Offside (19 page)

Now, how was I going to keep my dad from hearing about it?

CHAPTER 10

CAUTION

After I dropped Nicole off, my mind began racing to come up with some sort of explanation that would work on Dad. Obviously, I couldn’t be like Nicole and tell my dad the truth—that would just be stupid. I needed a plausible reason to have him see her around me and not flip out. As far as I could discern, there was really only one way.

Dad’s car wasn’t in the drive when I got home, which was good. I did my homework, lifted some weights in the basement—which didn’t last long since my ribs started hurting—and toasted a bagel. When I heard Dad’s car come up the driveway, I took a deep breath and tried to remember my lines.

“You missed practice,” he said as soon as he walked in the door. He looked tired, which was also a good thing.

“Um…yeah,” I stammered. I wasn’t expecting that from the get-go, but it actually made for a good cue. “I know, and it won’t happen again. I’ve got it all worked out now.”

He dropped his briefcase near the door and stalked into the kitchen. He glared at me as he pulled the stack of delivery menus out of the drawer by the refrigerator.

“You have what worked out?” he demanded.

“Well, you know that little cherry-girl, right?” I asked. “Sheriff Skye’s daughter?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, let’s just say she’ll be taking care of my homework assignments this semester,” I laughed and shook my head a little.

“Oh yeah? Were you fucking her instead of practicing?”

“No,” I said. I swallowed hard. “Not yet. But I’ve got her worked up enough that she’ll do anything I ask. I know I missed practice, but I think it will save me a lot of pointless work in the long run, you know? And I did some lifting when I got home, and I did go out with another…um…another player and did some practice PKs afterwards.”

“Any get by you?”

“Just one.”

“Good boy.”

Cue major sigh of relief.

“I think if I can kind of play nice with her for a while…you know…string her along...be all boyfriend like…”

“Fuck her when you’re done with this semester,” he concluded. “Then dump her and move on, though—okay?”

“Yeah!” I agreed. “Exactly!”

“Sounds pretty good,” Dad said with a nod. He picked up the phone and started dialing. “But don’t miss another practice.”

“I won’t,” I promised. “She’s already going to do our whole biology project.”

“Good, good.” He nodded and started ordering his dinner.

Holy shit, that went about as well as it possibly could have. The timing was good because he was usually a little easier on me after…well, just
after
. When he was at games, I’d be able to hang out with Nicole, and he wouldn’t question it, and if word got back to him, he wouldn’t be blindsided by the news.

Perfect.

Actually, Dad was a little on the buddy-buddy side after he ate some dinner. He asked about my running times, practices, and which team we were playing in the next game. He even called me into the living room and had me sit with him while he flipped through channels with the remote.

“How’s your side?” he asked.

“Not too bad,” I replied. “It hurt a bit when I was lifting.”

“You didn’t take any more of the Percocet, did you?”

“No,” I replied, “I took four Motrin.”

“Good,” he said. “I don’t like you taking that strong stuff. It’s not good for you, and you’re a tough kid. Tell me if you think you need one, though, okay?”

He wouldn’t have let me have one. I knew that. I was kind of surprised he gave me one the first night. Suffering through pain was more aligned with his values.

“Sure, Dad.”

He reached over and patted me on the shoulder. I tried to hold still as he left his hand there for a minute while he kept channel surfing. He finally stopped on the World Cup game.

“Is the US going to win this one?”

“They better at least tie,” I said. “If they don’t, they might not make the round of sixteen.”

“One of these days, I’ll be watching you in that goal,” he said with a flick of his wrist. Tim Howard filled the screen, the ball grasped between his gloved hands. He ran to the top of the box and punted it nearly to the other side of the field. “Play club overseas, but I want you taking his place on the national team when he retires.”

“He’s awesome,” I said with a nod. It had been a while since we had just sat and talked soccer—not since the last World Cup. “I wish Hejduk was still on defense, though. With him there, Howard’s job would be easier.”

“He was always fast,” Dad agreed. “Who is he playing with now?”

“Retired,” I replied. “He’s some kind of fan-relations guy with the Columbus Crew now.”

We chatted about soccer for most of an hour, even cheering together when the game ended with just enough points to move the US forward. It was weird, but in a good way. Rare times like these made me think the other shit was sometimes all worth it.

It was late by the time we went through all the World Cup teams’ stats and determined each one’s potential for getting to the final. I finally started getting ready for bed. After a shower, I took a couple more Motrin, and Dad retaped my side. Once I was in bed, the day began again, flowing quickly through my head. I smiled at Rumple and how she had gotten a PK past me and then cringed as I heard her story again. I remembered the way Frankie talked about her in the lunchroom, and I recalled stories about him using similar tricks on girls at parties. It never made sense to me; he could have gotten pussy anyway. I didn’t understand why he did that shit.

The thought that he could try that on Rumple just fucking pissed me off. I pushed the thought away. If I thought about it too much, I’d never get to sleep, and I had to pick Rumple up in the morning.

I closed my eyes as the game replayed in my mind in full color HD, and I watched Tim Howard make another fantastic save. I wanted to capture it on paper…but I didn’t. I didn’t want to take the chance right now because I had other, more important things to keep hidden.

