Chapter 23
I can read a defense. A redheaded singer? Not so much.
Gage
“E dwards!” Coach Knox shouts. “Over here.”
I rip my helmet off as I stalk to the sideline.
“Are you trying to get our quarterback killed?”
I grunt. He has every right to ask the question since I missed the blitz pickup and blocked the wrong defender. I hesitated instead of stepping up.
“Where is your head at?”
On the sweet taste of Addy’s lips. The little noises she makes when she gets frustrated with me. The sighs she makes when I touch her the way she wants. My cock twitches, which is not comfortable when you’re wearing compression shorts.
Tanner raises his hand and bounces up and down. “I know where his head is at.”
I glare at him. “Worry about your own problems.”
He feigns flicking his hair. “I don’t have any problems. ”
I raise an eyebrow. “Does Alaia know you don’t have any problems? I can tell her. Your little charade will end. Do you want it to end?”
He stomps toward me. “Don’t you dare.”
Coach steps between us and shoves us apart. “Enough! Get your heads in the game, or you’ll be warming a bench this season.”
I flinch. I’ve been a first-string running back on the Seals since the second year I joined the team. I have no plans to lose my position. But Coach is right. I need to get my head in the game and off a sexy redheaded singer.
“Go!” Coach points to the field. “Same play. Run it again.”
We don’t stop at running the play one more time. We practice it again and again. By the time Coach blows the whistle to end today’s practice session, my thighs are burning and sweat is flowing down my back.
Nolan slaps my back as we trudge to the locker rooms. “You doing okay? You seem distracted.”
I scowl at him. “Not you, too.”
He blinks his eyes. The picture of innocence. I snort. Not likely.
“I’m serious, Nolan. Leave it alone, or I’ll be forced to tell Terri you have a pre-game ritual, which includes nudity, a stinking fish, and high heels.”
Terri is the events coordinator at the resort. Nolan’s been watching her the way a quarterback watches a defense tip its hand. Unfortunately for him, she’s been dodging him the way a quarterback sidesteps a sack. There’s more to the story, but I don’t know what.
He growls. “I don’t have a pre-game ritual.”
“Seriously? You don’t eat a packet of peanut butter crackers while listening to Eye of the Tiger on your headphones?
And, if anyone interrupts you, you have to start the entire ritual over again?
Did you forget about the game against the Tigers?
Tanner interrupted you and you made the entire team wait while you started your little ritual over.
If I recall correctly, you ate five bags of peanut crackers that day. ”
“I would never eat five bags of crackers before a game. And I definitely didn’t make the entire team wait.”
“The footage of the team arriving late is on YouTube. The speculation of why we were late ranges from someone having explosive diarrhea to Coach Cha-Cha having a stroke to an ex-wife holding the team hostage. I bet Terri would enjoy learning the truth.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’m an asshole? I didn’t start this.”
“Whatever,” he mutters before stomping off.
Corbin slows down until I catch up to him. “I’d appreciate it if you don’t piss the entire team off at practice.”
“I’m not the one pissing people off. Everyone is pissing me off.”
“Regardless. Practice should be taken seriously.”
Corbin is even more serious about football than I am. But he makes it sound as if I’m goofing off. I don’t goof off at practice. But apparently, I do get distracted .
“Don’t you ever get distracted?”
“Nope.”
“Not even by a sexy landlady?”
“My private life doesn’t belong on the field.” He increases his pace until I have to jog to keep up with him. Being the shortest guy at six-foot-two sucks sometimes.
“But you agree you have a private life and it involves your sexy landlady?”
He comes to an abrupt stop and I nearly slam into him. “Siena is not fodder for gossip.”
“You—”
He whips up a hand. “Discussion over.”
I retreat a step. When Corbin is done, he’s done. “Understood.”
He nods before marching off to the locker room. I follow him, but I don’t try to keep up this time.
I reach the locker room and make my way to my locker. I can’t wait to wash all the sweat and grime off me. I’m not in a hurry to get out of here, though.
Addy is working tonight. She won’t be finished until after midnight. Way too late for us to meet up, considering I have a five-mile run planned before practice tomorrow morning.
I’d visit her at Five Fathoms Brewing but I’m not good at resisting the temptation of a juicy burger and cold beer. And I need to make weight. I’m not letting the team down by being overweight and out of shape. No burgers and beer for me.
My stomach drops. Another day of missing out on visiting my little songbird. If only she worked less. If only she could earn money from her songs instead. But I know better than to get involved.
