Waiting on the Sidelines (Waiting on the Sidelines #1)(59)

I promised my dad I’d be home by 7 guaranteeing I wouldn’t be out with Tyler too long. I sat on the bleachers and watched as he and a couple of other guys from his team stretched. The other two were good, but Tyler was just a hint better. His precision was shocking. His first dive was a little more plain, just a simple tuck and straight into the water. But the more he did, the more complex they seemed to get. Twists, rolls, backwards; each time he entered the water with such a small splash that if I wasn’t looking I would never know the massive movements that were made before he was submerged.

He was toweling off when he came over to sit by me when he was done. I clapped a little like he had done for my silly dance in the desert. “Very impressive,” I said, smiling, blushing a little when I noticed his hard muscles and very small suit.

“Thanks. I’ve been doing it since I was 8, so I hope I at least have some of those down now,” he said, raising one side of his mouth for a half grin. “I’m starving. You have time to eat?”

I looked at my watch. It was 6, but I could probably do something quick. “Maybe a quick bite. Sandwiches or something?” I asked.

“Sounds good. Meet you up front,” he said, backing away and heading for the locker room.

Penny was long gone, so I sat up front alone waiting for him. When Tyler came out, he was dressed in loose jeans, flip flops and a V-necked white T-shirt. His long blond curls were wet and wrestled in varied directions on his head. He looked like a model, but he still wasn’t for me. I was crazy, and I knew it.

We drove separately to the sub shop just down the road. I ordered a ham and cheese and Tyler paid for everything before I could stop him. We talked about normal things over dinner. His brother was a senior at ASU, majoring in engineering. Tyler was hoping to get a scholarship for diving somewhere in California. His parents were both lawyers. He asked about my family, and I talked about my dad’s long days driving deliveries. I mentioned how Mike was a coach at Eastern and how I grew up knowing football because of him. Well, that and everyone in Coolidge was taught football from a young age.

For a moment, I was having fun.

We refilled our drinks and left the restaurant to head to the parking lot. The heat from the nearing sunset was burning my shoulders some. It was amazing how evening held so much heat in Arizona. As promised, Tyler kept our dinner very platonic. He clicked his car button to unlock and held his drink in his other hand and nodded goodbye to me. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yep, see ya then,” I said, opening my door. I stopped and yelled over my roof at him. ”Thanks for today.”

“You got it, Nolan. Anytime,” he smiled, got in and drove away.



The rest of my shifts were mornings, and I was able to avoid Reed all week. I managed to work a break for the end of every shift so I was in the locker room whenever Reed arrived. I suspected Tyler had a hand in that since I knew he checked the schedule every morning.

I was able to make a few open practices at the school gym, too. I was working out hard, and I was hitting the ball harder than I ever had before. The coaches were impressed and told me to keep doing whatever I was doing. Ha, just get called a slut by your first love everyday, Nolan, I mused to myself.

Days had passed since I had seen my friends. I think they were giving me space, but I was starting to feel a little lonely. I was surprised, then, when Sean was sitting on the bleachers during my open gym session on Friday. I waved a few times and he motioned for me to come by to chat when I could. Between games I grabbed a drink and stopped by to talk.

“What’s up? What are you doing here?” I said, breathing a little hard from my last match.

“Just getting in some weights. We have workouts tonight, nothing formal. Not allowed,” he smiled.

“Ah, that’s right,” I looked down knowing that meant everyone else would be here soon, too.

“So, Buck’s having a BBQ for July 4th,” he looked at me, almost expecting me to say I’d see him there. I just nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I know you won’t be there. I just know he thinks highly about you. He’ll miss you.”

“I like him, too. And if you could promise that his son wouldn’t be there, then I’d show up. But we both know how stupid that is,” I said with a small laugh.

“I know,” he stopped, pausing for a long while. I could tell he had more to say. I kicked at his shoe a little getting him to look up.

“Spill it, cowboy,” I tried to make light of it.

“Noles, Tatum’s making this whole thing up,” he just stared at me, waiting for me to react. All I could do was laugh.

“Sean, you’re reaching for anything,” I said.

“No, I know it, Nolan. I know it,” he had the straightest face. “Look, Devin and Cole saw her out drinking at a club in Tempe the night of the desert party. She was with some of her girlfriends. She’s registered for ASU and is going there this fall. All of her plans are still the same. Now don’t you think if she was having a baby she’d be making a few changes? And drinking on a fake ID would probably be off the table, right?”

I sat down now, deciding to skip out on the next round of games. I just waved a few of the girls off so they could start without me.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, my heart speeding up a little with my anger for Tatum and what she could do.

“I have to tell him. We’re hanging out tonight, I’m staying over to help him set up at his dad’s for the BBQ this weekend,” he said. “Nolan, he’s in a bad place. His drinking is out of control, and he’s missing practices. I don’t want to see him f*ck things up. I love that guy like a brother, you know?”