CHAPTER 11
Theo had been right in his prediction that the men’s team would start giving the women’s team a hard time.
Miles had thrown an honest-to-goodness fit about the new schedule, complained openly to whoever would listen about the injustice of it all, particularly after they had finished another game in a tie.
Apparently, he believed the team was finally finding their stride and forcing them to practice at night twice a week would be detrimental.
He had even riled up enough of his teammates for them to start pranking the women’s team—small, inconsequential pranks, such as pinning hundreds of pieces of unraveled fly tape to the ceiling in the women’s locker room, which had been difficult to take down without catching in the players’ hair or changing the passcode for the gear room, effectively locking the women out of getting equipment.
The women, not to be outdone, had met the hostility with their own flavor of shenanigans.
The towels, for instance, had all disappeared from the men’s shower room, while all their clothes had been removed from their lockers, leaving the men to dress back into their sweaty workout clothes.
They had been good sports about it, until they found all their possessions on the roofs of their cars during a rainstorm.
Scarlett, thankfully, had been left untouched by the pranks, but Theo had been right—the majority of the men’s team saw her as a disruptor now, and only Josh and Weeks would talk to her. And Gary, of course.
But she didn’t care about that tonight. No, tonight was her big date with Mr. Wrong Number, and she wasn’t going to let the hectic atmosphere of work distract her.
Including Theo.
He hadn’t gone to Chard or human resources to report her thank-you kiss, for which Scarlett was grateful.
Still, he had been dodging her since their one-on-one game, and she couldn’t blame him.
It had been profoundly unprofessional, and she would avoid herself too if she were in his position.
Theo, likely, had finally had enough of her and decided to avoid her from here on out.
She half suspected the men’s team had something to do with that, but why would she care?
It was probably for the best to stay out of each other’s way.
Which was why she was leaving work an hour early today.
It was the men’s second night practice, as the women’s team had finished earlier that day and Scarlett was hoping to sneak out before running into Theo.
As luck would have it, though, as she made her way out of the stadium and into the parking lot, Josh Majka was walking in, with Theo only a few yards away.
He was talking to Miles about something as he climbed out of his car, but Theo spotted her the moment she was stopped by Josh.
“Hey, Simmons,” Josh said, carrying his gear bag over his shoulder. “Heading out?”
“Ah, yeah. I finished early today.”
“That’s cool,” he said, noting that she was gazing past him. He turned to look. Both Theo and Miles were staring at them, and neither appeared very pleased about it. He spun back to her. “I hope you’re not leaving because of the team.”
“No, of course not,” she lied, refocusing on him. “They don’t scare me.”
“Miles is a jackass. You know that, right?”
“Oh yeah.”
“He has a loudmouth, that’s all. But I promise, no one is angry with you.”
She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t care. I was hired to help promote the Bees, and that means the women’s team as well. And they need more support, so if that means pissing off a player or two, I’m fine with it. But if there’s anything I can do to help the men’s team adjust, let me know, okay?”
Josh grinned. “I like that about you. You don’t let people push you around, but you’re always willing to help.”
Scarlett smiled back at him. “I appreciate that. I try to make everyone happy, but at the same time, I have to be decisive. Otherwise, I’d never get any respect in this job,” she said as she began to walk away. “Have a good practice.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” he said, causing her to stop. “If you’re not doing anything tomorrow night, after work, I mean, do you think you’d want to go grab a drink somewhere? I’ve been here for a while, so I’m a pretty good tour guide at this point. And I know a few good spots if you’re interested.”
Scarlett hadn’t been expecting that. She liked Josh and was always happy to talk to him, especially since she could reminisce about home with him, but she shook her head, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.
“That’s sweet of you, but I think—”
“Into practice, Majka,” Theo commanded. “Stop wasting Simmons’s time.”
“Think about it,” Josh said with a wink, before giving Theo a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
He walked away, followed by Miles, who was sure to glare at Scarlett as he passed. That didn’t bother her. Theo’s interruption, however, irked her. She faced him, ignoring the now-familiar zingy sensation of being on edge whenever he was close.
