Chapter Seventeen
Dominic
Life was wonderful. I didn’t even mind the teasing that I was getting from the boys. I knew I had it coming. I had been adamant for such a long time that having a girlfriend was not part of my plan. I had said no to every girl that had come my way and ignored the guys whenever they tried to get me to be with someone. And now, here I was, doing the complete opposite of what I had always said. But I didn’t mind. It was worth it to be with someone like Candice. She was different from all the girls I had been with before, and all the girls I hadn’t been with before. She was . . .
“Dominic!” The coach called out as I stepped onto the field.
I turned to face him, snapping out of my thoughts.
“Yes, Coach Bane?”
“Come and see me afterward.”
“Sure,” I said and didn’t think much of it. He couldn’t be upset with me. The practice hadn’t even really begun, and I’d done nothing wrong. Just in case, however, I put all thoughts of Candice aside and concentrated on the game.
Practice went well, and there was no denying that we were ready for the upcoming games. Even some of the guys who weren’t usually that good during practice had stepped up and done their best. It was a great feeling. Football had always exhilarated me in a way that no other sport ever had. I had known that it was what I wanted to do with my life from the moment I had picked up a football and thrown it around. I’d been young then, and had seen the game many times on TV before, but there was something very different about actually being out on the field and playing yourself. It was like my brother, Silas, who had always known he wanted to be a country singer. Everyone had teased him growing up, but he had ignored them and continued to go after his dream. That’s just what the men in our family did. They found what they wanted to do in life and they didn’t let anything get in their way until they got it. And I was not going to be an exception. I was going to become a football player, and I was going to play in the NFL.
I saw Coach Bane waiting on the sides for me and walked up to him with a smile on my face. Whatever he was going to tell me, I was sure it was going to be good.
“Hi, Coach. Great practice today. I think I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.”
The coach had a strange look on his face. One that I had never seen before. He looked like he was trying to look upset or angry but it wasn’t quite working. I couldn’t figure it out. I frowned. “Everything okay?” I said when he hadn’t said anything.
He sighed. “Dominic, I’ve told you once, and I’m going to tell you again. You need to start focusing more on football. I don’t want to see you walking around with your head in the clouds like this.”
Was he joking? I didn’t answer right away, to see if he would crack a smile, but he didn’t.
“But I played so well today. I don’t understand.”
“Football should be the only thing that you concentrate on.”
“But . . . you told me to talk to you before we had even played today. This doesn’t make sense. I already apologized for the last game. And today I played well. I know I did. I’m sure you know it too. Anyway, my big project is finished with, and I don’t have as much school work at the moment as I did a while ago. So everything is fine. Football is my main concern.”
He shook his head. “Dominic, you know I like you, and I want you to do well. Hell, I want you on this team more than anyone. You know that. So do me a favor, and yourself a favor, and cut out any external influences from your life. For now, the only thing you should be worried about is football. Understand?”
No, I didn’t understand. But I had a feeling the conversation wasn’t going to go any further. I sighed and nodded. “Sure, I understand.”
Relief seemed to wash through him, and he smiled at me. “Good. Good. Now, hurry along and don’t forget what I said. I’ll see you at the next practice.”
I walked away, frowning to myself. Something about the conversation didn’t make sense. He seemed to be warning me about something that he couldn’t talk about openly. But what could it be? And he hadn’t said a thing about my school work. Was it Candice that he was talking about? Did he want me to stop seeing her? I hoped not. I wished he would just come right out and tell me rather than skirt around the truth. Something was up though, and I was just going to have to prove to him that football was important to me.
By the time I got back to the locker room, most of the guys were gone, so I hopped in the shower and changed by myself. Afterwards, I headed back to the dorm. I felt a little better after the shower. Perhaps I was reading into this all a little too much. Coach Bane always got stressed out around this time of the year anyway. He wanted his players to do well, and I knew he had a special place in his heart for me. He was just looking out for me, that was all.
I got back to my dorm and threw my bag down. As I did, I heard my phone ringing from inside, and I hurried to retrieve it. It was Axel.
“Hey, Axel,” I said.
“Sorry, is this a bad time? I tried to call you earlier, but it just rang.”
