Chapter 9: Liked Something that was Bad for You
Rick casually draped his arm around me as I watched the players lift weights the next day. None of them paid attention as Rick pulled me just a little closer.
"Hey, Nora," he said with a smile.
The BO coming from his body made me crinkle my nose as I resisted the urge to push him away.
I had seen Rick do this to other people on the team, however this was the first time he had done it with me. For a second, I liked it; it made me feel like I was more than just the intern. So for the few brief moments, I would put up with his BO.
I smiled at Rick.
Everett said he was not to be trusted and that he drugged the drinks at the party, but there was no evidence of this. No one knew who drugged the drinks, so why was Everett so keen to throw him under the bus? Unless Everett was guilty.
Since the party, I paid careful attention to Rick, however I saw no red flags, so Ever's warning seemed like nothing to be concerned with. "Aren't you supposed to be working on weights?"
He nodded as he dropped his arm, allowing space between us so I could breathe. "Nothing escapes you, does it?"
I shook my head with a smirk, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "Go on, before you get in trouble for slacking."
"Nah, you wouldn't let that happen to me," he pouted, giving me puppy dog eyes.
As if that would work on me.
I raised my eyebrow at him, crossing my arms over my chest. Maybe it would have worked for others, but I was not easily wooed by him or any other player. We might have been friendly, but I wouldn't overlook his slacking. "You underestimate me."
He smiled. "Is that a good thing?"
I shook my head with a slight chuckle. As the intern, I tried not to have favorites, but Rick talked to me the most, so people might start to think otherwise. "Go, Rick."
With that, he ran off to do the things he needed to do.
I smirked as he ran off. Dad was right, I wouldn't fall in love with any of these boys. None of them were my type. Infact, they were boys, children really, and I had no interest in them.
However, one thing I didn't see coming was falling in love with being an intern. We were only three weeks into fall camp, and being here gave me a sense of excitement that I hadn't felt before. As something that I just thought I would do to fill time, turned into something I couldn't see my life without.
"So you're friendly with Rick," Tad said as he walked up to me with a grin.
I turned to face him. "Because Rick actually talks to me more than most."
He wiggled his eyebrows. "Do you like him?"
My eyes widened as I shook my head. "Rick, gosh no. Never in a million years."
He nodded as his smile slid down his face.
"Do you like him?"
Tad shrugged. "Rick's posy is one of the cuter ones on the team."
"You like his friend Shelly, don't you?"
"Yes, Shelly's cute. But don't tell him that."
I rolled my eyes. I didn't understand why it mattered or not, but on his request, I would stay silent. "How do you like these men when they don't even remember your name most times?"
He shrugged. "Haven't you liked something that was bad for you?"
I frowned as I thought about my unhealthy relationship with boba tea. "It's different."
He raised his eyebrows at me. "Is it though?"
For a moment, I let his words dig into me, making me wonder if he had a point.
"So, you are telling me you don't like any of these players? We've been working with them for three weeks and you can't say any one of them stands out to you?"
I shook my head, confident no one did. "I'm not interested in football players. It's just not my thing."
He nodded as he watched some of the players switch equipment. "How about Everett?"
Instantly my cheeks grew hot. He had to be joking. Never in a million years would I like Everett. Yes, maybe we had a moment a few days ago, but since then, he had not talked to me. That experience started to fade in my mind like a dream. "Never."
He smiled. "Are you sure? I think I saw him stare at you today."
I shook my head, convinced he was mistaken. "Everett doesn't care about me, just like he doesn't care about anyone else expect himself."
"Are you sure though?"
I nodded. "Positive. I thought you hated him, too."
Tad stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked at the ground. "Hate is such a strong word. I would say I dislike him most of the time. But there is something about him... Like candy, you know? It's bad for you, but you can't keep away from it."
"I don't like candy."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I'm serious. I prefer chips to candy any day."
"Ok, you're weird."
"Ok, great lift guys, get your gainer and some post lift food. Let's meet again this afternoon to watch plays." Tyler shouted so the room heard him.
"Where has your dad been? I haven't seen much of him today," Tad said as players passed us to get out of the room.
I thought about the meeting he had last night. He didn't tell me details, but he looked defeated when he returned home. When I tried to pry for details, he quickly shut me down. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to talk about it or if he couldn't.
I glanced around to make sure the coast was clear to speak. The last thing I wanted was to get Dad in trouble. "He had a meeting with the University President last evening, and I don't think it went well. I think he's getting pressure on improving teamwork and it's not working. He's been in the office all day, scheming."
"If you ask me, this team is already doing much better than the end of the season last year. It just needs time. But I'm sure the university doesn't want to hear that. You know how football is in Ohio, it's a religion."
I nodded.
"I don't worship anything else." He smirked.
I hit his arm lightly.
"Anyhow, are we still on for boba this afternoon?"
I nodded. "Of course we are."
"Great, I'll see you there in about an hour." With that, he left.
