Misconduct

by Samantha Kane

  “I’m just not in the market for something heavy,” he said. “I’m enjoying being single and mingling. Isn’t that what you told me I should do? Stop brooding about the past and move on? Have some fun? Have a life? Carmina deserves someone who’s looking for what she’s looking for, and Tom is. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Since when is Tom looking for something heavy?” she asked incredulously. “He’s more of a player than you are. He’s swinging at both teams. Suddenly he wants to settle down?”

  Danny sat down in the chair next to the cooler. “I think he’s been on the rebound for a while. You know his story? About that little girl he was with for so long who dumped him? I think that’s still bothering him, and all the fooling around has been his way of coping.” He shrugged. “I don’t think he considered getting serious with anyone until he met Carmina. He’s had a thing for her for months. Everyone knows it.”

  “I didn’t know it,” she said with a frown.

  “You’ve been a little busy with your first NFL coaching job, a new relationship, and a winning season,” Danny said with a smile.

  “Yeah, I guess there is that.” She grinned back. “You actually think I haven’t noticed that you’ve managed to avoid talking about Darren and the Rough Riders, don’t you?”

  “Shit,” he muttered. “Back to that? Like you said, I’ve played him before. This time will be no different.”

  “It feels different. It’s our last game of the season. We need to get through it and focus on the playoffs. The game doesn’t even have significance in the standings. Unless we lose to the Colts, in which case it will affect who we play. But the point is that Darren doesn’t have any control over us anymore, not even in this game. You need to focus on that. And as for what happened last summer, quit beating yourself up over it. So you like being held down. That doesn’t mean you’re like Darren. He was trying to rape me with his buddies. Completely different than what we did, which was consensual sex and pretty damn awesome. We’ve both been letting him control us for years, and now we’ve both moved on. That’s the best revenge.”

  There was revenge, and then there was justice, Danny thought. And Darren Peltz would never face justice for what he’d done. Not unless Danny brought it. “I know,” he said. There was some satisfaction in seeing Marian so happy, in knowing she was over what had happened. But it wasn’t enough. Not for Danny. She was right. He couldn’t stand that he wanted—craved—the thing that Peltz and his buddies had been doing to Marian. The horrible thing that Peltz had to pay for. And Danny was so fucked-up in the head it turned him on. Hell, the idea of his best friend doing it to him turned him on.

  Marian sighed and stood up. “I was going to rip into your sorry ass for what you did yesterday, but now I don’t want to.” She walked over and held her hand out to him and he took, clasping it in his, not like a handshake, but so they were holding hands. “I’m so glad you came to Birmingham,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I just want you to be happy.” He patted the back of her hand.

  “I’m happy,” he said. It sounded unconvincing even to him.

  “Not yet,” she said. She pulled away and headed for the door. “But you could be. Hey,” she said, then turned and faced him. “You’re not allergic to dogs are you?”

  “No,” he said, puzzled. “Are you getting a dog?”

  “No,” she paused in the doorway. “But Carmina has one.” She smiled and walked out.

  —

  “I should have gone to the game,” Jane said nervously. She was sitting next to Carmina on the couch in Sam’s apartment. Well, it was Jane’s, too. And King’s. For some stupid reason, they all still had their own places, even though all three of them pretty much lived here. Well, King’s mom and his sisters lived at his house, so she supposed that made sense. But Jane was throwing money away on that apartment. She shared it with her cousin Margo, who was a paralegal at a big firm downtown. Margo sat in the big chair to Jane’s left while they watched the Rebels-Colts game. It was a Thursday night game, the last one before the Christmas weekend.

  “You had work,” Margo said absently. “And besides, every time you go to a game the circus follows you.” The circus was their nickname for the press.

  “I know,” Jane said miserably. “But what if something happens?”

  “Then it happens,” Carmina said pragmatically. “And you deal with it.” She knew from experience.

  “I’m going to make popcorn,” Jane said, jumping up from the couch. “I need something to occupy my hands and my mouth.”

  “Say that again and I’ll record it for Sam and King,” Margo called after her. Carmina huffed with laughter and Margo winked at her.

