washes over me.
“You guys did this for me,” I say, my voice quiet. I’m still in disbelief.
They did something that they knew would piss our coach off to stand up for me. They put their standing on the team in jeopardy for me.
Nick stands up and claps my shoulder. “Remember how you stood up to Coach when I got suspended for running into the stands in the middle of a game to defend Poppy against her ex?”
I swallow hard. “Yeah, of course. That’s different though. You were defending your girlfriend against an attacker. No way would I stand by and let you get punished for that.”
“Remember how you posted on your social media, defending me when that fight with my dad went viral?” Travis says.
I nod at him. Travis is a grumpy guy who can be pretty quiet. Not a lot fazes him, but I remember how distraught he was when that happened. I remember all the shitty comments that people posted about him when they didn’t even know the whole story about him.
They didn’t know that his dad had abandoned his sick mom when Travis was a teenager, and only tried to slide back into his life when he got drafted into the pros. His dad was the one who started that fight in the first place. He ambushed Travis, and when Travis tried to walk away, his dad grabbed him. Travis was just defending himself. He didn’t deserve the shit people were posting about him, so of course I stood up for him. He’s my teammate. And my friend.
“You went out of your way to defend me. You didn’t have to, but you did,” Travis says. “You think I wouldn’t do the same for you?”
“It’s not cool how Coach is threatening to punish you because of something you do in your personal life that has nothing to do with the team,” Leo says. “That’s messed up. It’s also kind of sex shaming, which I don’t stand for.”
I sit down on the couch next to Leo, my head spinning as I take in everything they’ve said—as I realize just how much my friends and teammates care about me.
Emotion grabs hold of me, and my chest goes tight. I always knew they had my back. But I didn’t think they’d go this far for me.
“If Coach wants to kick you off the team for being a thirst trap, then he’s gonna have to kick all of us off the team too,” Nick says.
I spend the next few seconds trying and failing to find the right words. I look at them. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” I huff out a breath. “That doesn’t seem like enough.”
“It’s okay. We’re all good,” Travis says. They all nod along.
I swallow through the tightness in my throat. These guys have been my best friends for the past four years. We’ve played alongside each other. We live together. We may not talk about our feelings often, but I guess this is a different way of standing up for each other.
When shit gets tough, they show up, no questions asked, no matter what.
I clear my throat. “Thank you,” I say again. I check the time. “I should probably leave to meet Coach Sawyer soon.”
“Want us to come with you?” Nick asks.
I shake my head. “You guys have done enough for me. I’ve got it from here.”
Chapter 60
Blake
When I walk into Coach Sawyer’s office, he’s not there.
I glance around, confused. I double-check the time he told me to meet him. I didn’t misread it. I’m here on time.