My Addy doesn’t need me to interfere. She’s strong and can handle her own life. As she has pointed out to me more than once. I might have screwed up in the beginning, but I learn from my mistakes. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t.
I’ll still help her. I’m on her team, after all. And teammates help each other.
“Delivery for Gage Edwards!”
I stand. “I’m Gage.”
He motions me forward. “You need to sign for this delivery.”
I make my way to him. “Where is it?”
“Follow me.”
I didn’t order anything, but it’s not unusual to get a package from one of my sponsors. Especially right before the season starts. Maybe my new cleats are here.
“This is it.” The delivery guy motions toward a pallet.
My brow wrinkles. I don’t normally get deliveries that are bigger than my sofa. “What is it?”
He shrugs. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” He shoves his handheld scanner at me and I sign it. “It’s all yours.”
“How the hell am I supposed to move this?”
“Not my problem,” he says and walks off.
I rest my hands on my hips as I contemplate what to do.
“Why don’t you open it?” Tanner suggests.
“Yeah.” Nolan nods in agreement. “It might be bulky but not heavy.”
“I can lift heavy.”
Brock snorts. “Sure, you can.”
I’m not arguing with Mr. Grumpy. “Whatever.”
I try to rip the box open but it’s taped shut.
“Here.” Corbin hands me a knife.
I cut the tape and open the box. “What the hell?”
I lift a package of socks out. Underneath it is another package of socks. I rifle through the contents of the box. Socks and more socks.
Tanner bursts into laughter. “Now, we won’t have to smell your stinky socks all season.”
I throw a package of socks at him. “My socks don’t stink.”
Nolan wrinkles his nose. “You don’t wash them, and I’ve smelled your feet.”
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at my teammates. “I wash my socks.”
“Only when we lose, which I don’t intend to do,” Corbin says.
“Which would you rather have? A winning streak or me smelling of roses?”
“Dude.” Brock grunts. “You never smell of roses.”
“Compared to your teenage son, I do.”
“Wrong. Since Jace became friends with his surfing instructor, he’s learned how to use a bar of soap. Am I right?” Tanner lays his arm over Brock’s shoulders, but Brock elbows him.
“Leave May out of this.”
“I’m not the one who brought up her name.” Tanner waggles his eyebrows .
Nolan sighs. “Do you want him to beat the shit out of you?”
Tanner smirks. “He can’t. Coach forbade him from hitting me.”
Brock grins. “Only on the field.”
He steps toward Tanner, who scurries away. “You can’t catch me!”
I return my attention to my box. “What the hell am I supposed to do with a thousand pairs of socks?”
“Wear them.”
I glare at Corbin. “There are enough socks in here for my entire lifetime. Probably several lifetimes.”
He shrugs.
“Figure something out. I’m hungry,” Brock grumbles before traipsing back to the locker room. Corbin and Nolan follow him.
“Aren’t you going to help? You’re the assholes who ordered these.”
Nolan winks. “But you’re the one who signed for delivery.”
Notice he didn’t deny ordering them.
Where the hell am I going to get rid of this many socks? I grin when an idea hits me. I bet Otis could use some socks. And maybe his teammates as well.
If I hurry, I can catch Addy at home. I can get a fix of my songbird before she goes to work.
I’m quickly becoming obsessed with her. And I don’t care. Addy is the woman for me. I’m falling for her. I don’t care how fast it happened. She’s the woman I want to spend my life with .
I need to figure out what to do after training camp is over. And I will. Because I’m not letting her go.
I rush toward the locker room, but before I can enter, Coach Knox steps out of his office and into my way.
“We need to talk.”
A shiver travels down my spine. He’s not happy.
“I know I screwed up in practice today, but I—”
He holds up a hand to stop me. “It’s not only today. You’ve been distracted a lot lately. And you missed a practice.”
My stomach drops. I don’t want to let the team down. This team is my family. Football is my life.
“I explained why I missed practice.”
“You need to handle whatever’s distracting you.”
“Handle?”
Addy isn’t a problem to handle. She’s a person. The woman I’m falling for. The one I want in my life. Permanently.
“I’m serious, Gage. Get your head in the game. Lose the distraction. Or you’ll lose your position on this team. Not to mention sponsors.”
He walks off before I have a chance to respond.
Fuck. Is he right? Is Addy affecting my game? Should I let her go before I lose everything?
I gulp. I don’t want to let Addy go. But maybe I have to.