“That was really nice.” Parker took a step back. She took my hand but looked down at the tile as though shy or embarrassed. “And the first time I kissed a girl.”

I felt a little cocky and a little empowered by her confession. She touched my jawline slowly and brushed my cheek with her thumb.

“I like the way you kiss,” she said.

“Come on. Let’s go find a movie.” We snuggled under a blanket and watched a movie I’d seen a million times, but the only thing I could think about was how wonderful it was to finally kiss her and what it meant to be hungry for another person.

Chapter Fourteen—The Same Team

Present

“Coach, we need to talk.”

I looked up to find Anthony standing in my doorway. I looked at the time. He should be out on the field practicing. Something was wrong. I stood. “What’s going on?”

He looked down at his cleats and put his hands on his hips. I waited for him to drop whatever horrible news he had. “Moats is drunk.”

“What?” It wasn’t even ten in the morning. I was still processing our game with the Bills. It was our first loss of the season so I was in a horrible mood. It wasn’t just a loss. We were annihilated 37-14. I refused to stop taking notes about what went so wrong. Three wins and one loss was still a good start, everyone assured me. But they didn’t have anything to prove. I did.

“I don’t think everyone knows, but I wanted to tell you before it got out.” He ran his hand back and forth over his buzzed head out of nervousness.

“You did the right thing by telling me. Let’s get him in my office. Does Jamal know?”

“He told me to get you.”

“Okay, let’s go.” I followed him out to the field where Grayson was propped up on the bench trying to down Gatorade. “Okay, stop trying to sober him up with that. That’s not going to work.” I looked around to ensure the press wasn’t on the field. “Let’s bring him inside.” Anthony and a third-string linebacker half-carried him into my office. I called Craig, one of the Cheetahs’ medical staff, and told him to bring IV fluids.

“Wow, Sutton. This is such a nice couch.” Grayson ran his fingers up and down the pattern in the fabric. He slid down and put his head on the armrest and tried to put his legs up on the cushions.