Bad Coach (An Alpha Male Bad Boy Romance) (Forbidden Romance)

by Claire Adams

  I watched as the crowd began to thin, thinking back to the last few times I had been to games; how different this game was from the previous two times. It was hard to believe that it had only been a couple of weeks since I had come out, hoping to tell Devon I had feelings for him, only to run into him afterward, wrapped up in the arms of another girl—a girl who had turned out to be my supposed best friend on campus, my roommate. And then the game before this one, I had watched, cheered, loved seeing Devon—only to find out shortly after the game was won that he was suspended from the team and from the school. I could almost get the feeling that as much as I loved basketball and as much as I loved Devon, that it wasn’t safe for my mental health to go to games; somehow something bad always seemed to happen.

  But that was silly. I had never really been superstitious in my life; it wasn’t a great time to start, especially since I was sure that Devon would want me to keep going to games for the rest of the season once he was back on the team. I wandered around the stands, watching the basketball bunnies and fans talking amongst themselves as they started for the exits. I knew there’d be a gaggle of girls outside of the locker rooms, hoping to hook up with one of the players. There would probably be more than a few reporters milling around also, hoping for a good sound bite, a good quote for their story. I wondered how many of them were still following the story of Devon’s scandal, whether they were just waiting to see if he passed the test, or if they were going to try and get to him to ask him. Whatever the case, I decided, Devon would be able to handle it; he had been able to answer the questions of the fans around us without even batting an eyelash. He would be great as a pro player.

  After a few minutes, I decided that if Devon was going to be hanging with his boys, I might as well take the opportunity to run to the bathroom. I knew that even if he wanted to study when we got back to the frat house, eventually we would end up fooling around again, and the soda and the bottle of water he had bought me were starting to have an effect I couldn’t put off dealing with. I made my way towards the exit, looking around at the emptying stands, the court absolutely barren of players. I tried to imagine Devon hanging out in the locker room, celebrating with his teammates, laughing and joking.

  After the exciting nail-biter of a game, everyone was obviously hurrying to get back on campus proper, to head to one of the frats or maybe the student union to party, and it was a little strange how quickly the arena had emptied out. I made my way towards the ladies’ room, smiling to myself idly, thinking about how good a time I had had, and how much fun Devon was doubtless having. I hoped that he would be able to pass the test with flying colors and vindicate himself soon. In spite of the fact that I loved having more time with him, and that watching the game with him next to me had been great, I knew he would much rather be on the court. It wasn’t right for him to be anywhere else.

  I finally made it to the bathroom; it was echoingly empty, and it felt weird to be there, knowing that the crews were already getting to work cleaning up the whole arena, knowing that there was no one else around. I shivered, checking my phone to make sure that Devon hadn’t already texted me. He probably wouldn’t be much longer—I hoped he wouldn’t anyway—but he hadn’t finished up with the rest of the team yet. I went into a stall and took care of business, thinking of what studying we’d have to do. I didn’t even really want to study; I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up close in Devon’s arms and watch TV, or make love all night. It wasn’t like me—but I enjoyed the feeling anyway. I was giddy and contented and happy; it amazed me to think that only a couple of weeks earlier, while I managed to make it to a few parties, I would never have thought that I’d lose my virginity on a whim, find a boyfriend I liked—or have experienced any of the things I had in the past several days. It was almost unbelievable how fast everything had happened. I checked my phone again to find no text from Devon and finished up in the stall. I’d wander around a bit, and if he was in the locker room for much longer I’d head in that direction so it wouldn’t take forever to meet up with him and go back to the frat house.

  Chapter Ten

  I went out of the stall to wash my hands, thinking of how the rest of the night would go. I heard one of the other toilets flushing behind me and frowned; I hadn’t noticed anyone else in the bathroom when I came in, and as far as I had been aware, no one had come in after me—but apparently there was someone else. No big deal, I told myself, shaking my head. You can’t be the only one who downed one of the giant sodas here. I rinsed the soap suds off of my hands and heard the creak and clank of the door-latch to one of the stalls flipping open. I looked in the mirror, glancing at the stall that was opening behind me.

  My mouth nearly fell open when none other than Kelly came out of the stall. She started slightly at the sight of me; I decided that she probably hadn’t planned our run-in any more than I had, although I couldn’t think it was pure coincidence that she had come to the game, not when I knew that she was into Devon. “Hey,” she said, giving me a slight, tight smile as she moved to the sink area.

  “I’ve got nothing to say to you,” I told her, stepping over to the towel dispenser. I thought about the fact that she had tried to sabotage Devon and me before we had even properly decided to be together and felt a brittle, hot anger well up in me. I’d just head straight for the locker rooms; I didn’t want anything to do with Kelly at all anymore.

  “Wait—Jenn, I need to tell you something.” I frowned, pulling a few paper towels free of the dispenser and wiping my hands on them. In spite of myself, I had to admit that I was curious; what could she possibly have to say to me? That she was sorry?

  I leaned against the counter, watching as Kelly washed her hands quickly. “Go ahead. But if it’s that Devon is some asshole, I don’t really want to hear it.” Kelly blushed slightly, and she grabbed a handful of paper towels from the other dispenser.

