The couch is empty, and the only signs that she slept there last night are the pillow and folded blanket.
Sitting on a stool, I bite the bullet and call Coach Clarkson.
He answers on the second ring in his usual grumpy voice. “Troy, if you’re calling me this early, it means you have bad news for me.”
“You know me too well, Coach.”
“Out with it already.”
“I dislocated my shoulder last night.”
“What the hell did you do, son?”
“I fell in my living room.”
“You fell, huh? That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“You expect me to believe that an elite athlete like yourself simply lost his balance over nothing?”
Ah shit. Yeah, that’d be pretty hard to believe.
“Actually, my roommate was mopping the floor, and I didn’t notice. It was one of those stupid moments of distraction.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, realizing too late that I should have thought of a better story before I called the coach.
“Right. There’s nothing for it now. I want you to come in and see the team’s physician anyway.”
“Sure thing. I’ll drop by later.”
Coach ends the call without another word. I should be glad he didn’t chew me out over the phone, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
It’s my fucking fault that I got hurt. I should have never tackled Charlie. It wasn’t only anger that propelled me to do so. I wanted to touch her, to wrap my arms around her body. If I hadn’t lost my balance, I might have kissed her right then and there. Though she probably would have ripped my nut sack off in that moment.
But later, on her bed, she kissed me back. I’m sure of it.
I text Andreas and Danny, telling them I’ll be out of commission for a while. I should have known Andreas would want an explanation in person. Ten minutes later, he and Danny are knocking on my door and calling my name.
With a sigh, I let them in, then veer back to the kitchen. I need coffee, stat.
“Dude, how the fuck did you dislocate your shoulder?” Andreas asks as he follows me.
“I told you, I fell.” I reach for the coffee jar, but opening it with one hand is a struggle.
“Jesus, give me that.” He pries the jar from my hand and then proceeds to fill the coffeemaker.
“That must have been a pretty epic fall. What did you do?” Danny asks.
“I tackled the wrong person,” I mumble, immediately regretting my slipup.
Andreas whips his face to mine. “Come again?”
I walk around the counter, turning my back to him on purpose. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. I knew your accident had something to do with your roommate. Was it another prank?” Andreas is angry, which is never a good thing. I definitely don’t want him gunning for Charlie when she’s not at fault.
“Relax. She didn’t do this. If she had, she wouldn’t still be living here.” I sit down on the high stool, facing him again.
He’s staring at me through slits, trying to sniff out a lie. There isn’t one though.
“Okay, fine. Charlie didn’t do this, but I don’t get your comment. Who did you tackle if not her?” Danny pipes up.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I did tackle her. We got into a whipped-cream fight, and things got out of hand.”
Andreas’s jaw drops, and he’s looking at me with a goofy expression now. I stunned him into silence.
“A whipped-cream fight? That sounds like foreplay, buddy.” Danny chuckles.
Hell, I don’t want them to know how close his comment is to the truth. It would have been foreplay if I hadn’t gotten hurt.
“Trust me, it wasn’t.”
Andreas crosses his arms and continues to scrutinize me. “Whatever. If you’re not going to fuck her, then why keep her around? Even if she didn’t plan what happened to you, she’s still partially responsible. Please tell me you’re going to retaliate.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not going to punish Charlie because of this.”
The sound of a key turning interrupts our conversation. Charlie comes in wearing skintight gym clothes that serve as a shot of desire straight down my crotch.
Shit. Why does she have to be so stunning?
She glances apprehensively at Danny and Andreas, maybe catching the tense vibe in the air, and then looks at me. “Oh, hey. You’re up.”
“Yeah. Where did you go so early?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Andreas shaking his head.
“I had to return the chickens.”
“Uh, what?” Danny looks at me.
Ah fuck. I had forgotten about them. If I tell the guys what Charlie did to my room, Andreas