Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(31)

“Hey Jump! Is it true you’ve been hiding out in the sticks?”

It went on and on as they walked only a few steps before the next question or photo op. He only got to sign a few autographs before they were ushered into the building where Jared was welcomed with thunderous applause. Teammates mobbed him, shaking hands and welcoming him back to L.A.

The crowd pushed him forward, toward the middle of the room where he came face to face with his head coach, Jon “Whitey” McDonnell. His face was just a bit redder than usual, a stark contrast to his bright white hair, curiously not the reason for his nickname.

“Welcome back, Jump.” Whitey extended his hand.

“Thanks, coach.” Jared shook hands and nodded respectfully to his coach.

“Been ignoring my calls?” Whitey didn’t pull punches – ever.

“Nah, coach,” Jared lied, “my phone died and I lost my charger somewhere. Derek’s holding onto it now and apparently my landline was disconnected while I was gone.”

Whitey studied him for a long, awkward moment. “Get your phone back and charge it up. I’ll see you at the practice fields tomorrow morning. I want to see how much work we have to do.”

“Coach, I’m good,” Jared assured him. “I’ve been working hard and with a few more weeks, I may be in the best shape of my life.”

“That remains to be seen, young man.” Whitey looked him up and down. “You look pretty good though, not all withered like I expected. But we’ll see tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there, Coach.” Jared nodded respectfully.

Whitey turned to walk away but looked back. “Don’t show up hung-over either.”

“I won’t, Coach.” Jared promised.

The older man seemed convinced and disappeared into the crowd. Kyra popped up beside him with a glass. “Here, Jump. I heard you like scotch.”

“Uh, thanks,” Jared muttered as she latched onto his arm again. “Have you seen Xander, by chance?”

“Tate?” Kyra asked.

“Yes.”

Jared surveyed the crowd fearing he’d have better luck finding the cornerback on his own, knowing that Trent wouldn’t be far away. As two of the only family guys on the team, they were often together.

“I think he’s at a table in the corner with his wife and Trent Roberts.” Kyra shrugged and pointed toward a table near the back of the room, “Did you hear that Trent’s wife left him to go back home? She took the kids and everything.”

Jared took a drink of his scotch, not bad, but he really wanted a beer. “That’s rough, I think I’ll go talk to them and share a drink, offer my condolences.”

“Oh.” Kyra looked bored.

“You don’t have to go with me, I can catch up with you later,” Jared offered, desperately hoping she’d go along with it.

Kyra waved at a group of cheerleaders. “Um, okay. Just don’t leave without me, Jump.”

She leaned up and threw her arms around his neck. Before he could react, Kyra’s lips were on his and her tongue was working into his mouth. Jared lazily kissed back and ended it as soon as he could without making a scene. Kyra gave him a devilish grin and practically skipped off to join her friends. Jared downed the rest of the scotch and made for the bar.

“Gimme a beer, please,” Jared asked the bartender who automatically obliged. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash for the tip jar. “Thanks, man.”

“Hey, Jump.” Xander and Trent greeted Jared in unison, almost as if they rehearsed it. The pair could not have looked more uncomfortable and seemed to be waiting for the right time to leave.

“Xander, Trent.” Jared dipped his head toward his teammates before addressing Xander’s wife. “Nice to see you, Alicia. You look lovely this evening.”

In all honesty, he couldn’t believe this woman had three children. She didn’t look a day over twenty and her body curved in all the right places. Jared always found her attractive but the delicate blue gown made Alicia Tate look like she belonged on a red carpet somewhere.

“Thank you for coming tonight.”

“Sure, Jump,” Xander answered blandly and gestured for Jared to join them.

“It wasn’t an option, was it.” Jared settled in the chair nearest Xander and leaned forward.

“Not really,” Xander studied him, “why does it matter to you?”

“I want to do things different now.” Jared held his teammate’s gaze. “I want to talk to you about what you two do and how you do it. Now’s not the time, but I have some questions and I need some help.”

“I see.” Xander’s guarded response betrayed his mistrust but Trent seemed engaged.

“What do you wanna know, Jared?” Trent took a drink from his beer.

“I really don’t know. I just don’t want to be a puppet anymore. I want….” He trailed off as Xander and Trent looked past him at somebody.

“Hey, Jump.” Derek, the last person Jared wanted to talk to.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Jared covered quickly, “thanks for coming out tonight. It means a lot.”

“Bright and early,” Trent answered dismissively. His face turned cold as he looked out over the room.