"That's enough!" Coach Peterson blew his shrill whistle and signaled the end of practice. A collective sigh of relief rang out from us on the offensive side, but I just grinned. While I wasn't happy about backing up Emmitt, I couldn't deny how much I loved the Huskies' offensive system.
I should know, I've been practicing a watered down version for two years.
Ellie possibly didn't know, but there was another fallout from our exchange with Ryder Stevens. He'd been expelled from UC-Davis and currently faced twenty years in prison not for his assault on Ellie but for what other girls who came forward accused him of doing. Ryder's parents were pretty slick lawyers and so far had delayed his trial for one bullshit reason after another. The potential outcome of him in jail was amazing for those girls, including Ellie, but not so great for UCD's football program.
After two months of internal investigations, the Athletic Department concluded that Ryder had acted alone as a sick fuck who raped two girls on UCD's campus but some of the other guys who knew him were aware of his actions. As fallout, the team, along with Ryder's fraternity Rho Delta, was gutted of its juniors and seniors.
So, by football standards, my freshman year's UCD team was in a tailspin. I competed against two other guys and took Ryder's starting quarterback position as a freshman. That scenario was virtually unheard of in big programs without injuries or starters transferred. But I strapped the entire team on my back, Coaches Hawk, Jackson, and Pierce built the offensive system around my strengths, and everyone else held on for the ride.
Coach Hawk and I had an emotional moment when I told him this spring how, after two years being Big Sky champs and three Football Championship Subdivision game wins, I'd accepted a transfer to the University of Washington. After the initial shock in his eyes was placed with disappointment, Coach only nodded, firmly shook my hand, and wished me good luck.
I felt selfish and guilty when I left my team, my guys, and the Aggies' faithful fans. Fortunately, all of the local sports coverage assumed I moved up to a bigger school program and, in particular, the one that was best known for developing NFL-level quarterbacks.
What Coach Hawk hadn't known was that the Huskies' Coach Peterson called me a few weeks prior to the start of my freshman year. He'd left me a voicemail message to contact him but our subsequent conversation grabbed my interest right away.
"LT Hightower," Coach Peterson's voice echoed in my ear when I called him a few days later. "Congratulations on UC-Davis, although rumors through the NCAA claim their program is rebuilding. Saw the girls on the news, terrible really."
"Thanks Coach Peterson," I replied tightly since I was closer to the situation than he could've imagined. "I took your advice on UCD. This is the best place for me now but I'd be lying if I said your voicemail didn't interest me."
"Glad to hear that, LT." Coach got right to business, which I appreciated. "The thing with college football is things always change, always another cohort coming through. Kids transfer, my assistant offensive coach Julian Pierce just gave me his resignation. What I'm hoping interests you further is how our former starter Jaden Hines was drafted in the second round of the NFL a few months ago."
"I saw that." I actually hadn't but Mason Stiles, my trainer, had followed the draft and told me. "Congratulations to him."
"Great player, well deserved but he definitely left a hole. Emmitt Verns will probably be our starter now but the backup Sawyer informed me he's going to transfer his junior year."
"You want me to... transfer to be Emmitt's backup?" Not that he saw me but one of my eyebrows raised because his earlier advice, which I'd followed, was 'don't ride the bench.'
"I want you to play your ass off for the Aggies for two years under your new quarterback coach Julian Pierce, then come up here and challenge Emmitt to be the starter. I don't like single points of failure so I prefer having two thoroughbreds that can be ready at a moment's notice." His voice was firm and confident. "Obviously it's your choice but please seriously consider this."
"I will," I promised then, which ended up being a lie later because my decision was a no-brainer. "Thanks Coach."
After Coach Peterson wished me luck that season, I gave two seconds of consideration to his offer then accepted it. Back then, I knew Ellie was in the Nutritional Science program and just hoped that I'd run into her sooner than later.
Until then, under Coach Pierce, I trained under UW's offensive systems. We used a much-watered down version with about two-thirds of the play options but I'd always preferred trick plays in high school so their approach was perfect. Coach Pierce was as equally excited for me as he was sad for the UC-Davis football program when I told him I'd transferred.
Coming into UW's program as a junior with an established senior starter, I knew I most likely wouldn't have gotten the position since Emmitt was still the front-runner. After three weeks with the guy, I already knew he was a gigantic tool and a slightly-above average quarterback. But still, I'd spent two years under Coach Peterson's long-distance direction and over the entire summer I'd crash-crammed UW's plays, worked out with Mason, and ran through football camp scenarios with Emmitt and Devon Vaughn, the quarterbacks coach.
"Good practice, LT." Emmitt clapped a hand on my shoulder. "You're coming along alright."
"Thanks," I panted while I removed my gloves and helmet. "Good luck against Oregon this weekend."
