"I won't take any disrespect from anyone," I reply, looking Thibs in the eye. "Not from Tyler, not from Farmington . . . not from anyone."
"Yeah, well, if you want to catch any more balls this game, you’d better cool that shit off right now," Thibs replies, squatting down so we're eye to eye. "What the hell's gotten into you, Duncan? Talking shit to the other team, sure. Talking the same in practice, I don't like, but we can't seem to get you to stop. But you've never started shit with a teammate in the middle of a game. Don't get cocky. Farmington's a good team, and we could still lose this."
"No chance in hell of that," I say, looking up at the scoreboard as the crowd roars, contradicting me. Farmington's offense just connected on a deep pass, and they scored quickly, bringing them back within two touchdowns. Twenty-eight to fourteen, with one minute left in the third quarter. I look back at Thibs and pull my helmet on, snapping up.
"Okay, you're right. Fine. I'll keep it under control."
After the game, which we do win thirty-five to fourteen, I find Tyler in the shower area, where he's styling his surfer boy hair to perfection. He's currently dating one of the cheerleaders and probably looking forward to some quick couple time before we all get on the plane back to Western. "Yo, Tyler."
He glances over, then turns back to the mirror. His voice is tense, like he isn't quite sure how to handle me approaching him. Tyler's a tough guy for a quarterback, but I’m way too big for him. "Yo, Duncan."
"Hey man, I just wanted to say . . . my bad on the sidelines. I shouldn't have jerked you around like that."
Tyler brushes his hair one more time, then sets his comb down, turning to look at me. "Okay. Let's get this straight between us, Duncan. I know you're the biggest reason I'm putting up numbers like today. I know that, and I'm grateful for it. But that's beside the point. This girl, Carrie . . . she's getting to you. You need to get your head right. You're getting away with it the past two weeks, but come next week, we can't have it. We're playing Clement, remember? Their defense is all hard core motherfuckers."
"They always are. At least they aren't as bad as they used to be," I say, thinking back to my freshman year. Back then, Clement had beasts at linebacker, especially in the middle. Biggest ass whipping I've ever taken in a game. "But yeah, they’re good.”
"Damn right. Unless you want to be punked in front of a home crowd next week, including Carrie, you’d better have your shit tight come game time," Tyler says, finishing his hair. "Yo, we're friends, right?"
“I guess,” I reply, checking out my own hair. I'm not as picky as Tyler, but I'm not going to look like a mop coming out of the locker room either. "You know how I roll."
"Nobody's your real friend. I know. But you know what I mean. Just... make sure you're doing what needs to be done. The League's calling your name next year, while I'm hoping to get a spot up in Canada or on someone's backup roster. Ah well. No matter what, I've still got one thing on you."
"What's that?"
Tyler flips his hair and flashes me a cocky surfer boy grin. "I'm still better looking than you."
I laugh, our rift healed. "I doubt it. At least, that's not what your mom says."
"I can't believe you asked the coaches to do this," Carrie says as I meet her in the library. I hoped she'd be flattered, but instead, she's upset, but I'm not sure why. "I mean, as if having me as your personal taper isn't bad enough, Duncan—"
"Nobody's going to say a single word about you. I've made sure of that," I reply, setting my bag down and realizing what it is. That stupid fucking nickname. Yeah, it's pretty obvious to everyone that I'm wanting to get in her pants, but things have changed some too. I don’t want her as just another notch in my belt. "I just realized a couple of things after I got that first test back."
"That you shouldn't have blown off your science requirements for three years?" Carrie says as we sit down in the study booth. Western's library is huge and has two-person booths lining the study area that are perfect for this sort of partnered tutoring. "And maybe choosing Introduction to Human Biology wasn't the best choice?"
"Well, I figured I'm already an expert in the portion on reproduction," I tease, and it makes me warm to see Carrie blush a bit before she shakes her head. She's still so shy, but she's able to be strong too. Softness and strength together . . . God, she's sexy.
"I doubt that the Kama Sutra is on any of the tests," Carrie says, coming around at least a little bit. "However, the Krebs Cycle is, and for a guy who uses it to build a ton of muscle on that frame of yours, you don't know how it works."