On Her Team (The Steel City Seals #1)

Chapter 1

Addy – a woman who doesn’t have time for a man who thinks she should fall at his feet because he plays football

Addy

I push past the crowd at the Bootlegger to reach the bar.

“There you are!” Alaia shouts. “I thought I was going to have to start Mermaid Karaoke without you.”

I stuff my purse into a cubbyhole. “Sorry, I’m late. Otis needed a ride to football practice.”

“Why can’t Otis ride his bike the way all the other kids on Smuggler’s Hideaway do?”

I shrug. “He can hardly carry a huge bag with all of his equipment on his bike.”

She sets a shot of moonshine on the bar in front of me. “Your brother is seventeen. You shouldn’t be chauffeuring him around the island any longer.”

I sigh. I’m not having this discussion again. I raise my shot glass instead. “To the smugglers!”

She clinks her glass with mine. “And the mermaids who loved them!”

We always drink a shot of moonshine before I go on stage. The tradition began years ago when I would get stage fright before I performed.

But I learned over time that there’s no reason to get stage fright at Mermaid Karaoke. This isn’t a reality television show to showcase my talent and maybe earn my way off this island. This is just a fun night during the summer to practice singing on the stage.

Besides, no one’s paying any attention to me. The men are too busy staring at the women dressed as mermaids. Yes, mermaids. There’s a reason this event is named Mermaid Karaoke after all. The inhabitants of the island of Smuggler’s Hideaway are obsessed with mermaids.

“Are you ready?” Alaia asks when I set my shot glass down on the bar.

“Ready as ever.”

“What are you going to sing? Something original?” She presses her hands together and bats her eyelashes at me.

“Not tonight. I’m still working out the kinks of my latest song.”

“Your talent is wasted on this island.”

“As is yours.” Alaia is a journalist. Unfortunately, there isn’t much cause for journalism on Smuggler’s Hideaway.

“The difference is I’m working hard to get off this island. You aren’t even trying.”

“I can’t abandon my mom with the kids. She’d never cope.”

Alaia scowls. “They’re her children. Not yours.”

“I know, but— ”

She whips up a hand to cut me off. “No. I’m tired of your excuses. And, make no mistake about it, they are excuses.”

She whirls around and stomps toward the stage before I have a chance to respond. She doesn’t understand. I’m not abandoning my siblings the way my father abandoned me. I’m not allowing their childhood to be cut short. I’m not standing by while they raise themselves the way I did.

“What are you singing?” she asks once I catch up to her.

“ Shake It Off .”

She cues up the song before grabbing the microphone and climbing onto the stage.

“Single ladies! It’s time to don your fins and sparkles. Can you catch a smuggler? You’ll need some serious chops.” She motions to me. “To start us off, our very own Smuggler’s Hideaway native, Addy.”

She hands me the microphone before jumping off the stage and making a beeline for a group of men sitting at a table next to the stage. I don’t have time for men or a relationship, but I’d be blind not to notice how large and physically fit the men are.

I don’t have the chance to lament not having time for a man before the upbeat tempo plays and I begin to sing. As I sing and dance, all my worries disappear. Nothing exists in this moment in time except me with a microphone on a stage .

The crowd joins in to sing the chorus and their energy feeds me. I forget how tired I am. How I’m stuck on the song I’m currently writing. How my feet ache from waitressing all day at Five Fathoms Brewing. How much laundry there is to fold when I get home .

The song ends and the crowd bursts into applause. I allow the sound to warm me – what I wouldn’t do to hear this kind of applause every night – before waving and exiting the stage.

I hand the microphone to the next singer before making my way to the restrooms. I splash water on my face to cool down.

I’d love to sing a few more songs but I can’t.

My sister, Mila, still hadn’t finished her homework when I left home with my brother, Otis.

According to her, it’s summer and summer school homework is stupid.

I can’t rely on Penelope to help her. My two younger sisters fight and bicker worse than a mermaid and a pirate.

