Page 9 of Catch
“What’s going on, Coach?” Grayson entered the room followed closely by Bill.
“Have a seat, Moats,” Terry said.
Grayson’s eyes darted between the three of us. I kept my gaze steady and firm and gave him a very slight head nod. His shoulders lowered in relief.
“We were just informed by a journalist that you and Sutton have history. I understand from McCoy that it’s water under the bridge.”
He nodded vehemently. “Definitely. We talked about it the night you flew me out here.”
“We think that’s great, but we want to present a united front,” Terry said. He pointed directly at both of us. “If this comes up again, we want everyone to think you are best friends. This team can’t handle any more scandals. We’re too new and we have a lot to prove this year.”
“No problem, Coach. Sutton and I are cool,” Grayson said.
I leaned forward. “Yeah, we’re fine. Really, Terry.”
“Fine isn’t good enough. I want the press to believe you’re buddies. Best buddies. Can you make that happen?” Terry asked.
I looked at Grayson and shrugged. “Of course.”
“No problem here,” he said.
Terry looked at Bill and back to us. “Okay. Let’s get back to work.”
Bill nodded and stood when Terry did. “Let’s see how the team did without us.” He rapped his knuckles on the table, dismissing us. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I took a few minutes to catch my breath in my office and then made a beeline for the practice field. Most of the players were over at the stands, signing autographs and taking selfies.
“How was it?” Jamal asked.
“Fine.” I didn’t want to get into it with him now. He’d find out soon enough. My nerves were shot, and I was jittery. “What’s going on?” I nodded in the direction of the fans, irritated that the team was fraternizing with them instead of pounding out plays on the field.
“It’s lunchtime and they’re feeling famous. Look at them.” He shook his head and waved them off.
“They have twenty minutes left of lunch to actually eat and get back to the film room.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But it looks like they are having fun.” I was taking out my anger and anxiety on Jamal and it wasn’t fair.
“Want to go over there and be seen and heard?”
I waved him off and scoffed. “Hell, no. I’ve had enough of questions and time in front of cameras today.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to head over there. I’ll see you in the meeting.”
I shaded my eyes and watched Jamal head over to Brandon and the team as they met the fans and signed memorabilia. I didn’t want to stand out on the field by myself and I didn’t want to go inside. I was still trying to cool off from the shit show that was my first press conference. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Lexi.
How’d it go?
Lexi didn’t know about my history with Parker. Nobody I ever dated did. I put her in the past and tried to fool my heart that we never existed. I hated that the wound was fresh again.It was fine. Just a lot of saying the same thing over and over.
That’s great! I knew you could do it.
I didn’t feel like talking right now. I needed to clear my head.Thanks. Gotta go. See you tonight. As I turned to walk into the building, I was surprised to see Grayson on the field holding a child. When it finally registered that he was holding his own daughter, it was too late for me to stop looking.
My eyes darted in search of her even though I tried to tell myself to look away. I saw her and she saw me. Fifteen years later and I was back on that field after winning the game but losing my heart. She had the same sad smile on her face. I tried to look calm. The fluttering of my heart only got worse when our eyes met. I could feel it. We always had that connection in school. I could find her in the cafeteria, or library, or even the football field and we would share a promising look across the large space. It was harder to hide it during our games because I wanted her approval. Everything I did out on the field was for her. Now, she had Grayson.
I broke eye contact first and tried to walk casually back to the offices. I felt more comfortable dealing with the sharks inside who were desperate to derail me with their slick questions than the free-falling I was experiencing inside. At least during the questioning, I had words. I nodded to a few of the defensive coaches still on the field and kept walking until I was safely inside the building. I had to get away from her ridiculously blue eyes drilling into mine, searching for answers to questions never asked from a long time ago.
Chapter Five—Sacked
Past
“Do you think you can sneak away?” I was desperate to see Parker. I missed her and I knew she was having a hard time settling into her new school.