  “So I hear you’re dating Tom Kelly,” Margo said. She stuck her tongue out at Carmina. “Bitch. I tried to get with him a dozen times and he didn’t take the bait. You are so lucky.”

  “I am,” Carmina agreed cautiously. She didn’t want trouble with Jane’s cousin.

  “Quit harassing her,” Jane called from the kitchen. “Clearly Tom wanted a nice girl.”

  “Bitch,” Margo called out to her and Jane just laughed. “Seriously,” Margo said to Carmina, “I’m happy for you.” Carmina could tell she meant it.

  “Thanks. He’s a great guy.”

  “He’s fucking hot, is what he is,” Margo said, laughing. “I don’t care if he’s the Dalai Lama when he’s got abs like that.” Carmina didn’t know how to respond to that. “Are you the kind that kisses and tells?” Margo asked. “Because I’m dying to hear what he’s like in bed.”

  “Not the kind,” Carmina answered quickly. The truth was she and Tom hadn’t had a chance to go to bed since their heart-to-heart talk two days ago. He’d been too busy getting ready for this game. And she wasn’t going to talk about the other time they’d been together.

  “Just my luck,” Margo grumbled. “Jane, kick off,” she yelled. “She’s a terrible WAG,” she whispered to Carmina.

  “I’m coming,” Jane said. She ran into the room holding a hot bag of popcorn by the corner. She tossed it on the table and shook her hand. “Dang, that’s hot. Has it started?”

  “It is now,” Carmina said, pointing at the TV.

  “What are you doing for Christmas this weekend?” Jane asked her.

  “Staying here.” Carmina almost lied. Sam and King were going to stay in Indianapolis to spend Christmas with Sam’s mom, and Jane was flying up to meet them tomorrow. Since King and Jane’s families lived in Birmingham and they got to see them all the time, they decided to spend the holiday with Sam’s mom. King and Jane hadn’t met her yet. Sam had only agreed to go when Carmina promised she’d think about going home to Florida for the holidays. Sam had assumed she’d made plans to do so. She let him assume. But she didn’t want to see her family. The holidays were always hectic, and there were so many family members around. She didn’t want to deal with the intrusive questions and the matchmaking and the whispers behind her back. When Tom had told her he was staying in town, too, that had sealed the deal for her. He said Danny was staying, too, so the three of them were going to have Christmas dinner together. It sounded perfect to her, despite the potential awkwardness.

  “Oh, no,” Jane said in horror, staring at Carmina. “Does Sam know? You know he’s going to lose it.”

  “Sam does not run my life,” Carmina said firmly. “We had that talk yesterday. He needs to deal with my decisions.”

  “You tell him, girl,” Margo said, snagging the popcorn bag.

  “He just worries about you,” Jane said. “He doesn’t mean to overstep.”

  “I know,” Carmina said, sighing. “He promised to give me some space. So he’s just going to have to deal.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine in Indianapolis,” Jane said. “King will talk him down. You know, my brother was the same way about me.”

  “Sam isn’t my brother,” Carmina reminded her.

  “He might as well be,” Jane said with a shrug. “That’s how he thinks of you.”<
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  “I think of him as family, too,” Carmina admitted. “Just keep him occupied. He’ll forget about me.”

  “We’ll call every day,” Jane promised.

  “The Rebels just scored,” Margo said. “Smith for the touchdown. Would you two shut up and watch the game?”

  Chapter 19

  Danny sat down on the bench and threw a towel over his head as players came over, shouting and pounding him on the shoulder. He’d scored in the first five minutes of the game. But he knew from experience you couldn’t sit back at this point, not unless you wanted to lose the game. Football games could turn on a dime, everyone knew that. But they’d discussed this game and the importance of taking the lead early. That was the key to their strategy. The Colts had had trouble all season coming back from a deficit.

