My Ex’s Roommates: Chapter 38

I slipped away before Harper noticed me, not wanting to interrupt her work for my own selfish reasons after seeing her shine. My heart felt like it was trying to climb up my throat as I walked back to where Dylan was huddled with a few guys looking at updated plays. Plays that he’d tweaked after talking to Harper at night while she took care of us. I stood just outside of the huddle with my mind on the woman who’d single-handedly resuscitated the team after Jake dropped a bomb on it. She’d done it without wanting any credit for it.

I glanced back at her and wondered if Jake had ever understood what a fucking gem he had in her. It filled me with shame to think about the times we’d all sat around listening to him brag about taking her virginity and teaching her to suck him off. She’d just been an object to him and a joke to us. None of us had ever thought about the woman behind his stupid fucking stories. Not more than to look at Harper and wonder how such an ice princess ever melted enough to give a blow job.

“Dude, you good?” Dylan lightly shoved my shoulder, his brows pinched in concern. “You look like you’re going to puke your guts out.”

I forced myself to shake off those thoughts and ran a hand through my hair. I ignored the way it shook. “Fine. I’m fine. I, uh, was just-”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not playing?!” Coach Hogan’s scream filled the stadium, louder than any of his tirades before.

“Oh, shit.” Dylan and everyone else on the field turned to where Coach was glaring at Jared, and to a lesser extent, Harper.

We couldn’t hear what Jared was saying but I knew. I knew he was taking Harper’s advice and sitting out. I also knew that Coach had an infamously short fuse when he was stressed and when I saw him turning on Harper, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. The thought of him screaming in her face had me crossing the field to get to them with Dylan right behind me.

“Who the fuck are you to interfere with my players?! You’re a goddamn student!” Coach’s face was a dangerous shade of red, verging on purple. “No one fucks with my roster! You’re fucking fired! You! Get back on the fucking field and play like a man!”

Silas had been on the other side of the field, working with the special team and I saw him throw his helmet down as he started towards Coach. None of us were going to be able to sit back and watch him scream in her face like that. It wasn’t going to happen.

Harper planted herself firmly between Jared and Coach, her chin tipped up as she faced off with a man three times her size. “If you’re finished screaming, I’ll explain to you the same thing I explained to Jared. You won’t put him back in the game unless you’re comfortable sentencing him to a life of pain. He isn’t healed from the injury last season. I’ve been watching him over the last few weeks and he’s gotten progressively slower. He’s not getting off the line fast enough and he doesn’t have the power that he did even two weeks ago. He’s a junior. If you give him time to heal, he’ll come back his senior year and be a powerhouse for you. If you push him right now, you’re ending his career right now.”

“It’s okay, Harper. I’ll-”

She turned and patted Jared’s chest to quiet him before turning back to Coach, who’d gone eerily silent. “I may just be a goddamn student but this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m not going to crumble because you shout a little and let you risk one of these guys’ limbs.”

Silas, Dylan, and I stopped just outside of the bubble Coach and Harper had formed and waited to see how Coach responded. I normally had a lot of respect for the man. He wasn’t an easy guy but he was a good coach. I could feel the nervous energy passing back and forth between us as we waited to see if the man was going to let us down by bullying Harper.

Harper shocked the shit out of all of us by flashing a smile at Coach. “And you can’t fire me. I don’t work for you. If it’d make you feel better I’ll pretend to sulk off the field, though. Just until I reach the sidelines because then I have to get back to work.”

There wasn’t a single sound in the stadium. The team, who knew just how volatile Coach could get, held their breath as they all waited to see if Coach was going to launch Harper into the stands. I inched closer just in case I needed to shield her from the man’s head exploding.

We all flinched when Coach threw his head back and let out a loud laugh. We also all waited to see if it was a laugh that preceded a mental break that ended in attempted homicide.

“You’re a fucking spitfire.” Coach grabbed Harper’s shoulders and smiled down at her. “You want a job?”

“Just so you can fire me? No, thanks.” Harper grinned and knocked his hands away. “Go back to work, Coach. Your defense could be tighter and I’ve got a team full of babies who need stretched out and massaged.”

“I mean it. You’re coming to work for me.” Coach seemed to realize that we were all staring at him in shock because his face hardened as he glared at us. “Get back to fucking work, you slackers! I don’t want to see a smile on any of your faces until you prove that you know what the hell you’re doing out there!”

Harper nodded back at Jared. “I’ll work for you if you keep Jared on so his PT is covered by the team. He mentioned his personal insurance wouldn’t cover more than a few sessions.”

Coach waved it off like it had never been an issue. “Sure, sure. What are you doing tomorrow night? My wife would love you. She can be a real ball-buster, too.”

Silas joined Dylan and I in watching Coach toss his arm around Harper and lead her away like they’d just spend the day shopping together and gossiping about their crushes. I felt a chill go down my back. “Invasion of the body snatchers?”

Silas shuddered. “I have the fucking creeps. What the hell was that? He just went from screaming in her face to inviting her to dinner with his wife. Am I hallucinating? Did I hit my head?”

Dylan clapped us both on the shoulder and laughed. “She’s a witch. There’s no other way to explain it. Obviously, she cast a spell on all of us.”

I saw that Jared was still standing next us, staring after Harper, too. I reached out and punched him in the arm. “Don’t get any ideas, shithead.”

He had a goofy smile on his face. “Too late. I’m going to marry that woman.”

Silas reached for Jared but Harper’s sweet voice stopped us from flicking the big guy off the field like a bug. “Jared! Come on! Coach Hogan’s going to buy us lunch and tell us all about the physical therapy program he’s going to greenlight for you!”

Coach threw his hands up. “Forget it! You’re fired! I never said I was going to pay for either of your lunch.”

Jared smacked me in the chest and grinned. “I’m going to lunch with my future wife, assholes!”

I turned to Dylan and Silas after Harper disappeared into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms and offices. “What the fuck?”

Silas growled. “I can’t decide if I want to strangle Jared or bend Harper over in front of everyone and fuck her so they know to back the fuck off.”

Dylan cracked his neck. “Both. I choose both.”

A smirk twisted my lips. “I can’t wait to get home tonight and chat with our little witch.”