"Not a very affectionate father, I take it?"
"Not a very affectionate man," I say. "I mean, he’s in town today for business, and he didn't even know about the game! I think he was surprised I’m even on the football team. And well, let's see . . . since I was born, he's on . . . yeah, wife number four. And for three days, those two words have been swirling around in my head. Seeing him just brought that out more."
"What words?"
"Side piece," I whisper, uncovering my eyes and turning my head to look at Carrie. "Carrie, I know I can be a bastard. I’m selfish, and maybe even rotten to the core, from time to time."
Carrie swallows a pained expression, then nods and looks at me calmly. "But?"
I sigh. "Maybe the past four months . . . I'm starting to change. Maybe . . . I don't know. I just know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I treated you without the respect that I really feel for you. Seeing my dad reminded me of what I don’t want to be."
Carrie surprises me by leaning over and giving me a kiss on the lips, soft and delicate, and when she lifts her head, she's smiling. "Then maybe I should give you a chance to make it up to me. But it's going to be your last chance, Duncan. Pick me up from my dorm at seven tonight. You only played half the game. I think you've got enough energy to take me out for dinner."
I'm smiling, and I reach up to stroke her hair. "Why?"
"Maybe because over the past four months, I've come to like you. And if you're willing to make the effort to become a better man, I'd like to stick around and see who that man could be. From what I've seen so far, he's going to make a name for himself. He’s going to be a better man than his father, at least from what I've heard."
I nod, and Carrie gives my hand a squeeze. "All right. Let me go tell Coach Taylor that you're not destroying the place, and go help clean up with the aftermath of the game. I hate to tell you, but I think we just lost our first game of the season. Clement's kicking our asses right now."
I sigh and sit up, nodding. "Guess I have something else to make up for.”
"First test of this new man you want to be. I'll see you at seven."
I'm waiting quietly when the team starts filtering in, all of them glaring at me. Nobody comes into the training room, though, dressing and walking out without a single greeting. I understand, and I wait quietly, not even saying anything when the trainers start hauling their gear into the room, nobody speaking to me until Carrie carries a bag over her shoulder. She holds up her fingers, telling me the bad news. 27-10.
I nod, and she puts her stuff away, her eyes full of emotion, but before she can say anything, Coach Bainridge is in the doorway. "You're suspended from the team for the time being,” Coach says, his anger burned out at least for a while. "Come by my office Tuesday to discuss what happens next. I need that long to calm down and figure that out myself. Now go get dressed and get out."
Great. Great game.
Chapter 8
Carrie
After getting suspended from the team, I wasn't really expecting Duncan to arrive for our date. I mean, if anything is a mood killer for an athlete, it's getting at least temporarily tossed off the team. But, it wasn't until five thirty that I realized that in the four months we'd known each other, I had yet to exchange phone numbers with him. He knows where I live, but that's because it's listed for every player and intern, at least those who live on campus. He knows the dorm building, but not the room number.
So I am surprised when, at six fifty-four, I hear the now familiar sound of a Kawasaki motorcycle pulling up into the parking lot of the dorm, and I stick my head out of my window to see Duncan getting off his cycle. "Hey!"
"Hey!" Duncan calls back, waving. "You coming down, or am I coming up?"
"I'll come down!" I call, closing my window. I make sure to lock the door when I leave, and I head down the stairs and out the doors, a skip in my step. I feel like a cloud has lifted off me—maybe because of the way his face lit up when he waved, maybe because of the memory of our kiss in the training room. I don't know what it is, but when I reach the parking lot, I'm happy.
It looks like Duncan is too, especially when he sees what I'm wearing. "Jeans and a jacket? What, is your dress still dirty?"
I laugh and shake my head, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a quick peck on the lips, surprising me, but in a good way. "Not at all. But, last time we tried the classic dinner date thing, and that certainly didn't work. I was thinking, maybe tonight . . . we could just get away from it all for a little while? Besides, I didn't know if you'd show, and you don't have my phone number!"