“Ah sorry about that. I was in practice. I’m finished now, so this is a good time. What’s up?”
“So, I’ve been on the lookout for you, ever since you called. Just in case I came across anything. And you won’t believe it, but apparently some yuppie has been sneaking around trying to get information on you and your family.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep. One of the guys says that he was wearing a suit and that he looked like a prized idiot.”
I groaned. I remembered Candice telling me about the new suit that Derek had gotten and how he had said suits were the new in thing. I knew, without question, that Derek had been the one snooping. The whole that made me feel sick to my stomach.
“That would be the ex-boyfriend,” I said.
“I thought so. Damn baseball players. So, is there anything you want me to do?”
I sighed. “No. But if you hear anything else, just let me know. I’m not sure if there’s anything I can really do right now about it all.”
“I’ll do that. Keep your wits about you.”
I put the phone down in frustration. Why did Derek have to go and make trouble for us now? The guy was even worse than I thought he was. And to think I had tried to help him back up when he had fallen down. In the future, I’d just walk away and let him lie in his own idiotic stupor.
I didn’t know what to do. I called Candice just to warn her and to see if Derek had also been bothering her, but her phone just rang. I waited a little while to see if she would call back but she didn’t. So I decided to call my father and see if perhaps anyone had been snooping around by him too, but he also didn’t answer his phone. I flopped onto the bed in frustration. The day had started off so well, but it had ended on a sour note. I couldn’t understand why some people felt they had to always meddle in other people’s lives. Why couldn’t people just leave Candice and me alone? Who were we hurting?
Harry came by, trying to get me to come out to some bar with him and the guys. I told him that I was too exhausted to do anything, so he sat down on the bed and frowned at me.
“What’s going on with you and Coach Bane? He keeps calling you out. I thought the two of you were thick as thieves.”
I sighed. “You and me both. Who knows. He seems to think I’m not concentrating enough. He says I’m too focused on other things and not on football. It’s crazy because we had the best practice today. What more can I do?”
Harry frowned. “Seriously? He said that? That is crazy. You were great out there today. Better than all of us. I was actually thinking how impressed I was with you and how I wish I could be as good as you. There’s no way he can think that you are not taking this seriously enough. Wonder what his problem is?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to tell Harry what was going on. He was a good friend, but I still wasn’t even sure what the problem was. I didn’t want to spread rumors about Derek that might not even be true. Even though I thought they probably were.
“I have no idea,” I said.
“Does it have anything to do with you and Candice?” he asked.
I looked up in surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t think of what other reason he would have to be upset with you. Maybe he’s just worried that she’s going to get in between you and your NFL aspirations.”
“But I’m still playing just as hard as I always have,” I said.
“Yeah, I know you are. And I’m sure he knows it too. But maybe he’s just worried. He’s always shouting at the guys to stop thinking about girls when they’re on the field. He’s never had to do that with you. Maybe he’s just worried it’s going to happen. You know what he’s like. You’re his favorite.”
I sighed. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Don’t stress about it, Dom. Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to come out and have some beers?”
I shook my head. “Not tonight. But thanks, man. I’m honestly too tired. And I promised the coach I’d get some good rest.”
“Well, okay then. Just don’t spend all your time worrying about this. Okay? You’re the best player on the team. There’s no way that he can deny that.”
I smiled at Harry. He had cheered me up at least. “Thanks, Harry. Have fun tonight.”
“Oh don’t worry about it. Fun is exactly what I plan to have.”
I laughed. I had no doubt in my mind about it. For a brief second, I wished my life was as carefree as Harry’s seemed to be. It annoyed me that the coach was being so hard on me when I had always worked harder than everyone else in the team. But maybe Harry was right. Maybe he was just worried I would end up like the other guys. Perhaps he was just trying to protect me.
As soon as Harry left, I pulled out a sandwich that I’d taken from the cafeteria earlier that day and hadn’t eaten. I was starving and devoured it within seconds. Then I climbed into bed to watch a movie. I was going to put it all behind me. Tomorrow was a brand-new day. I was still on the football team, I was still working as hard as I ever had, and I still had a gorgeous girl in my life. Things weren’t really all that bad now that I really came to think of it.