“There was no need to be curt with him. I can manage on my own, thank you very much.”
“I don’t care,” he said, gazing down at her. “I don’t need my players distracted, thinking they can take you out on dates and whatever the hell else.”
Well, that was uncalled for. And what did he mean “whatever the hell else”? Now she wanted to take Josh up on his offer, if only to spite Theo.
“Lucky for you, I’m not looking to date anyone right now. But if I wanted to date a player, believe me, it would have nothing to do with you.”
“Not one of my players. And what happened to your airport boyfriend?”
She laughed at his audacity. “It’s amazing how interested you are in my private life.”
He didn’t like that, and his mouth pressed into a hard line. But Scarlett wasn’t sure why he was so mad. It wasn’t like she had been flirting with the men’s team or anything, and really, what business of it was his? He almost sounded jealous.
She nearly laughed again at the absurdity of that notion. He absolutely wasn’t jealous, because how could he be? There wasn’t anything to be jealous of. But the idea hit her like a ball to the face, and she couldn’t let the idea go.
He couldn’t be jealous.
Right?
The silence had carried on for more than a few seconds, causing Theo to frown at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, almost too quickly. She swallowed. “Nothing at all.”
He frowned, evidently unwilling to believe her, but she didn’t want to stay there under his scrutinizing stare. She walked away, not saying anything else. But as she crossed the parking lot, she could sense his eyes on her, burning into her back.
For the entire train ride home, Scarlett tried to decipher Theo’s attitude toward her.
Was it possible that he was jealous of Josh’s asking her out?
It didn’t seem likely, considering how short he’d been with her.
But there was that weird, sweet moment between them when she had fallen on him and he had brushed away the hair from her cheek. She hadn’t imagined that, had she?
But it still didn’t make sense. He didn’t like her—he couldn’t.
Theo had made it very clear from the start that he was annoyed by her hire.
He had been rude to her, avoided her, and tried to give her a heart attack by nose-diving a plane.
Really, besides a few bizarre, tender moments that had sprung up sporadically between them, there wasn’t anything there.
Or, at least, she didn’t think there was.
And yes, she had pictured him when she was talking to Mr. Wrong Number, but that wasn’t because she liked him.
It was just because his whole image was sort of her thing.
But it wasn’t her fault that she found him attractive.
Yes, she liked his glasses, but she had always liked guys who wore glasses.
Eric had worn glasses. And the whole beard situation, well, that was reactionary.
Men looked good with beards; she couldn’t help that.
And sure, she had never been particularly fond of dirty-blond or light brown curls, but pair that with a guy who growled most of the time, and what was she supposed to do?
No, she couldn’t help it. Physically, he was right up her alley, but that was where it stopped.
Scarlett might find the grumpy thing attractive in theory, but she didn’t actually enjoy being snapped at.
He was mean and callous, and she didn’t appreciate those qualities.
Mr. Wrong Number, on the other hand, was thoughtful and funny, and she couldn’t be blamed for marrying the two in her mind.
Her brain wanted what it wanted. But maybe she should try to separate the two, and for the rest of her ride home, Scarlett tried to mentally put Theo and Mr. Wrong Number into different boxes.
She had come home to an empty house, as Maxie hadn’t left work yet. After showering and making a cup of coffee, she received a text from her roommate. Maxie was going to be late.
“Not a problem,” Scarlett said to herself as she called an Indian restaurant for delivery.
Scarlett didn’t mind being alone. It reminded her of her time in Portland, when she was always too focused on work to participate in a social life.
But maybe she should try to be a little more outgoing, especially here.
She was in a different country, after all.
How would she feel in a year or two, when she was back in the States, if she’d never experienced another culture, despite living among one?
Then something occurred to her. Maybe she should go out with Josh, if only to see the city. Maxie had been trying to get her to go out for weeks now, and besides the one dinner, Scarlett hadn’t accepted any of the invitations. Maybe making some room for a social life should be a priority.
She texted Mr. Wrong Number.
Do you go out a lot? I mean, you said you were pretty dedicated to your job, but do you ever go out and hang out with friends or something?
Not really.
Me either.