Quickly, I gathered my things and ran to Dad's office before I headed off to see Tad.
As I peered through his office door, I heard him give a tired sigh. I smiled at Dad who looked over a stack of papers. "How's it going?"
Dad looked up at me as he took off his glasses and rubbed his mustache. "I think I have some good ideas, but only a scrimmage will help me know if it'll work." Although his enthusiasm was less than normal.
"Sounds good," I said.
"We just need to start this season and go from there. Like wrinkles on a tablecloth, they end up just flattening over time. I know your mom hates it when I tell her that."
"That's the spirit!"
"So what are you going to do, since I don't need you for the second part of the day?" dad asked as he organized his papers.
I shrugged just as my eyes caught hold of my shoes that had mud spots on them. "Not much. Just getting boba with Tad."
"Don't choke on it."
I shook my head with a smile. "It's kind of hard to do that."
"Say that to people who choked."
I chuckled as I gave him a finger gun, then left without saying another word.
There was a skip in my step, I walked down the hall, getting excited for boba. It had been a few days since I had it last.
But I stopped when a smack down echoed the hall, then I heard Everett's booming voice, making my hair stand up. "Knock the Hell off. Damnit, I'm warning you. Stay away."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rick's voice rang out.
"Hell, you do. I'm warning you and I don't give many warnings."
I bit my lip as if that would keep my quiet. There was silence as I waited to hear anything else.
A second later, Rick passed me in the hall as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Hey Rick," I said friendly, however he didn't make eye contact as he passed by. "Bye, Rick." I muttered as my smile slid from my face.
Rick always smiled at me, so this was a complete change. I couldn't help but wonder if it was related to what Everett had said.
Anger boiled beneath my skin, making my cheeks hot the more I thought about it. I didn't want to think what he just said was about me, but Rick's reaction made me think otherwise. Was Everett pushing people away from me? No, I wouldn't let that happen.
My hands clenched into fists as I stood a little taller. With sure steps, I talked towards the source of the sound. I would give him a piece of my mind.
In a matter of a moment, I ran into him as he pulled on his T-shirt.
I glared at him as my nails dug into my palms. "What was that?"
Everett frowned as he wiped his hands on his shorts. "What was what?"
I took a step closer to him. "I heard you. Are you telling the players to stay away from me?"
He shook his head with a chuckle. "You really think of yourself that highly?"
I rolled my eyes as I bit my tongue. So much for trying to understand him. I hated him and that wouldn't change.
The moment we shared a few days ago was only but a moment and now he was back to being his dicky self.
"You don't know the whole story," he said, his tone softer.
My body relaxed just a little. "If I don't, then why don't you tell me?"
His brows furrowed as he fell silent. "This isn't about you. Don't you trust me?"
I shook my head. Rick didn't even look at me, that was enough proof that it was all about me. "Trust demands more than words."
"What about a friendship?"
I scoffed. We barely talked. How could we be friends? He just threw that word around as if it was nothing but a foam ball, expecting no damage to be done. "We have no friendship."
His face twisted up as if he ate something sour and, without saying another word, he stalked off.
I didn't stop him. There was nothing left to say. He needed to know how I felt, and that was enough for me.
Everett was the worst and that was it.
_______________________
As I sat on a metal chair, sipping my boba tea, watching people walk down the road, I waited for Tad to come join.
My attention perked up when I heard Rick's voice ring out. I was about to wave to him, but stopped when he walked up to another guy wearing an OSU logo shirt and a pair of gray and red Nikes. The two looked friendly as they laughed about something.
The two bumped shoulders as they walked into the boba shop, completely unaware of how close I was. A minute later, came out with cups in their hands and walked across the street.
As they crossed the road; Rick slapped some girl's butt. Almost instantly, she turned to face him, but as she noticed his football getup, her anger washed away. The scene made my stomach twist into knots.
"You're on the OSU team, right?" she gushed.
He nodded with a smile then thumbed to his friend. "He is too."
Although, I knew he wasn't. I had never seen that other person before.
"Wow, it's so exciting to meet two players. I'm such a huge football fan," she said with a smile.
"Well, if you have time, we should hang out sometime."
"I would love that," she said as she followed them down the road to continue the conversation.
Slowly their conversation became less audible as they walked farther from me. But I heard enough to churn my stomach. This city viewed too highly of these players. They saw them as gods and maybe that was why they were working terribly together. After what I just witnessed, Everett was right, maybe Rick wasn't a good person. Maybe most of the players weren't and Dad knew that.
"Nora, sorry I'm late!" Tad's voice rang out, causing me to turn around to look at him.
"No problem. I had tea, so I was fine."
He nodded as he sat down next to me.
"Hey Tad, who is that?" I asked as I pointed down the road, noticing that Rick and his friend were gone.
His dark eyes squinted into the distance. "Who?"
I shook my head with a frown. "Nothing. I'll just wait here while you get your drink."
He nodded with a smile as he walked into the tea shop without another word.
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