Page 197 of Forever Relentless

I heard a door open and turned to see Dustin come out. “Hey, this is a surprise,” he said with a smile.

“Why do I need to get used to Noah leaving?” Dante wasn’t one to let simple pleasantries get in his way.

“What?” Dustin was beside his QB.

“Noah and Mason got drunk,” I told them quickly. “Mason told me Noah may be transferring.”

Dante shook his head. “No. Not possible.”

I held his stare. “When was the last time either of you guys spoke to him?”

“This isn’t on us,” Dustin said firmly. “He called all the shots, he made the deal, we got told as an afterthought.”

“That’s BS, and you know it, Slater,” I scolded him. “He got dragged into a meeting with his head coach, and in one conversation, he found out more than any of us had.” I took a few steps away from them. “He got clarification on Tiffany, he got Sutherland to hand over his copies of your dick pic, he stopped me from being questioned by the police, he agreed to clear Mason’s name, and he got your girlfriend the interview most would die for. Sutherland never interviews, you know this.”

And I heard myself. I’d defended him completely without meaning to. “Actually, I don’t know why any of us are being such pricks about it.”

“We approached this as a team—”

My snort cut Dante off. “He took the lead. It’s what guys like you do.”

Dante sniffed and looked away.

“Where’s he going?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t know, that’s why I came here.” I met their looks. “I can’t text him and ask him, can I?” I snapped. “I’ve been as hard on him as you have.”

“Then why would you expect us to know?” Dustin asked in confusion.

“I don’t know. My stupid brother knows and won’t tell me. I thought you might know . . . I dunno, something.”

Dante was quiet, his hands in his pockets, with a thoughtful expression, which morphed into anger, and then he shook his head. “Call Santo.”

“Who—”

Dustin’s cursing cut me off. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Ash? Hi, yeah, it’s me.” A pause, and then he turned and glared at Dante. “You thought you’d be hearing from me? Why’s that?”

“Speaker,” Dante murmured.

Dustin put it on speaker.

“You heard about your boy’s drive here?” Ash sounded amused.

Dustin and Dante exchanged a look.

“When?” Dustin asked casually.

“A few weeks ago, he knew our D-line needed a new spot,” Ash sounded completely at ease. “I was as surprised as you,” he added helpfully. “Gray said no, though. You know what Gray’s like.”

No. I didn’t. Who the fuck was Gray? Gray Santo? The Saints? I saw both Dustin and Dante relax.

“And then we heard how good he was at your spring game. I think Gray was texting him today. Maybe yesterday. I don’t know. But if he wants, you know, I think our coach would take him.”

“He’s not transferring,” Dante growled coldly and leaned over and hung up the phone.

“Not cool, man,” Dustin grumbled, firing off a text. “They’re still my friends.”