Chapter 17
BECCA
“These seats are incredible.” Ember was all smiles as we made our way to our seats down to the fifth row behind the fifty-yard line.
“I can’t believe how close we are,” I said, setting my drink down in front of me. “I would have thought we would be up in a box. Not that I’m complaining,” I emphasized. “I’m more of a stands girl, anyway.”
“He probably wanted to see you.”
I laughed because we were close enough that he could without having to squint.
And that made me nervous. The game started, and the crowd began clapping and cheering.
I let my gaze roam over the navy and white uniforms, searching out his jersey.
“There he is.” Ember nudged me.
A blush hit my face as I stared at him. Nate was all suited up for the game. He wasn’t as bulky as some of the guys on the field, but I could still pick him out from twenty yards away.
The ref blew the whistle, and the whole team gathered in a circle.
Ember set her soda down between her legs. “What’s really going on between you two?”
“What do you mean?”
She plucked a piece of popcorn out of the bucket. “Well, he left tickets for you at will call.”
I rubbed my hands together and shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable. “It was a thank you for my donation to his charity.”
Nothing got by my best friend. I felt sorry for her future children.
“Sure, okay. We’ll go with that.” She leaned back in her seat. “Is Daphene okay with you being here?”
I didn’t answer right away.
She turned her head slowly, pushing her sunglasses on top of her nose. “Oh, my God. She doesn’t know.”
“I’m not assigned to the game tonight,” I said casually. “Joe is covering it.”
“That wasn’t what I asked you.”
I exhaled, as my gaze drifted back to the field before I could stop it. “I’m not sure what the big deal is. I’m here on my personal time.”
Ember studied me. “We are sitting in his seats.”
“I didn’t ask him to give me tickets. I had the night off. It’s not a big deal.” I tried to sound innocent and play it off, but she wasn’t buying it.
“You still haven’t told me why you’re not reporting on the team tonight. Did something happen with work?”
Taking him up on his offer and sitting in these seats was probably a mistake. The smarter thing to do would have been to invite Ember to dinner and maybe drinks after, but here I was.
“If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret?”
I knew I shouldn’t have been talking about this here, but I needed to unload on somebody. Besides, Ember was my best friend. I would bury a body for her if she asked me to. The problem was that I was more worried about the advice she would give me.
She poked me in the arm. “Of course, you can trust me.”
I took a sip of my seltzer, hoping it would help the erratic beating of my heart. “I crossed a line.”
She pulled her glasses off her head, giving me her full attention. “How bad?”
“He called me while he was on the road,” I said, staring out at the field. The stadium was getting loud, drowning out my common sense. There was no other reason why I would tell her this.
“Okay, and?”
Heat crawled up the back of my neck. “I was on a date with Rowen.”
She picked up her drink and brought it to her lips. “Did he know you were on a date when he called?”
I licked my lips, trying to find a way to explain this to her. “Not at first, but once he found out, he kept calling and texting me.”
Her mouth dropped open. She made a sound that was half-gasp and half-laugh. “Tell me more.”
I hesitated for a minute. For someone who asked difficult questions for a living, it shouldn’t be this hard to talk about this. “Long story short, he asked me to go on a date with him when he got back.”
“He asked you on a date while you were on an actual date?”
I laughed, because saying it out loud sounded absurd. “Yep.”
“That’s pretty hot, but also a little manipulative.” She tilted her head to the side, assessing me. “What did you tell him?”
I pressed my eyes closed. “I tried to blow him off, but he wasn’t having it.” I still didn’t know what possessed me to pick up his call when I was supposed to be focusing on someone else.
“You know he did that on purpose, right? He wanted you distracted. Mission accomplished. He was marking his territory.”
I sputtered out a laugh. “He wasn’t happy.”
“You made that man jealous. Good for you.” Her smile was smug.
“No. Not good for me because he FaceTimed me when I got home, and things escalated.”
Ember clutched a hand to her chest. “Escalated how?”
“Well. I was in the middle of a hot bath, and like a stupid idiot, I answered.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “And don’t you dare start.”
Ember’s jaw dropped. “Oh, I’m definitely starting. You—little miss rule follower—picked up a FaceTime call from a hot quarterback while you were naked?”
“I was covered with bubbles.” I crossed my arms as if that would somehow make my explanation more believable.
“Oh, well, I guess that makes it perfectly innocent then.”
I groaned. “You are the least supportive friend I have ever had.”
“Correction, I’m the most honest friend you have ever had.” She laughed, taking some sick enjoyment out of all this. “So, now what are you going to do?”
Whistles blew, and the fans started chanting, but Ember’s gaze stayed locked on mine. “Finish the interview.”
“And when the interview is over?”
I paused, thinking over my options. “I know what I want, but I’m not sure how it will work.”
“Have you talked to him about this?”
I watched him jog back toward the sideline. “Not yet.”
“Wait.” She paused. “You’re talking to me about this before him?”
I was probably screwing this up.
“I wanted him to focus on his game today,” I said quickly, as if that somehow made me feel more responsible. “I figured we would talk later.”
Her brows lifted. “Becca, that is the weakest excuse I have ever heard come out of your mouth.”
I shook my head. I should have known this would be a bad idea.