  “Look—I did something stupid, and it was wrong, but just hear me out.” That was not a promising start.

  “What did you do?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Kelly looked down at the floor for a moment, looking genuinely ashamed, and I was worried; had she done something to further sabotage Devon?

  “It’s my fault that Devon has to retake the test,” Kelly said quickly.

  “How is it your fault?” I stared at her in shock. I remembered—suddenly—her saying as I left the dorm after our fight that Devon and I would both get what we deserved.

  “I know the guy who took the test for him,” Kelly said. “He—he swore me to secrecy about it, but Devon paid one of his friends at school to take his ACT, and the guy told me about it. The guy goes here too. I didn’t sell him out, but I told the Academic Integrity board about it.” My mouth fell open, and I just stared at her in silence for a long moment.

  “Are you serious? You could get that guy in trouble too! Don’t you think that they’re going to try and figure out who Devon got help from? Who the hell could ever want to be your friend?” I shook my head. “What Devon did is wrong but…Jesus, Kelly. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “They’re not going to figure out who Devon got to do it,” Kelly said, brushing the concern aside. “The other guy is in the clear.”

  “You don’t even know that!”

  “Please. They had to investigate, but you and I both know that they want to make the investigation as short and small as possible. Devon will retake the test, and it’ll all go away.” She sounded incredibly bitter; I remembered, ruefully, my own bitterness at the fact that the school was more interested in keeping their sports stars playing than they were in actual academic integrity. She was right—the school wouldn’t look into it too much, not if Devon had already admitted that he’d cheated, and not now that he was doing what he could to fix the situation.

  “Still,” I said, shaking my head. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do something like that?” Kelly snorted.

  “Seriously, you’re going to try and justify what he did? He had it c
oming to him.” She hesitated and sighed, looking at her hands. “It’s stupid and petty but—I was so pissed off at him, and at you. I wanted to ruin his whole life.”

  “Yeah, well, that was an excellent attempt. If he can’t pass the test this time with a high enough score, his whole career is over, and he won’t be able to get a degree anywhere.”

  “I know,” Kelly said, a faint look of satisfaction in her eyes, in spite of how contrite her voice sounded. “I just couldn’t believe that you would choose him over me, and that he’d...” She shook her head. “Jenn, I’ve wanted him ever since we first hooked up. It’s not fair that you got him.”

  “Fair has nothing to do with it!” I glared at her. “If I hadn’t even come to this school, he still wouldn’t have chosen you—because he’d already decided he didn’t want to be with you before I started.”

  “I know it’s stupid, I know it’s petty.” Kelly sighed. “I know you’ll probably never forgive me for it, but you need to be careful.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Please, the last time you tried to give me advice you were lying through your teeth. Why should I believe you now?” Kelly held my gaze, barely even blinking.

  “Do you really think a guy like Devon can possibly change that much? He admitted to you that he was a player, that he totally did all of the things everyone accuses him of. Did he admit to you that he cheated on the ACT?” I nodded.

  “He’s been nothing but honest with me; unlike you.” Kelly sighed.

  “Don’t you see he’s playing you? I mean, sure—he probably does want to do better on his retake of the test. But just because he didn’t want to bang you and forget you doesn’t mean he’s not using you.” I rolled my eyes again.

  “How is he using me? He just wants some help studying—and I’m the best person to help him.” Kelly laughed.

  “Yeah, sure, of course he wants help studying. He wants to be able to play again. He doesn’t want to get kicked out of school. As soon as he passes that test, he’s going to kick you to the curb, just like every other girl he’s ever been with.”

  “He would still want to be with me even if I refused to help him,” I told Kelly, even though her words sent a chill through me.

  “You’re so fucking naïve, Jenn. He figured out that you’re one of the smartest girls on campus, so of course he’s going to keep you around. He’ll get you to help him, and then once you’re not worth anything to him anymore, he’ll find another girl to give him what he wants.”

  “So what was he doing before you threw him under the bus? I mean—it’s not like he needed me to help him study then.” Kelly shrugged.

  “You’re useful to him. Before it was probably that you were a good lay, or something like that, who knows? But now? Now you’re the girl who’s going to help him pass the ACT and prove that he’s not a cheater. But how likely do you really think it is that he’s serious about being a better person?” She shrugged. “He’s a selfish asshole, and if you don’t believe that, ask the other girls he’s dumped.”

  “You are too much,” I said, shaking my head. In spite of my bravado, I could feel her words sinking hooks into my brain. “You’ve lied to me from the very beginning, and you expect me to believe a word that comes out of your mouth now? You just admitted to me that you risked a friend’s academic career to get back at Devon for dumping you.”

  “Devon doesn’t like you—he doesn’t like anyone. He certainly doesn’t love you.” Kelly laughed shortly. “The only person that Devon Sealy loves is himself. The only thing he cares about is getting what he wants. What he wants right now is to get back on the team and get off suspension. Once he gets that with your help, you’re totally useless to him. He’ll be back to banging whoever he feels like in no time.” She threw away the paper towels in her hands and walked out of the bathroom, leaving me all alone.

