18. Lennox
Chapter 18
Lennox
“Is there a reason you’re primping this morning?” Evan asked. He was propped in the doorway of our bathroom with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’m not,” I deflected. “I always do this on Media Day. It gets hot under all this sexy hair.”
I was full of shit.
I was definitely primping. He didn’t need to know what I’d done in the shower.
“Trimming your beard and plucking your eyebrows before practice is a little much, even for an attention whore like you. He’s coming to open practice, isn’t he?”
Shrugging, I tried to play it off. “Maybe, but it’s also Media Day.”
I looked him over. “Wouldn’t hurt you to clean up a bit. What if the governor shows up?”
I gasped and covered my mouth.
Evan laughed. “You’re an idiot. Hudson is not coming to Arizona. He’s got to run California, and Jack starts practice next week.”
He deflated a bit, and I regretted bringing it up. “Sorry, man.”
Even though I understood what it was like to miss someone like that, I didn’t offer any platitudes. Evan didn’t need me to coddle him. He needed me to keep him busy, and to keep his mind off it.
“How long do you think it’s going to take before St. James murders the Aussie?” I asked as I put on aftershave.
Just as we thought, we had a new member on our defense. Colin Kearney was a former rugby player from Australia. He was big and brawny but had never played American football. That meant Carson St. James, our defensive captain, was tasked with breaking him in.
Evan’s brows shot up. “I don’t know. But he’s tired of tutoring him, that’s for sure. After the Flannery situation, I can’t believe Coach asked him to teach the Aussie how to play instead of a coach.”
I shrugged. “Can’t really practice tackling with a coach. You need someone who’s used to it. Someone who can handle being put on the ground.”
“True. But St. James looked like he was going to blow a gasket when the Aussie told him to shut yer gob ,” he laughed. “But I thought it was hilarious. It’s only a matter of time before he starts calling him Roo just for shits giggles. You know. Since he was a jumper in the rugby ballet.”
I cackled as I exited the bathroom. “I hate I missed it. Few people can get away with telling Carson to shut up.”
Grabbing my duffle from the chair, Evan picked up his as we headed to the door.
“I’m gonna get Kearney to teach me some Australian phrases so I can insult our opposition. They won’t even know what I’m saying.”
The door closed behind us as we made our way to the elevator. “I think you can probably find what you need on the internet.”
“Yes, but it’s team building, Ellis. We’ll welcome the big guy and get him to help us irritate the other team.”
Evan pushed the button for the elevator as I checked my phone. No messages this morning, but that was okay. I’d be ready if they showed up.
When the doors opened, the Aussie stood in the middle of the elevator. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to him personally, so no time like the present.
As we walked in, I extended my hand. “I’m Lennox Sanders, and this is Evan Ellis. Welcome to the Storm.”
The big guy smiled. “Colin Kearney. Glad ta meet ya. Yer the quarterback, eh?”
I grinned at his accent. I held back on my normal smartass comments. I’m sure when the liquor drove the bus, it would come out.
“Sure am. And he’s a tight end.”
Evan extended his hand to shake. “Good to meet you.”
We continued with the regular small talk, trying to get to know our new teammate. He seemed like a nice guy.
We headed to breakfast, and then to our respective meetings before taking the field. Evan and I worked on some new routes the offensive coordinator had come up with, then added the other receivers and hopefuls into the mix.
By the time open practice began, I’d already spoken to three reporters about how we planned to defend our championship.
“We’re going to work hard and make every play count.” What else did they expect me to say?
When it was time to run some plays, I slipped on my red mesh jersey with the number twelve on it. It had also been Roger’s number when he played. So when I got drafted, I asked for that number as a thank you to him. Every time I took the field, I was reminded of how much he’d done for me. And now that Dane and I were putting things back together, I knew this was going to be my best season ever.
Scanning the crowd that assembled for our first Media Day, the familiar sense of disappointment settled into my gut. My father never came to see me play, nor did my mother. I still didn’t know what I’d done to keep them from loving me.
Just when I was about to look away, I spotted them. Roger stood on the sideline by the coaching staff, while Dane and Daniel sat up in the seats behind the bench. My smile was stupid as I raised my hand to wave.
He was wearing those sexy aviator sunglasses with shorts and a T-shirt. I knew what was under that lucky shirt.
My attention was drawn to Daniel when he jumped up from his seat, holding up a sign that was as big as he was. It flopped over in the breeze until Dane took hold of the top corners. The messy handwriting pointed to the eight-year-old writer and read: #12 is the Beast.
I laughed and nudged Evan. “Look up there.”
He read the sign and leaned down. “Guess you better live up to that, Sanders. Let’s go.”
I smiled up at Dane as I slid on my helmet and slipped into quarterback mode, focusing on my job with a renewed sense of purpose. I wanted to make him proud.
After practice, I held my helmet under my right arm as Roger walked out onto the field to meet me. I frowned, looking for Dane and Daniel. He wore a huge smile and held out his hand to shake mine. Gripping my hand, he pulled me into a hug.
“You’re looking good out there. Looks like you’ve knocked all the rust off.”
I smiled, still looking over his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s going well,” I said distractedly. “Where’s Dane?”
His smile faltered just enough for me to notice.“He’s coming down in a minute. Had to take Daniel by the restroom.”
I turned my focus back to Roger. “Oh, okay.”
“That new route you’re running with Ellis, have him break when the...”
