CHAPTER 32
GRAYDON
“You touch her and you fucking die, got it?” I say, helmet off, staring down each and every one of my teammates, murder pulsing through my veins.
It was Keenan’s idea to have Maple do a run route and try to score a touchdown. I said absolutely not, but Keenan wasn’t letting up, especially when Gretchen got into the mix.
My teammates, on both offense and defense, all nod and break the huddle before taking their positions, leaving me with just Maple, who looks so goddamn tiny in her gear.
“Don’t you think that was a little much?” she asks as she adjusts her helmet on her head, attempting to look up at me but struggling with the weight of it.
“No.”
Gretchen is off to the side, phone in her hand, snapping pictures.
She’s pretty much frothing at the mouth from the amount of attention we’ve been getting from the media lately.
Not that I’ve been paying attention too much, but according to my agent, my jersey sales have spiked, my followers on my social media account that I have and don’t pay attention to have grown, and more and more tickets have been sold for upcoming games.
I just can’t fathom how a relationship, fake or not, could garner so much support for the Foghorns.
“You know I can handle myself, right?” Maple asks, playing her defiant side once again.
Leaning in close, I say, “Trust me when I say these men could take you out with just their pinky finger. They’re not to fucking touch you. If they do, they answer to me.”
“If I wasn’t so irritated with this macho-man attitude, I might allow myself to be slightly turned on from your possessiveness. But your protective instincts are irritating me this morning.”
My brows shoot up in surprise. “Irritating you?”
“Uh, yeah. Just because we…” She leans in closer and whispers, “Fucked last night—”
“And this morning.” Don’t want her to forget about this morning.
And she apparently doesn’t, as her cheeks redden under the shadow of her helmet. “Just because we did those things doesn’t mean you can threaten other men.”
“From the way you were screaming my name while I was nine inches deep inside you, yeah, beautiful, it gives me all the goddamn right.”
Her mouth parts in shock, but I don’t let her counter with her snark.
“Do you remember the stiff arm I taught you?”
“Of course,” she says on a huff.
“Show me.”
She rolls her eyes but then sticks out her noodle arm and presses her palm to my chest.
“Good. Now use that if anyone even comes near you.”
“What if you come near me?” she asks.
“I’m not dumb enough to mess with the likes of you.”
That puts a stunning smile on her face as her chest puffs with pride. “Glad you see it that way.”
With that, she heads off to her position behind the quarterback, and I shake my head in mirth as I line up as well.
The ball is hiked, and the team barely moves as the ball is pitched to Maple and she catches it.
Rather than cradling the ball like any other running back, though, she holds it out in front of her as if it’s a bomb ready to explode, and she high-knees it toward the right-hand side of the field, screaming bloody murder.
Jesus Christ.
This coming from the woman who was annoyed by my protective instincts just seconds ago.
The field stops, besides one rookie who looks like he wants to prove himself as he chases after her, tucking his shoulder, looking for a hit.
That motherfucker.
I run in his direction, ready to bury his head in the grass, when Maple looks to her side, spotting him.
She lets out a feral scream, a scream so loud I am surprised I heard it because it felt like a pitch only dogs could hear, and she starts running at the guy who is running at her.
What the hell is she doing?
Everyone on the field stops while we all watch in horror as Maple lifts her foot in the air and presses the bottom of her sneaker right into the rookie’s junk.
“Hi-ya!” she yells, connecting her foot solidly to his dick, crumpling the rookie over in an instant.
When he’s on the ground, writhing, she says, “That’s what I call Maple’s stiff leg, but to you, it’s just Daddy.
” Then she jogs toward the end zone, where she spikes the ball and starts turning and jumping with her nonbraced hand above her head.
Jesus.
Christ.
My teammates pick her up and place her on their shoulders as they parade her around while I just stand in my spot, glancing at the rookie and then back at her.
Gretchen takes pictures like crazy. Maple removes her helmet and lifts it above her head like she’s fucking Rudy while they all cheer for her.
Even the people on the sidelines.
The media.
The onlookers.
The staff.
When they put her back on the ground, she jogs over to me, a huge smile on her face.
Tapping my chest, she says, “I match your stiff arm with my stiff leg.” She winks. “Told you I could take care of myself.”
Yeah, apparently.
I spare the rookie one more look as he continues to lie curled up on the ground. Serves the fuck right.
I drape my arm over Maple and pull her in close, kissing her on top of her head. “Proud of you, beautiful.”
“Are you?”
I nod. “Yeah, really proud because if you didn’t stiff-leg that rookie, my foot would have found his ass if he even touched a finger to you.”
“Good thing I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, good thing.”
OC: So are we going to get an update? From what I gathered online and through social media, it seems like you two are getting along swimmingly, but then again, it could be all show because I can’t fathom a time when the Gladdy Daddies would help you and you wouldn’t update us.
I stare down at the text from OC, slightly wincing, because, yeah, I didn’t update them. I was kind of busy.
Well, really busy.
Too busy to be bothered with simple gossip.
“You look different,” Hutton says as he takes a seat next to me at my locker.
I lean back in my chair and rest my phone on my lap. “Yeah, in what way?”
He studies me for a moment, making a show of really observing me. I’m about to swat him away when he says, “Less…growly.”
“Is that the technical term?”
He smirks. “I think it is.” Then he pushes at my shoulder. “Seriously, man. What’s going on?”
I shrug and grab a pair of socks from my locker. I’m going to need to replenish my spare clothes since I’m using them up today after staying the night with Maple. “Nothing is going on.”
“You’re such a goddamn liar. I saw the way you were eyeing that rookie. You were about to murder him for even chasing Maple down.”
“That immature nimrod doesn’t know how to listen. I said don’t fucking touch her. He’s lucky Maple was the one who took him down and not me.”