I didn’t know why I felt nervous when I left my house to pick up Nicole. I mean, I had already taken her to school once though that hadn’t been planned, so I guess I hadn’t had a chance to get nervous. We had also been late, so there hadn’t been anyone to see us. This time was different. We were going early with the sole purpose of making sure everyone who was hanging out around the parking lot saw us come to school together.

It was a bright and sunny day, and I pulled a pair of Ray-Bans out of the glove compartment before I got out of the car and knocked on Nicole’s door. I fidgeted from one foot to the other and glanced down to the side of the porch. The second pot of mums I had left her was planted in the flowerbeds there. I smiled and wondered if I should say anything about them as Sheriff Skye answered the door.

Not what I was expecting.

“Oh…um...hi,” I blathered. “I’m here to pick up Nicole.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” he grumbled. He opened the door wide and signaled me in with a grand gesture of his arm. I walked into the little foyer and heard Nicole’s footsteps on the stairs. “For the record, I think your little ‘plan’ is a little ‘insane’.”

He used finger quotes. Huh. Who would have thought?

“Oh…she….she told you about it?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” I was in complete loquaciousness fail.

“Come on,” Nicole said as she hoisted her backpack over her shoulder. “Let’s get this over with.”

“It’s not that bad, is it?” I asked. I thought it was a pretty good plan, really.

“No,” Nicole said.

“Yes,” Sheriff Skye said.

“Shit,” I grumbled.

Nicole rolled her eyes and walked past me and out the door. I followed, remembered what I was supposed to do, and ran around her quickly. With a bright smile, I opened the passenger side door and gestured her inside.

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” she said.

“I don’t want anyone bothering you,” I told her. “They won’t as long as they think we’re together.”

“We’ll see.”

We drove in silence. As we approached school, there were kids all over the fucking place. I pulled around to one of the front spots and put the car in neutral before turning it off.

“Ready?”

“No,” Nicole replied, “but let’s do it anyway.”

“Stay there,” I reminded her. I pushed my door open, got out, casually stretched my neck and nodded to a couple of people as I walked around to the other side of the car. I could feel their eyes on me as I opened up Nicole’s door, reached in, and took her hand to help her out.

I could even hear the gasps. I could practically hear what they were thinking.

“Come on, baby,” I said quietly—but not
too
quietly.

Nicole stood, bit down on her lip, and started walking slowly. I placed my Ray-Bans over my eyes, tossed my arm around her waist, and smiled at everyone around me as I escorted my Rumple into the school. Nicole pretty much stared at the ground, only occasionally glancing up at those around us.

“Why are they all looking at us?” she asked under her breath.

“Malone doesn’t
date
,” I told her. “Everyone knows that. I sure as hell have never brought a chick to school in my Jeep before. Well, not in the front seat.”

I snickered but quickly silenced myself when I saw her glare and realized how prickish I sounded. I offered her an apologetic shrug, which was met with eye rolling. Hoping I hadn’t blown it already, I pulled her a little closer to my side as students began to fill the hallways.

“Where’s your locker?” I asked.

“It’s number 8420.”

“Okay,” I said. “Mine’s 7289—right over here. Stop here first?”

“Okay.”

Nicole fiddled with the strap of her book bag while I twisted the combination lock. I opened the locker and carefully hung my bag on the back hook, pushing it against the back wall so it didn’t stick out too much. I pulled out the green folder where I kept my homework and then straightened the books lined up at the bottom.

“You have got to have the most organized locker I have ever seen,” Nicole said.

“I don’t like things out of order,” I said with a shrug. I pushed against the twisted up edge of one of the books. It still kind of bugged me. I should have gotten a new one. While I was doing that, Nicole reached around me and pushed at the spine of one of the books, leaving it askew.

“Hey!” I exclaimed. I grabbed the book and lined it up again. “Don’t do that.”

Nicole giggled.
Giggled.

I glared at her.

“Oh, this is going to make things interesting,” she said softly.

“Don’t push your luck,” I said with a growl, but I couldn’t glare at her for long when she looked up at me all innocent-like and bit down on her lower lip. “I’m being the nice boyfriend. You have to be the nice girlfriend, too.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to specific terms,” Nicole said with a raise of her brows. She leaned close to me. “You are a fool, dear Thomas.”

I smiled down at her, closed my locker door and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we went down the hall. I noticed the looks some of the guys were giving her, but a stern glare from me had them staring at the ceiling pretty fast. I was going to have to put a clear end to that kind of shit. No touching, no talking, and no looking at my Rumple.

Mine.

I was going to have to keep the wolves at bay.

We rounded the corner and Nicole flipped the combination lock until it opened. Inside, her locker was a total disaster. It hurt just to look at it.

“How can you even find anything in there?” I asked as she dug around in a pile of papers, shuffling things from her book bag, which I realized was equally catastrophic, to the locker and vice versa.

“I have my ways,” she mumbled with her head still inside the metal cabinet.

“It’s a fucking mess!” I said.

“Fuck you,” she snapped back.