Hundreds of photos must have taken of me that night, but the one all the news sites were using was me standing with my foot on Milton’s chest and a flock of women either side of me. I looked like a boxer celebrating a victory.

I looked like a complete jackass; like the old me before Kristi cleaned me up. I hated it.

The photo didn’t show that I pushed all the women to one side—including sending one to the floor by mistake—and then left the bar alone. I went straight home, but no one reported that.

Punching Milton had done little to quench my anger. I knew why; I wasn’t angry at him, I was angry at myself. May had been right. I had someone brilliant, but I’d taken her for granted. Now she was probably at home watching the news, looking at me surrounded by women having just beaten up a teammate. Even I wouldn’t accept my apology now. It was too late.

A knock at my door gave me a moment of hope until I heard Clyde’s voice.

“What do you want?” I asked. I opened the door and let him in. “I’m not really in the mood for a lecture.”

“Is that what Milton did to earn a beating?”

“No, he fucked over Kristi.”

“Milton told her boss about your relationship?”

I nodded. “He’s a little more nervous about getting his position back than he let on.”

“What a scumbag. I assumed it was Doug.”

“Me too.”

“What happens now?” Clyde asked. “I assume you’ll be in trouble with your coach.”

“I think it’s safe to say I’m fucked. Those photos made it look like I kicked the shit out of him.”

“Isn’t that what happened?”

I shrugged. “I suppose. He had it coming. The team needs me more than ever now; I can’t imagine his injury will heal any quicker after that beating.”

“Think that logic will work with the boss?”

“Probably not.” I passed Clyde a beer and collapsed down onto the sofa. I struggled to find the enthusiasm to care about my job. One day it might sink in that I’d fucked up my career, but right now I only cared about hurting Kristi. “What do I do now?”

“I have no idea,” Clyde replied. “Get in touch with your coach as soon as possible. Don’t wait for him to contact you.”

“I don’t mean about the job. What do I do about Kristi?”

“Oh.” Clyde smiled. “I knew you cared.”

“Of course I fucking care. You can rail on me for that later. For now, give me some of that expert relationship advice you’ve built up over all those years of being a lovesick puppy.”

“I will. You could go meet her in the bar. She’s having a drink with Tasha.” Clyde stopped to look at his phone which had just vibrated. “Scratch that. She’s on her way home. They saw your picture on television.”

“Shit. Shit, shit shit.”

“It’s not too late, but you might have to grovel.”

“Tell me about it.” I closed my eyes and groaned loudly. There has to be a way to fix this mess. “Clyde, do you have a key to their place?”

“No, but they keep a spare under the mat, even though I’ve told them it’s dangerous.”

“Can you keep the girls distracted?”

“Um, I guess. Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just get in touch with Tasha and stop them going home. I need an hour. Actually, make it two.”

“I did actually have plans tonight, you know.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to fuck the night away,” I promised. “Just give me those two hours.”

“Fine, but if you ever do play professional football, I want VIP tickets.”

“Deal.”

Clyde left, and I went to work searching through the kitchen cupboards.

Damn, I should have asked for three hours.

Clyde had managed to delay the girls. Kristi’s apartment was empty when I got there, but no sooner had I stepped through the door than my phone rang.

Gordon.

I should have called him, like Clyde told me to, but I’d put Kristi first for once. Now I had to face the music.

“Hi boss,” I said defeatedly as I answered the phone.

“Before I fire you, do you have any kind of excuse for what the hell you did tonight? Were you drugged? Hypnotized? Anything that can explain your actions?”

I could tell Gordon the whole story, but he wouldn’t care. Actually, he might care. He wasn’t a heartless bastard. But that wouldn’t matter. He had a job to do, and there was no way he could keep me in the team after what I did.

“No excuses, boss. We had a falling out and I lost my temper. I’m ready to accept the consequences.”

“Fucking hell,” Gordon cursed. That was the first time I’d heard him swear and I knew it came from frustration and not anger. Well, maybe a bit of both. “You’ve let us down. The time, effort, and money we’ve spent on you… fuck. You’re off the team effective immediately, and you’ll be hearing from the lawyers in the morning. Don’t bother showing up to training again.”

“Fair enough,” I replied.

What else was there to say? Gordon hung on for a few seconds, hoping I would be able to offer up some explanation. He hadn’t been my coach for long, but he’d taken a punt on me and I knew he had high expectations. I’d let him down. He hung up without a goodbye.

I briefly dwelled on never becoming a professional NFL quarterback, and then I went back to think about Kristi. I might have left it too late, but there was a chance—no matter how slim—and I had to take it.

It was now or never.