He continued, but I couldn’t seem to focus. I’d run the play exactly as the OC had designed it, but I was more interested in finding Dane.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Daniel running my way. Dane walked behind him carrying the folded-up sign and a sexy as fuck smirk on his face. He was still wearing those aviators that I discovered made my dick hard.
Even dressed in regular clothes, Berlin’s Take My Breath Away played in my head as he walked toward me. He looked like he could star in one of those military movies, and it made me wonder why it had taken me so long to see how drop-dead handsome he was.
I bit my bottom lip as I turned from Roger. He grabbed my arm, drawing my attention back to me. “Did you hear what I said?”
Nope.
“Yeah, of course.”
I pulled away and set my helmet on the ground just before Daniel launched himself into my arms.
“That was great!” he said, hugging me around the neck. “Can I come see you play in San Diego?”
My smile stretched across my face. “You bet. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”
Dane walked up and stopped a few paces away. I put Daniel on the ground, then held my hand out to him.
“Hey. Glad you could make it.”
He shook my hand and grinned back. For the first time, I wished he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses. I wanted to see his eyes and the way he was looking at me. But it was probably best that no one saw the lustful looks I was sure we were giving each other.
“Yeah, I’d forgotten how much fun this could be.”
Roger cleared his throat, reminding us where we were. “Can you come to the house for dinner tonight? Your schedule says you’re free the rest of the day.”
I grinned like a fool. “I’ve got a couple of things to do before I can come, but I’d love that.”
“Good. Marie will be excited. I’m going to head out. Daniel, do you want to go with me? We’ve got to pick up some groceries and maybe some ice cream.”
“Yes! The swirl kind?”
“Yep, the very one,” Roger laughed. “Just don’t tell your Mimi. She’s got me on a diet.” He patted his stomach. “It’s our secret, okay?”
I looked at Dane. “Can you give me a ride?”
He contorted his face as if it were hard to decide. “I suppose if I have to.”
I laughed and shoved his shoulder, just like when we were kids.
Roger looked at us, then down at Daniel. “Let’s go, bud. I might need fries too.”
He took Daniel’s hand and walked toward the tunnel.
I looked at Dane and crossed my arms over my chest to keep myself from reaching for him.
“What do you have to do before we can go?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to get you alone for a little while.”
His smile widened. “I can get on board with that. What about your roommate?”
“He’s going to be down by the pool talking to his new boyfriend on the phone. The reception in our room is terrible.”
Dane leaned in. “Then what are we waiting for?”
I was hardening in my shorts, and we had to get out of there. So I motioned toward the tunnel as I picked up my helmet.
“Do you think your dad knows about us?” I asked as we walked off the field.
“That we’re friends again? Obviously.”
“Not what I meant, and you know it.” I bumped my shoulder into his as we approached the tunnel.
“Maybe. I don’t know. But if you keep looking at me like you could lick me from head to toe, he just might.”
I laughed, then leaned in. “Sorry. Not sorry.”
Dane looked over at me. “We have a lot to talk about, Lennox. It would be really easy for us to hurt each other. And I don’t want to do that again.”
I itched to take his hand, but this wasn’t the place. “I know. But it’s also really easy to love each other, Dane.”
I tossed my arm over his shoulder just to touch him. Keeping it as bro-hug as possible, I made a display of patting him hard on the back before dropping my arm. He shoved me in the shoulder again in a very familiar move.
When we got to the locker room, I stopped outside the door. “Give me a minute to shower and change.”
Dane attempted to look unaffected but failed, making me smile. He tapped the cinderblock wall with his hand. “I’ll be right here against the wall waiting for you.”
I took a deep breath and adjusted myself. “My shower is going to be cold.”
When I came back out a few minutes later, I found him talking to Evan. My two best friends stood chatting like they’d known each other forever. But that’s how Evan was. He’d never met a stranger.
“There you are,” Evan said, winking at me. “I was just talking to the lieutenant.”
Dane didn’t appear to be irritated, so I guess it was okay.
“That’s good. We’re heading out to have dinner with his parents. What are you doing?”
“I’ll probably grab something and take it back to the room. Hudson is supposed to call when he gets home.”
I grinned, then motioned toward Evan. “His boyfriend is Hudson Gatlin.”
Dane’s eyes widened in surprise. “The Governor of California.”
Evan’s face lit up in that familiar lovesick expression he wore. “The very one. I’m a lucky man. Except for the distance.”
Dane glanced at me, then back to Evan. “I can imagine.”
“I suppose you’d understand that better than most people, huh? I can’t imagine being separated for six months at a time.”
My stomach tightened at the thought of being separated from him. It hadn’t occurred to me that Dane could be away for half a fucking year.
His hand on my shoulder brought me out of the spiraling thoughts.
“Hey, you okay?”
My eyes roamed over his face. “Yeah. I’m good. You ready to go? I need to change in the room.”
One side of Evan’s face lifted into a knowing smile, but he didn’t make any suggestive comments.
“Have a good time. Good to meet you, Dane.” He held out his hand to shake, then landed the same hand on my shoulder. “I’ll see you at eleven.”
Dane glanced at me, then down at his watch. “We better get moving. We only have a few hours. My mother can’t wait to see you. There’s no telling how long it will take to get back here.”
“Whew. You two need to find a room,” Evan muttered. “But not mine.”
I barked out a laugh as he grinned and walked away.
Dane kept his eyes on me. “I’m sure we can find someplace to hide for a while.”