  Danny was not going to lose this game. They needed to go against the Rough Riders off a win. Psychologically, it made all the difference in the world. A win tonight meant they’d go into the game higher in the standings than Vegas. It also meant they’d lock down second place in the division and get a bye during the wild-card playoffs, then face either the Bills or the Texans in the second-round division playoffs. They’d already beaten the Texans this year, so that was a good option. If they lost this game and the Rough Riders game, they’d fall to third in the division, and lose the wild-card bye. They’d still be in the playoffs, the first time ever for the Rebels, but not in an ideal position. Everyone was trying to play it cool and stay healthy for the playoffs, but Danny and the other playoff veterans on the team knew positioning was key to making it to the next round. Danny had never been to the Super Bowl. He’d like to do that before he retired from football.

  Tom sat down next to him and punched him lightly on the top of his thigh. “Good run,” he said. Marian sat down on the other side with her tablet.

  “Look at this,” she said. She shoved it in front of him and played the game film. “Watch Becker. See the way he feints to the left trying to draw you out? If you hadn’t been so quick to recover he would have gotten you on that. You let DeShawn worry about him. You had two linemen coming straight at you. They aren’t messing around. They’ve got two guys on you and they’re not going to let up.” She leaned over and included Tom in their discussion. “We’ve decided to go to the Triple D offense. You two and Beau will all be out there. Watch for Ty to switch up the signals.”

  “Did you see Gandolfini?” Tom asked. He reached over and hit replay. “He didn’t even look anywhere else except Ty. He’s gunning for him.”

  “How did you see that?” Danny asked. He didn’t know why he was still surprised when Tom knew what was going on better than Danny did. Tom saw a lot more than the average player. He thought a lot like a coach.

  “Good eye,” Marian said. “But Ty is on a roll. They know the only way to stop him is to sack him. Brian’s talking to him and Cass and Kitt. Kitt’s making his career this year on protecting Ty’s ass. You worry about getting past their defense.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Tom said earnestly. Danny grinned, staring off at the field. He loved how polite Tom was. He was almost a cliché, the overly polite farm kid from the Midwest. But Tom was too genuine to make it a cliché. When he said ma’am or asked if he could help, he meant it.

  By the middle of the fourth quarter the Rebels led 24 to 17. It wasn’t a comfortable lead. The Colts were one touchdown away from tying it. The Rebels had the ball and they were on the Colts twenty-five-yard line when disaster struck.

  “Hi forty-two!” Ty screamed out the count as the stadium echoed with the noise of the Colts fans. Cass hiked the ball and Ty fell back in the pocket. Danny turned at the ten and caught a beautiful pass. He had just been forced out of bounds when he heard a collective gasp from the fans. He turned around and saw a pileup where Ty should be, but players were frantically scrambling out of the way as the ref blew the whistle. Immediately, the Rebels trainers ran for Ty, who was lying on the ground in a little ball, holding his shoulder. Kitt Doyle was on the ground, too, not far away. He was on his back with his foot in the air. Danny ran over and grabbed Tom.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “Kitt slipped and fell and did something to his ankle, and Gandolfini had a clear lane. He hit Ty and Ty was screaming before he hit the ground. I think he dislocated his shoulder or something.”

  “Fuck!” Danny yelled. He spun around and put his hands on his hips. Ty and Kitt were both having stellar seasons and were a big part of the reason they were going to the playoffs. He could hear the trainers asking Ty questions about a concussion. Danny turned to Tom. “How hard did he hit the ground? Do you think he has a concussion, too?”

  “Maybe,” Tom said frowning. “He slammed down. He was trying to protect his shoulder, not his head.”

  Cass came over and Danny could tell he was pissed. “I can’t believe they haven’t called them for roughing the passer,” he snarled. “That’s bullshit! It was a late hit. We all know it was a late hit.”

  “Ty’s getting up,” Tom said. “Come on.” He jogged over to where Ty was and exchanged a couple of words with him. Danny knew Tom and Ty were close. He liked Ty, but after that evening with Marian, when Ty had held him down and kissed him, Danny had a hard time being around him. He was embarrassed by what he’d done with Ty, and by how easily Ty had read him and known that he’d like that. He watched Tom squeeze Ty’s good shoulder and jog back over to them. “He said his shoulder is fucked. He heard something pop, and it hurt so bad he thought he might pass out. That doesn’t sound good.”

