He put his hands up in defense. “Just noticed you didn’t negate DiNardo’s claim about her being your girlfriend.”
“I don’t need to negate anything. We’re friends, roommates, and teammates. That’s all.” I also didn’t negate her being a distraction, because dammit, she was. This season I wanted my sole focus to be football. Except that notion had been blown to smithereens as soon as Charlie arrived.
Lucas dipped his head. “That’s good, because I heard earlier that Hank was going to ask her to dinner to make up for his remark that he made at the meeting.”
My eyes narrowed as I glanced over to where our linebacker was practicing on the field. “Well, she doesn’t go out with players. So you may as well tell him to save his breath.”
“Right. You’ve got it bad. I’ve never seen you like this. When’s the last time you’ve enjoyed the pleasure of a woman?”
“I’ve been busy.”Distracted.He smiled, and this time I was the one doing the shoving. “You’re a jackass.”
Lucas put on his helmet. “Whatever you say. I need to go practice so I can make your life easier.”
Considering he was one of the best cornerbacks in the league, with the most interceptions returned for touchdowns last season, he wasn’t kidding when he said he made my life easier. Conversely, I was his mirror image on the opposite side of the field. Last year I had the second-most offensive touchdowns on our team.
All we needed to do was gel as a unit and embrace the changes; then the championship would be ours to lose.
FWEEP!
The blaring whistle had me jogging to the center of the field for our end-of-practice huddle. Each coach had something to say, ending with Trent going last.
“Great practice. You all have your marching orders on what needs to be worked on. There are a few plays that we will implement throughout the next two weeks and into preseason. Now, I don’t think I need to remind you that we’re all a team, do I?”
The guys and Charlie shook their heads and gave him a military-style response: “No, Coach!”
“Good. Keep in mind that just because I’m on the field with a player, that doesn’t mean I don’t see what’s happening on the sidelines. If you recall, I was a quarterback, and one of my strong points was my peripheral vision. I have no issue calling an audible and sending your ass to the locker room.” Trent’s gaze went to me, then to DiNardo. When I glanced at Charlie, her brows were furrowed. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Coach!” the team bellowed.
“Now hit the showers. See you in the morning.”
We’d all started to walk away when he told me and Charlie to hang back. “Do you two have a few minutes?”
I answered for both of us, “Sure, Coach.”
“Good. But before I go over the play I have in mind, I want to talk about what I believe I witnessed a few moments ago.” Charlie’s eyes flicked to me while my jaw tightened. “Are we going to have a problem, St. James?”
“No, sir. It was a misunderstanding. It’s been handled.”
Trent wasn’t dumb. He had to know exactly what had transpired. Having been a player himself, there was no doubt he’d filled in the blanks.
“Does someone want to clue me in?” Charlie asked.
Nope.
“In the world of football, you’re an anomaly. I know you know that.” Trent went on to explain, “My wife, God love her and her love for this sport, isn’t afraid of bucking the system. That being said, some players may feel differently—”
“Or threatened,” I added.
“Whatever the case may be, it’s not welcome in the Thunder’s team structure. Our owner, prides himself on staying true to that.”
Charlie nodded but still looked at me quizzically. “DiNardo had a bit of an issue. It’s been handled. Call it jealousy.”
“Oh, should I say something? Talk to him?”
“No,” Trent and I said in unison, making her laugh.
Trent gave her a nod. “Now that we’ve gone over that, let’s talk about that play. This is what I have in mind…”