Guilt slams into my chest. It’s not fair Mila has to attend summer school when her friends are goofing off all summer. But she’s not old enough to stay home on her own all day and Penelope can’t be trusted not to tie her sister up in the basement when she gets annoying.

If I gave up my songwriting, I could maybe have enough time. Maybe I should…

I shake my head. It doesn’t matter now anyway. Mom already paid for summer school. Maybe next summer, I can figure out a better arrangement.

My phone dings with a message. I dig it out of my pocket as I hurry out of the restroom and run straight into a wall.

Except the wall grasps my elbow to steady me. “You okay?”

I step back and glance up. Holy mermaids swimming in the sea! Is this man real? I never understood what books and magazines meant by chiseled face and strong jaw before but I do now. Because this man is the definition of both .

And then there are his eyes. Deep brown, the color of chocolate. They’re warm and sparkling. He grins and a dimple appears on his left cheek. He went from handsome to approachable in the blink of an eye.

Life isn’t fair. If it was, I’d have time to get to know this man. My phone beeps with another message. So much for life being fair.

“Sorry.” I clear my throat. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

I try to walk past him but he steps in my way to block my exit. My brow wrinkles. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Gage.”

“Um…okay.”

“Gage Edwards.”

“I need to get going, Gage Edwards.”

I motion for him to move out of my way but he doesn’t. He appears confused.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

“You’re Gage Edwards. You literally just told me your name.”

He smiles. “Exactly.”

“I don’t have time for your games. I need to go.”

His smile dies. “You’re not joking. You don’t know who I am.”

“Why would I know who you are? You’re not a smuggler.”

“A smuggler?”

“A native to Smuggler’s Hideaway. We refer to ourselves as smugglers.”

“Cool. This island is awesome. Women dressed up as mermaids. Smuggler’s lore.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying your stay.” I try to inch around him, but the guy is nearly as wide as the hallway. Someone works out. Another thing I don’t have time for.

“This has never happened to me before.”

This is officially the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.

Which is saying a lot considering I live on an island where the locals think mermaids exist and will talk your ear off until you agree that yes, mermaids do exist and so-and-so around the corner could definitely be one if she didn’t have legs.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I do really need to go.”

“But I’m Gage Edwards.”

My brow wrinkles. “Is your name supposed to mean something to me?”

“You seriously don’t know who I am?”

I blow out a breath. I hate the games men play. I’ve never understood them. And I definitely don’t have time to figure this guy out. “Can you move? I’m in a hurry.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. His biceps bulge, and his t-shirt strains. What are they feeding this guy? He’s huge. I wonder how those arms would feel wrapped around me.

I must be more tired than I thought. I don’t wonder how it feels to be hugged by a man. Even if the man in question is the most handsome specimen of manhood I’ve ever seen.

“I’m a running back for the Steel City Seals.”

My nose wrinkles. “Are the Seals some kind of sports team? ”

“If you’re playing a game, you’re the best actress I’ve ever met.”

I snort. “Met a lot of actresses, have you?”

“In fact, I have.”

I wait for him to crack a smile or laugh at his own joke but his face remains unchanged. Huh. Maybe this sports team is a big deal.

“Okay, well, it was nice to meet you, Gage Edwards. Good luck with your sports.”

I motion for him to get out of my way and he finally moves. I hurry down the hallway.

“It’s football, by the way,” he hollers after me and I glance over my shoulder at him. “The sport I play is football.”

I give him a thumbs-up. “Good for you.”

His mouth gapes open. “You aren’t playing a game.”

“I have no time for games, Gage Edwards.”

But if I had time, I’d sure love to play a few rounds or innings or whatever with Gage. He probably has stamina.

Tingles erupt in my stomach and travel down to my core. How would it feel to have him strip off my clothes and touch every inch of my body? Taste every inch of my body.

My phone rings, and I sigh. All the tingles disappear as I listen to Penelope rant about Mila.