Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) by Melody Heck Gatto Page B

smile, he could talk his
way out of anything .
    “ Okay, that sounds reasonable. I
was sitting at the bar minding my own business and talking to
Marco—you know Marco the bartender, right?—when this guy comes up
behind me and starts screaming at me. I just wanted to sit and
drink my beer, so I didn’t react, thinking that he might go
away.”
    “ I take it he didn’t go
away?”
    Ty shook his head. “He kept yelling, accusing me of
sleeping with his girlfriend. He’s yelling something about months
ago, and quite honestly, I didn’t recognize her. She was a redhead,
and redheads really have never been my type, so the whole thing was
a little suspect to start with. But I just let him yell.”
    He shrugged helplessly, and Paige nodded at him to
continue.
    “ So then Marco asked him to lower
his voice or leave, and the guy didn’t like that so he threw my hat
on the floor and spilled his beer on me. I won’t lie; that pissed
me off.” He stopped and took a long drink of water.
    He was no longer smiling, and she could almost see a
shadow of sadness in his eyes. What was going on in that mind of
his?
    “ Then he shoved me. So I defended
myself. After a few drunken swings from him the bar went nuts. I
think people joined in just to fight. It was crazy. Marco called
the cops as soon as a bottle was broken, because his security was
outnumbered. Obviously I got hit.” He brushed his hand over his
cheek. “But I wasn’t trying to fight him, so I did my best to get
out of there.”
    “ That’s kind of what I got from the
police report, and I believe you.”
    Tyler started to speak before she could even get the
words out. “I swear the police were called to protect me, not
because of me. I—wait, what? You believe me?”
    “ Yes, I believe you. Trust me, I’ve
seen enough of your antics to know how you are.”
    His face changed, and the gold in his eyes was now
gray. “Yeah, I’ve pretty much been acting like an ass.”
    “ I’m glad that you realize that.
But do you know how your actions are affecting your
reputation?”
    Tyler stared down at his hands before answering. “I
know how people are talking about me, but it’s just their
opinions.”
    “ No Tyler, it’s affecting how they
see you on the ice, too, and that hurts the team as much as it
hurts you.” He frowned at her, and she took a deep, steadying
breath. “You were the player that kids looked up to and wanted to
be. The way you’re headed, no parent is going to want their child
wearing your jersey. Is that what you want?”
    He looked away, staring at the TV even though it
wasn’t turned on. “I know. I mean, I hadn’t really cared too much
what they were saying before. But I see what you’re saying.” He
grew silent as he sunk farther into the couch. After a few moments
he spoke. “What am I supposed to do?”
    The pain showed in his eyes, and she wanted to fix
this. She wanted to fix him. Now sitting all the way over here just
seemed cold. She moved to sit beside him on the couch. “I can help
you. That’s what I’m here for.” Instinctively she started to rub
his shoulder in a calming way. “Tyler, you need to take control of
your behavior, own it.”
    He sat for a moment staring at the floor as she
rubbed his shoulder. Her fingers slowly ran over the ripples of his
muscles. His skin was warm under his shirt, and her stomach tensed
up. What am I doing? Quickly she pulled her hand away and
laid it in her lap.
    “ How?”
    “ Well, maybe we could set up an
interview with one of the media outlets? They could do a feature on
you instead of the garbage stories they normally run. We could show
the public the real Tyler Kidd and at the same time boost your
reputation.” She nodded in encouragement, hoping he’d like the idea
as much as she did.
    Ty frowned and looked back down at his hands. “I
don’t know about that. A one-on-one interview?”
    “ You’re nervous about that idea?” How can he be nervous about a