White Liar Read Free

glancing over his shoulder, "Nothing at all,"  he added and flashed one of his characteristically charming grins before turning away and heading for the shower.  For the longest time Justin stood there speechless while he stared at his best friend’s back.  When he disappeared, he tried to figure out where in the hell he had gone wrong for this day to go downhill so fast. It had started out perfectly normal and now, it has turned out to be anything but normal. And in his eyes, it all seemed to be courtesy of the new girl.
    "Justin."
    Justin turned in the direction of the voice.  He spotted Coach standing in the doorway and lifted his brow up at him expectantly. Coach was an imposing figure standing at six foot seven and weighing in at approximately two hundred and forty pounds. His presence alone could fill a room, but right now he was just filling the doorway and staring hard back at Justin. 
    "Yes Sir?"
    "Can I see you for a minute in my office?"  He said it like a question, but from his demeanor, Justin could tell that it was more of an order.  Without waiting for a response, Coach turned around and he knew that it was understood that he would follow.
    Carefully, he placed his clean clothes and towel down on the bench, turned around and followed Coach off to his office which was just outside of the locker room. Stepping into the cracker box of a room that he liked to call his personal sanctuary, Coach rounded the desk, pulled out his chair and scraped it against the linoleum floor before finally taking a seat.  Justin closed the door behind him and walked to the front of his desk. 
    "You needed to see me for a minute , Sir?"
    "Yes, I did," he started and rested his chin on his hand as he studied Justin, "I just wanted to remind you about Friday night’s game and make sure that you understood how important it is. Other than Cummings being our long-time rival, I have two scouts coming from Alabama and Penn State to watch you throw the football , son.  I expect to see an award-winning performance and nothing less."
    Swallowing past the knot in his throat, Justin nodded his head.  He knew all of this already.  Coach and his father and been friends all throughout high school and they have been grooming him for this moment since the time that he could walk and hold a football at the same time. 
    "I know, Coach . " he told him honestly, "I promise I won't disappoint you or Dad."
    "Good, so long as we are clear then that's all that matters,” he stated and leaned back in his chair with his dark eyes still trained on the young man in front of him.
    Justin felt a little uncomfortable with that question.  He understood the expectations and that was a lot of pressure on him.  He stood his ground though and nodded in agreement. 
    "Crystal clear , Sir."
    "Fine,” Coach replied this time with an awkward smile, "Go shower and get ready for your next class.  See you at practice this afternoon."
    Justin quickly returned his smile and simply replied, "Yes Sir," before turning around and heading out of his office. Friday night was still a few days away and he felt certain that he already had that scholarship in the bag.  With all of his state records, he pretty much had the choice of any school that he wanted to go to.  His heart was set on Alabama. 
    But the scholarships weren’t what were bothering him right now.  No.  What bothered Justin was the new chick and why she seemed to have such a hard on for him.  She didn't even know who he was and because of that, her reactions to him didn't make a damn lick of sense.
    By the time he made it to the showers, most of the guys had already finished with theirs and had left. Justin actually felt a little relieved because he still wasn't up to talking about his earlier confrontation with the new girl. He draped his towel over the bar outside the shower and left his clothes on the counter. Stepping into the shower, he turned the water on as hot as he could possibly stand