"Tough opponent right to start." He grimaced slightly, then glanced up at the empty stadium. "But I think we're ready to light this place up."
"Damn straight." I nodded firmly but my attention was drawn to a familiar voice that rang out from an even more familiar small frame. Further up in the tunnel off the field, a tall, dark-skinned girl looked incredibly smug while Ellie practically stood up on her tip-toes and lectured Darrius with an accusing finger.
Emmitt's chuckle hit my ears and drew my attention to the smirk on his face. "That girl has balls, I'll give her that. Fuck, I'd be happy to give her mine too."
One of my palms pressed into the center of his chest, right where his protector sat. "Don't. She's too good for that shit-talk."
"Probably." He just laughed in response and shrugged my hand off. "But a guy's still gotta try."
"No he doesn't," I grumbled at the back of his head.
The longer I looked at Ellie, the more a knot tightened in my chest. The longer I took in the sight of her, how her dark eyes burned with an internal fire in them and her small body tensed in concern for her friend, the tighter the knot became. One quick look from her in my direction was the only reminder I needed.
This girl is something else.
"Did you guys see Ellie?" Reese Masters, one of the tight ends, groaned from his opened locker after practice. He stripped off his uniform then wrapped a towel around his waist. "That girl all fired up makes me need a cold shower."
"Ellie Harrison?" Kade Foster, a center whose ass I'd seen in my face for half of practice, lifted his eyebrows at Reese before he pulled off his pants and strap. "I'd give my left ballsack to bury myself between that girl's legs."
My insides burned at their words, along with the laughs that followed, but a sobering reminder that Ellie wasn't technically my girl halted me from saying anything. But a slight hitch in my jaw brought my attention to my tightly clenched teeth.
"Shit," Seth Brooks, another receiver like Wes, cursed and palmed his genitals. "I bet she gives amazing head. Sweet girl like that, you know she's a cock pleaser."
"I'll be for sure signing up for some 'tutoring', this semester, bro." Kade hooked his fingers in air quotes at 'tutoring,' which brought my anger up to another level.
That's enough. Ellie's not my girl, but I can still defend her. These assholes don't deserve to breath her airspace, let alone get help in their classes from her.
"Don't -" I started when a pair of large, dark-skinned hands palmed my chest with enough force that my shoulders and back loudly slammed into the closed lockers behind me.
"Why were you looking at Miss Ellie today, pretty boy?" Darrius Williams' dark eyes burned at me and his palms balled my undershirt collar.
Somehow I doubt this is his softer side.
"Darrius, she's a pretty girl -" I started with a half-smile.
"Miss Ellie is a nice girl," he said each word slowly and deliberately. At his low, borderline threatening tone, the guys who'd just talked smack about Ellie scattered to the showers like cockroaches. "She doesn't need some bitch-ass, pretty boy, transfer player sniffing around her like some coondog in heat."
First Wes, now this army tank. Who else is on Ellie's personal security team?
While part of me was glad at the safe assumption that, if they pushed me away from Ellie, then they'd also pushed other guys away. But I made a mental note that I needed to ask Ellie why they were so overprotective.
"Ellie and I have history," I said in a low voice to Darrius and figured he could handle the honest truth. "I look at her like that 'cause I want a redo."
"Ellie's your ex, LT." A slammed sound in the locker next to me showed Emmitt's shoulder leaned into it and a smug smirk sat on his face. "So I don't think you have a chance in hell."
"Like you do," I scoffed.
"Eyes over here, new guy." Darrius fists tightened on my collar, which dragged my eyes back to his. "You hurt Miss Ellie and I'll break you into so many pieces, they won't find all of them. Got it, pretty boy?"
"Got it." I pressed my mouth tightly closed so I didn't laugh at his choice of words for me. Fortunately, he released me and, one shove later, he walked away. After I composed myself, I called after him, "Great talk, D."
"I mean it, pretty boy." He lifted a middle finger at me over his shoulder. "Miss Ellie's off limits."
"You aren't serious, are you," Emmitt stated with amusement in his eyes. "Ellie Harrison. Biggest cock-blocker of the entire team."
"Never been more serious," I replied casually, sat down on the bench, and peeled off my pants and socks.
And of course Ellie shuts all these tools down.
I dropped my eyes downward so Emmitt didn't see the smugness he'd filled in me at his reference for Ellie. I felt how his eyes followed my movements for a moment then finally looked up at him. Something flashed over his eyes, then he finally cleared his throat.
"By my guess, she's the one who ended your relationship. So you don't have a chance," he scoffed.
"And you had two years, Verns," I retorted but left the obvious 'should've happened already' part off and stripped off my shirt and pads.