“You are not helping.” I glanced around. “And please keep your voice down.”
“Fine,” she said, talking lower. “But avoiding it and trying to pretend nothing is going on isn’t the solution either.”
“Ember, this is my career. I’ve already crossed one too many lines with him.”
“So, what’s one more?” she shot back.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “You are such a bad influence.”
I looked away, and she followed my line of sight.
“Oh, would you look at that? He’s looking up here for you.”
He wasn’t waving or making it obvious. If you weren’t paying attention, you would miss the way his gaze lingered before turning back to his teammates.
“I’m scared, Ember. This is all happening so fast.”
It felt like every warning bell in my head was ringing and I was ignoring every single one.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I’ve done everything in my power to prevent myself from developing feelings for him. Somehow Nate managed to sneak right past all my defenses. I couldn’t even tell you when it happened, only that it had.”
There was a serious risk there. Not just for my career. What if I took a chance on him and it blew up in my face? It felt like I was jumping off a cliff, hoping there was something to catch me before I hit the ground.
“If you think it would work out between you two, then let people talk. Let them question and make assumptions. As long as you know what’s in your heart, then why should any of that matter?”
On the field, he threw a perfect pass to Ryder. The entire stadium went wild. I was on my feet before I could stop myself.
Ember leaned back in her seat. “I think he’s scoring for you.”
Heat crept up my neck. “He’s just having a good game.”
I looked down at the field again. He was laughing with Jax and Ryder, completely in his element.
She broke off a piece of her pretzel. “Becca, do you really think he would pursue you so heavily if he wasn’t serious about you?”
I gave her a look as the crowd roared. The Hawks ran for a first down and were just within field goal range. We were down by three and forty seconds to go.
“What if we start dating and it blows up?” I leaned in closer. “I’ll always be labeled as the reporter who slept her way to getting the interview. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. You, know more than anyone how that news gets twisted.”
Her eyes softened. “I think you’re making assumptions. Do you think you’re the first reporter who has ever dated an athlete?”
I swallowed hard because I was finally going to admit what was keeping me up at night.
“That’s the other thing. What if this is all just fun and games to him?
What if it’s all about the chase? For all I know, he might want something casual with no strings.
I’ll be the one standing there with a broken heart and a bad reputation.
Not only that, but I’ll also still have to see him and pretend that nothing happened. ”
She wiped her hands on a napkin. “Becca, you can be as logical as you want about this. You can try to keep everything in a neatly wrapped bow, but none of that is going to change how you feel about him.”
I hated that she was right.
“The part that’s eating away at me is that I’m the one who stands to lose the most. So, I need to make sure he’s worth it.”
“You think he’s not risking anything? If things go sideways and it all blows up, he has a reputation to protect too.
He’s not stupid. He wouldn’t risk getting tangled up with a reporter who he has to interact with.
Nate has plenty of options. If this were just about convenience, he wouldn’t be chasing you. He would want easy and uncomplicated.”
I had never thought about it from that angle before.
“I just wish I knew for sure.” Admitting it out loud was hard enough.
“There are no guarantees. That’s not how this works.”
Of course, there were no guarantees. I knew that. I just hadn’t expected to want him badly enough to risk it all.
“Are you speaking as my friend or as a publicist?”
“Both.” Her smile was soft. “As your friend, my advice would be: bang him, have some fun, and try not to get too attached in case things go south.”
The roar of the crowd made it hard to hear. I instinctively turned toward the field. The fans started stomping their feet. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock. It was third down and eighteen yards to the end zone—enough time for a one pass play.
The ball snapped into Nate’s hand. He stepped back, looking for an open receiver. I could see the second he spotted Ryder in the middle of the end zone, with a safety hot on his tail.
He threw the long pass down the field, a little high to keep it away from the defender, and the entire stadium went silent as Ryder jumped up to grab the ball. The refs threw their hands in the air, signaling for a touchdown.
Everyone around started high-fiving and cheering. Nate ran over to his teammates to celebrate the win. He turned briefly, looking up at the stands. I knew it was ridiculous to think that he would find me in a sea of jerseys and waving arms, but somehow his gaze found mine.
He tapped his fist lightly against his chest, right over his heart, and lifted his chin in my direction.
Everything around me blurred into the background. The noise, the lights. At that moment, it was just the two of us.
Ember nudged me in the elbow. “He’s really subtle.”
I laughed it off as they kicked an extra point to secure the win.
Ember stood up and gathered her things. “Well, that was fun, but I need to get going. My flight leaves at seven a.m. tomorrow, and I haven’t even packed.”
I blinked at her. “You’re leaving now?”
She smoothed a hand down her shirt. “Getting out of the stadium is going to be a bitch. I’m already pushing it.”
I glanced around as people started walking toward the exit. “Okay, have a safe flight.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and hugged me goodbye. “Here is my one last piece of unsolicited advice before I leave for three days.” She pulled back to look me in the eye. “You can’t protect yourself from a possible bad ending. Choose what you want, not what feels safe.”
She gave me one last look before stepping out into the aisle and disappearing into the crowd.
As I watched both teams walk across the field to shake hands, her words settled somewhere deep. She was right. Things could get messy. There were no guarantees. And at least if it all blew up, it would be my choice.