From Simple Beginnings -- Part 11
Nick endured the endless ribbing from his colleagues and his team all day Monday. They all assumed that he'd "gotten lucky" Saturday night, and he didn't choose to disabuse them of the notion.
He stayed quiet and he knew the look on his face was just menacing enough to keep all but Mark off his case. As the kidding continued, he wondered if he'd been too quick, too hasty in dismissing the possibility of anything but a one night stand with Quinn.
There were varying degrees of relationship and perhaps he had made faulty assumptions based upon what he knew of people in general. Most women seemed to move from zero to married in the blink of an eye, but maybe that wasn't what Quinn was after.
He also questioned his own motives for assuming that because he'd helped the guy out he'd automatically be willing to fuck. Even he had to admit that it hadn't been his finest moment as a human being. His mother would have been ashamed of him if he'd made that assumption about a woman, so why did he think it was acceptable to think that way about a man?
As Nick half-listened to Mark yammering on about the offense, he was suddenly struck by how rude he had actually been. At the very least, he owed Quinn an apology.
"So, Nick -- heard anything I've said, or are you reliving your moments of ESPN glory?" Mark's sarcasm was difficult to ignore, even for the normally thick-skinned Nick.
"I had no idea they were going to do that. I wasn't interviewed, and I had nothing to do with it, so back off, man." Nick's voice was thick with stifled anger.
"Touch--y," Mark jibed. "Maybe you didn't get as lucky as everyone thinks."
"What is this fascination with my sex life? I don't see anyone asking you how often you get some," Nick turned his glare from Mark to the rest of the coaching staff. "Any of you."
"You're a young, healthy male whose single. We want to live vicariously. So sue us," George responded -- braver than the rest because he knew that Nick wouldn't hurt him.
"Yeah well, butt out. Okay?" Nick could feel his face heating even though the rest of the guys wouldn't see it.
"Fine, Nick. You don't want to share? That's fine." Mark held up his hands to prove his sincerity. "Now, do you have any ideas how to stop their quarterback -- he appears to be a menace."
Nick launched into a lengthy description of a blitz attack he had designed specifically for this opponent thankful to get the focus off his personal life.
TBC