Guy and Reason

Chapter 26 (Guy): The First Game

Copyright © 2025 by GroveltoHEA

The meeting with my coaches had gone well. I'd gone into everything with them, leaving out nothing so they wouldn't be surprised. I described in excruciating detail the way Ingrid wouldn't stop harassing me since she'd shown up, even though I'd made it clear that I didn't want her near me or talking to me, adding unnecessary stress to my season.

That was a subtle way to get their attention. No coach wanted his players stressed when it could be avoided. So, they'd taken me seriously, asked a few questions and assured me they'd handle it, reiterating that they didn't want me distracted.

Feeling as though the Ingrid situation would be dealt with, I was startled when I walked out to the practice field to see Ingrid and Josh in a heated discussion on the sidelines. That was surprising since agents normally weren't allowed near the field; the Minotaurs insisted they stay in the stands. Most of my teammates were already on the field warming up, but I could see a number of them sneaking glances at the byplay between Ingrid and Josh or some unabashedly watching the little drama playing out, not even trying to hide their interest. 

Ingrid was now yelling at Josh, telling him he couldn't drop her as an agent because she'd done so much for him. She was telling him that all her clients had been dropping her in the last twenty-four hours, and he was the only client she had left.

"I'll sue you and win, and you'll have to play football into your fifties to pay off the settlement to me," she threatened him.

I didn't know if Josh was aware that she was lying to him, trying to scare him into not dropping her. He was a rookie and still a bit innocent, so I slowed down, intending to get him out of her clutches. Turns out, I didn't have to thanks to a nickname, an assault, a football and some unfortunate (depending on your point of view) timing.

You know what the problem is with a brand-new nickname? You don't respond to it right away because you aren't used to it yet. So when our backup quarterback, Ham, threw the ball and yelled, Hillbilly! Catch!, the wide receiver didn't respond. Maybe he was too distracted by Ingrid, who was now practically shrieking at him, or maybe he just didn't register Hillbilly. Whatever it was, Josh's focus remained on Ingrid and not on the ball hurtling toward him.

In her extreme agitation, Ingrid lost it, slapping both her hands to Josh's chest, and shoving him back with all of her strength. The pissed off energy was rolling off her in waves, so much so that she forgot herself and had put her hands on a soon-to-be-former client in her fury. 

Her forward momentum from the push knocked Josh out of the way, but put her right in the path of the oncoming football, blasting her way at about fifty miles per hour. We all heard the football hit the side of Ingrid's face, and she dropped to the ground immediately, out cold.

"Oh, shit!" Josh yelled, and in seconds, the EMTs who were always on site for our practices, came running. 

"Don't move her," I said to Josh when he moved toward Ingrid's very still body. The players on the field were thundering toward us, wanting to see what the hell had happened.

"She's breathing," one of the EMTs said.

"Fuck," Ham said as he came running up. "Oh, shit. I can't believe --"

"Don't say a word to anyone," I told him quietly. "It was an accident."

The EMTs worked over Ingrid for a few minutes before transferring her to the gurney and whisking her away in the ambulance.

"Coach, I saw everything," I said to the man who'd walked up beside me.

"Not sure, after our conversation this morning, if you're a reliable witness," he said to me. "Your objectivity might be in question."