  I stood there in the echoingly silent room, my mind swirling with disbelief and doubt. Devon had never been anything but honest with me; he had even come clean about being a player who used girls. He had admitted everything—but only when it came out and he had to. From what my other friends had said about him, everything that Kelly had ever accused him of was right. Was I just being a naïve idiot to think that he was really serious, and really wanted to turn over a new leaf and be a better person? I wanted to believe it. He had been so completely candid. He had been so attentive, had begged me to hear him out.

  But I couldn’t deny the fact that his past spoke volumes about him. Could a guy really go from sleeping around and dropping girls the minute he got tired of them to being serious? I thought about how I had felt when he’d told me about cheating on the ACT. My impulse had been to have nothing at all to do with him ever again. Had that been the right thought all along? I couldn’t help but think—even though I didn’t want to—that in spite of the fact that Kelly had been lying to me, and her bitterness had driven her to try and get revenge on a guy she couldn’t have, that there had to be a grain of truth in what she’d said. Maybe I was a naïve idiot after all.

  HOOPED #5

  Chapter One

  A few minutes after Kelly walked out of the bathroom, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Hey, babe! Ready to head back? I bit my bottom lip; part of me didn’t want to go with Devon at all, not with the doubts raging in my mind. What if he was just using me like Kelly said? It was a stupid thought, and I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t help thinking that in spite of the fact that she had lied to me, she had been my friend for such a long time.

  I worried at my bottom lip for a moment, looking at my screen. Even if I wasn’t sure of whether Devon was really seeing me because he wanted me, or because he was using me, I still wanted to be around him. I needed to know the truth, and after all, the only way I’d get to the bottom of it would be to talk to him about it. I took a deep breath. Yeah, Dev. I’m in the girls’ room. Meet you by the locker rooms? A moment later my phone buzzed again.

  See you in a minute. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and told myself that I would just play it cool. There was no need to cause a scene with Devon; even if he was using me, I would just figure it out on my own, and I would dump him before he got the chance to dump me. Now that he’d told everyone in the stands around us that I was his tutor, and we’d been together publicly, I wasn’t about to be yet another of the girls Devon ditched once he got what they wanted from them.

  I walked through the arena until I came to the locker room entrance; Devon was waiting there, talking to some other girls—but even as suspicious as my brain was, I couldn’t see anything that looked like interest from him. He was talking to them because they were there and because they had chatted him up. I wasn’t about to start jumping on every little thing. Besides, I thought. What reason do I have to believe Kelly? Everything she’s said about Devon so far has been a lie. Except it wasn’t all lies. She had told me that Devon was a player—and before he had started to get serious with me, he had admitted that he’d fooled around with girls, getting laid without caring about them.

  “Hey, babe! I was just about to send someone to look for you,” Devon said, breaking away from the groupies to close the distance between us. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me hungrily, his hands trailing over my sides. He deepened the kiss, and I melted against him in spite of the thoughts swirling around in my head; I wanted to believe so badly. I wanted it to be just fine, nothing different between us at all.

  After a few minutes, Devon pulled back, breaking away from my lips. I realized that the girls who had been talking to him before were gone, that they’d wandered off somewhere now that it was clear he wasn’t going to be going anywhere with them. “You tired or something, Jenny?” I made myself smile.

  “Yeah, I guess. Can we go back to the frat now?” Devon nodded and steered me away from the locker rooms, his arm draped around my back as we both headed for the exit. I told myself that I should just act normally—that it wasn’t the time for any kind of confrontation. I even told myself that Kelly was wrong; s
he was a proven liar, and I shouldn’t trust anything she had to say about Devon.

  We walked in silence, and I didn’t even realize that anything was different—I was so trapped in my own head—until Devon stopped underneath a security lamp and turned me to face him. “If there was something wrong you’d tell me, right?” he asked me, his eyes full of concern.

  “Of course! Nothing is wrong, babe. I’m just tired.” I smiled again, and Devon hesitated only a moment before starting off again, my hand in his. I thought I should be confronting him about what Kelly had told me—that I should be talking to him about it. But I didn’t want to cause a scene. I didn’t know what to say, or what to believe. Shouldn’t I be giving Devon the benefit of the doubt? Devon started telling me about the other guys, about the members of the team, and I tried to listen and pay attention, but I was too consumed with all the thoughts in my head.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Devon asked, giving my hand a quick squeeze.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I swear, just tired.” You might as well just ask him about it. It’s not like you could make anything worse. But Kelly…you can’t trust anything she says about him. I went back and forth in my mind, occasionally thinking that I should tell Devon to stop and talk to him before we even got back to the frat house, and then another part of my mind countering that it would just be stupid, and I wasn’t going to be the kind of girl to make a huge scene in the middle of campus, even if there was no one around.

  As we neared the Phi Kappa house, I halfway hoped that Devon would be interested in fooling around; maybe it would take my mind off of what Kelly had told me. Instead, he gave me a kiss right before we went in and said, “If you’re really tired, we should probably just call it a night, right?” I kissed him lightly on the lips; how could I possibly doubt a guy who was going to be so sweet to me?