"But I've known her over that time." After a slight pause, he challenged me, "Wanna make a bet?"
"Nope." I peeled off my last layer of underclothes and grabbed my towel.
Don't need to.
"You're a cocky sob, I'll give that," he replied and gave me a look that read whatever his issue was, it wasn't over. "Fair enough then, game on."
I had no answer for his stupid ass challenges, so I just walked away to the showers and hung up my towel on one of the outside racks. By the time I finished, the hot water hadn't soothed the frustration I felt inside. As much as I disagreed, Emmitt was right in that I hadn't known Ellie up close and in person over the past two years.
"LT," a voice called over to me once I'd turned off the water and walked over to shower entrance, where Wes now stood fully dressed. His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth downturned.
"Everything cool with Ellie," he stated, not asked, in a flat tone that hinted there was only one acceptable response.
My shoulders lifted slightly. "We're getting her settled, if that's what you're asking."
His complacent expression darkened, along with his brown eyes. "I don't mean the fucking furniture placement."
"What do you want me to say, Wes?" I cocked my head sideways. "We're trying to get comfortable with at least being friends around each other and I'm trying not to fuck things up. Is that what you want to hear?"
"I was hoping to hear that you'd apologized to her." He pointed an index finger at me. "At the least, you owe that to both of you. Then let her figure out what she wants. You'll never be friends without a stable foundation. Living with an ex, your foundation is rockier than the San Fernando fault line."
I knew that every word he said was right. Ellie and I had too much history, too much us.
I'd be stupid not to accept her friendship if that's all she wants.
I should take whatever she's got left.
Despite the fact I'd thought about her every day since I hadn't seen her, my feelings for her hadn't changed. If anything, how I hadn't found anyone who came remotely close to her made me want her back even more. Over the past two year, flashes of her had filled my mind and blurred the lines between memories and hopes. Now that we were in such close proximity, my feelings and wants were all over the place.
I need to apologize to her, for fucking everything up.
"You're right," I admitted with a sigh and ran my hands over my wet hair.
"Magic words." He flipped up his hand and tossed something to me, which, once I grabbed it, recognized as my phone. "Rookie mistake, bro. You're welcome."
Before his words registered, he just chuckled, turned, and exited the locker room. One glance to my left where empty hooks were where my towel had previously hung elicited a groan from me. I walked, soaking wet and naked, back to my locker, which not surprisingly was completely empty. Thankfully, I'd dropped my school stuff off in the apartment before practice but those assholes had taken all of my clothes and gear.
"Rookie mistake," I chuckled to myself but, grateful for Wes' lifeline, I dialed Ellie.
This is embarrassing. At least she's still here.
"Hey, all done?" Ellie picked up on the first ring. "I'm outside sitting in the stands. I was contemplating new directions for Darrius' life with Monique but they just left. Your truck is probably the last one in the lot, slow ass."
"Yeah about that..." I paused and ran one hand through my wet hair. "Can you head back to the apartment and grab me some extra clothes? Shoes too."
Hearty laughter hit my ears. "Rookie mistake, Logan."
"I know." Despite the circumstances, a smile spread over my mouth because Ellie needed no explanation. "Can you help me out? Please."
"Of course," she replied between laughs. "But I'm still going to tease you about it."
"Wouldn't expect anything less." I sighed and sat my bare ass down on the bench. "Thanks."
Twenty minutes, a bad idea that I attempted to dry myself off with the hand dryers near the toilets, and an uncomfortable explanation to the janitor later, Ellie texted me. I'd also filled the time with how I'd thought way too much about our situation, until I just decided maybe things were better left in Ellie's court.
Ellie: I didn't remember clothes delivery service being in our roommate agreement, but I'm here.
me: you're an angel, thanks
I jumped up and walked in my birthday suit to the locker room doors. Once I saw her small frame, I stuck myself partially outside but made sure at least my cock wasn't flashed.
"Hey... Oh shit, you're really naked." Ellie's eyes stretched open wide at my bare chest. The longer she stood there, the pinker her cheeks turned.
"Like the day I was born." I cleared my throat, then reached out one of my hands. "Thanks for bringing some clothes."
"Clothes," she echoed, then blinked a few times, and handed me a stack that looked like a pair of sweats, T-shirt, socks, and thankfully underwear and a pair of shoes. "Sorry, I - umm, here."
"Really appreciate it," I studied her eyes carefully. They stayed fixed on mine but her lower lip trembled slightly until she rolled it under her teeth.
"Right," she finally said. "We'll you're still, ummm... I'll just wait... somewhere."
"Thanks." I smirked at her awkwardness, then turned and moved away from the doorway back to my locker. My smirk widened and a chuckle rumbled in my chest at the tiny gasp she let out behind me before the door clicked fully shut.