“Is he lucky, though? He had to be carted off the field.”
“Am I supposed to feel bad for him?”
“Maybe a little.”
I shake my head. “I don’t.”
“Okay, what about after the play, when the guys were celebrating with Maple, and you were just standing off to the side with heart eyes, watching her the whole time?”
“I didn’t have heart eyes.”
“Dude, the cameras all around the field were snapping shots of you looking at her. I’ll be shocked if there aren’t memes already out there that say something like ‘Find a person who looks at you the way Graydon looks at Maple.’ Hashtag Flock and Tackle.”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously, man, you’re—”
Hutton presses his hand to my chest, pausing me and looking me dead in the eyes. “Just fucking tell me.”
He knows me too well at this point not to see when I’m about to bullshit my way out of a conversation.
I sigh and lean in closer, closing off the conversation to just us. “I spent the night with her last night and basically confessed my feelings.”
“Jesus,” he whispers. “Does she feel the same way?”
The lightest of smiles tugs on the corner of my lips, and I’m unable to hold it back. “She does.”
“Wow.” Hutton smirks. “So what does this mean?”
I shrug. “I guess I’m in a relationship.”
“Well, fuck.” He tugs on the short strands of his hair. “Never thought you would say those words. Honestly thought you were just going to be alone forever.”
“Same.” I drag my hand over my face and stare down at the ground, still in disbelief. “She’s different.” Then I look up at him, concern filling me. “I just worry about how this is going to play out.”
“What do you mean?”
“The whole public thing. I know we are already public, but the more steam this picks up and the more we are seen in the public eye, being affectionate, intimate, the more people are going to have an opinion. You know, you went through it with Scarlett.”
“Still go through it,” he answers. “And that’s just something you’ll have to navigate together. It’s not easy, but as long as you two stick together, it will be okay.”
“Yeah, I don’t know,” I say, leaning back in my chair and taking my phone in my hand as it buzzes with another text. “I want to say she’s strong enough to handle it. I know she claims she is, but I don’t know if she understands the severity of being under the microscope.”
“I think you need to trust her on the fact that she knows what she’s getting into. Give her the benefit of the doubt, man.” Hutton stands and pats me on the back. “Happy for you. Carve out some time for a double date. I want to get to know her better.”
I nod, then look down at my phone, where there’s a text from Bennett and one from Maple.
I click on the one from Maple first.
It’s a picture of her hefted up on my teammates’ shoulders, the biggest smile on her face, her helmet thrust in the air. I immediately save the picture, because Jesus, she’s fucking adorable in it.
Maple: Look at me winning the big game.
I snort and shake my head as I text her back.
Graydon: You look good.
The rookie hobbles back into the locker room, ice held to his crotch. I’m not sure how hard Maple hit him, but I will say he’s lucky it was her and not me because he wouldn’t be walking if I took care of him.
Maple: I’ve never felt so invigorated. I showed Big Hermy the picture, and he didn’t seem as impressed.
Graydon: Did you show it to his good eye?
Maple: Of course. Do you take me for a fool?
Graydon: Never.
Maple: I feel kind of bad for stiff-legging that one guy. Is he okay?
Graydon: Don’t feel bad, he deserved it. He just walked back into the locker room with an ice pack pressed against his dick.
Maple: Oof, really? Now I really feel bad.
Graydon: Don’t. Be happy it was you who did it, not me.
Maple: So possessive.
Graydon: Only where you’re concerned.
Maple: Oddly, I find that very appealing.
Graydon: Oddly?
Maple: I’ve been taught to take care of myself, so having someone like you wanting to do that for me feels unnatural. But…I don’t know…I kind of like it. And I kind of like you.
Graydon: Kind of?
Maple: Can’t give away all my cards too quickly.
Graydon: Pretty sure you gave them away the moment I buried myself between your legs.
Maple: OMG Graydon. Don’t make me blush at work.
Graydon: I can say a hell of a lot more.
Maple: Don’t. People will know I’m turned on.
Graydon: That doesn’t seem like a bad thing to me. Let people know.
Maple: What is wrong with you? I will not be turned on around the flamingos.
Graydon: And here I thought they were your friends and they didn’t judge.
Maple: You’re reading them wrong. They’re extremely judgmental.
Graydon: Maybe I need to spend more time around them then, stop washing their dishes all the time.
Maple: But you’re so good at it.
Graydon: Pretty sure I’m average, and you just don’t want to do it yourself.
Maple: That’s neither here nor there. Anyway, will I see you later?
Graydon: Plan on picking you up and taking you out.
Maple: Oh? Really? To where?
Graydon: That’s for me to figure out.
Maple: Okay, well, I look forward to it. I have to get to medications. I’ll see you later.
Graydon: See you later, beautiful.
I set my phone down and pull on my shoes before sticking my dirty laundry on my laundry line, grabbing my bag, and then heading out, phone in hand.
I dump my laundry into the laundry bin and then open up the text from Bennett in the thread with OC.
Bennett: I don’t want to be nearly as annoying as OC, but yeah, an update might be good.
Shaking my head, I glance at the time and then text back.
Graydon: Meet me at Roads in an hour.
OC: You act like I don’t have a life and can just drop everything to meet you.
Graydon: Don’t bullshit, you don’t have a life.
OC: Uh, I’m training.
Graydon: Then don’t come. It’s fine. I’ll just meet with Bennett.
Bennett: I’ll be there. Day off means I’m rotting and doing nothing.
Graydon: Great, see you in an hour.
OC: Wait…I’m coming too.
Graydon: I thought you had a life.
OC: You know I just put up a front. Don’t exclude me. The Gladdy Daddies are all I have going for me right now that brings me joy.
Graydon: You’re pathetic.
OC: Well aware.