  Danny’s heart sank. “There’s no way we’re winning the Rough Riders game without Ty,” he said flatly. “We are fucked in the playoffs.”

  “Parris is a good quarterback,” Cass said tightly. “Marlon can handle it.”

  “He hasn’t started one game this season,” Danny pointed out.

  “That is not the attitude he needs to see when he gets out here,” Cass said angrily. “Get your shit together and help him. Jesus Christ, get out of your head and quit worrying about the Rough Riders. We need to get through this game. We have almost seven minutes left and we need to score.” He ran for the sideline, where Marian was motioning him in. The two of them huddled with Brian Mason, the quarterback coach and Ty’s boyfriend. Brian had to be going nuts with worry while he was forced to keep doing his job. A second later, Brian motioned backup quarterback Marlon Parris over to the huddle.

  The second cart had rolled off the field carrying Kitt Doyle. If his ankle was screwed up, he’d be out for the playoffs, too. As soon as the cart was off, Cass and Marlon jogged out onto the field.

  “Let’s go!” Marlon called out. The offense huddled. “We’ve lost a time-out to the injuries. No penalty on the Colts, which is bullshit. But clear that out of your heads. We need to carry this ball into the end zone. Kelly, you game?” He looked at Tom, all business. Parris seemed to have nerves of steel. He’d been waiting all season for this.

  “I’m in,” Tom said.

  “Good. On Miami fifteen. Smith, run wide. Perez, block Odom so Tom can cross the line. Let’s go!” Parris clapped his hands and they all broke for the line of scrimmage, lining up. This was a play they hadn’t done yet. Parris liked a running game, although he could throw when he needed to.

  Parris called the play and Danny ran wide. As they’d been counting on, the two linemen stayed with Danny. Parris handed Tom the ball and Tom pushed straight through the line. As he was dragged down by one of the Colts, he got the ball over the goal line for a touchdown.

  Danny ran over and they jumped in the air and high-fived. He and Tom celebrated with a stupid handshake that involved slaps and ended with a clap. Tom had taught it to Danny and forced him to do it whenever one of them scored. Superstition made Danny keep doing it. Hey, they’d gotten this far with it.

  Nigel came out and kicked the extra point. They were two touchdowns ahead. But other than the handshake there wasn’t much celebrating. They’d lost their starting quarterbac
k and their best offensive tackle. The end of the season was officially up in the air. How the hell were they going to beat the Rough Riders?

  —

  Tom clicked off the TV in their hotel room as Danny came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. Danny still had a towel wrapped around his neck. The only thing he wore was a pair of black boxer briefs. Tom was leaning back against the pillows on his bed wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He’d always found it odd that Danny was so comfortable without his clothes on around him. After all, Danny knew he was into guys, and he knew that Tom was open to the two of them doing more than just having sex with different people while they were in the same room. At least, Tom thought he knew that. He definitely knew that Tom still thought about what had happened with Marian, and how Danny had reacted that night.

  “I can’t believe Ty’s out for the rest of the season and the playoffs,” Tom said, forcing his mind to think about something other than Danny in nothing but those tight briefs. His best friend packed some heat, that was for damn sure.

  “I hope that’s all it is,” Danny said grimly. “Injuries like that can sideline a career for a quarterback. A torn rotator cuff is serious.”

  “He seemed pretty upbeat at the hospital.” They’d gone to visit him after the game and Ty had been joking and laughing. His girlfriend, Randi, was flying into Indianapolis tonight and was going to stay with him until he could travel home. Their boyfriend, Brian, had to go back to Birmingham with the team. He and Marlon had a lot of work to do to get the backup quarterback up to speed before the Rough Riders game on New Year’s Day.

  “It’s a sucky way to spend Christmas,” Danny said. “He’s got to be feeling that.” He tossed the towel onto the back of the chair by the window and then walked over and crawled onto his bed. They had two king beds in a nice suite at a luxury hotel. Tom had sure traveled in style since he joined the Rebels. “Shit, I’m tired,” Danny said.

  “Well, you left before the sun came up yesterday and then played four quarters of hard ball today. That takes a toll. What had you up so early?”