12. Talon
Chapter 12
Talon
Leni: I’ll be ready at 6.
I reread her text and grin. Damn, Sunny Leni kept me on fucking read the past few days and now, she’s letting me know that I can come pick her up for our drive out to the lake.
A ride which promises to be awkward since I fucking kissed her and then, nothing. She left, I went to Dallas, and we haven’t spoken about it. About anything.
She hasn’t even showed up to the pool the last few nights. She’s avoiding me and I’m going into this weekend with her blind.
Fuck. I messed this up.
“You good?” Avery asks as I toss a pair of sneakers in my bag.
“Yep.” I grin cockily, like I’m not mentally floundering. “All straight.”
“Really? You feel good about this weekend with Leni? Y’all talked?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. A few days have passed. It’s all good now, right?” I say, hoping he confirms my assessment of the situation.
West Crawford chuckles. I glance at where he’s straddling a bench. “A few days passed with no contact? Bro, you’re fucked. Shit’s going to be awkward and intense until you clear the air so if I was you, I’d do that straight away. Especially if you want to enjoy your days off.”
“Damn,” I mutter, fearing that he’s right.
“Leni’s reasonable,” Avery offers, lowering his voice. While I imagine West knows exactly what we’re talking about, he never asked for confirmation or details. He’s a good guy like that—isn’t one for gossip or talking shit.
“I hurt her feelings,” I mutter.
Avery sighs. “Listen, just clear the air like West said. Show up for her, keep an eye on her, and try to have a good fucking weekend. But make sure she has fun, Miller. The last thing you want is for Coach to ride your ass the entire season because you screwed over his little girl.”
I close my eyes and nod. I know Avery is right. Hell, the majority of my football team is comprised of playboys who can’t keep it in their pants. And yet, all of them know more about relationships and how to navigate them than I do.
“All right.” I stand and shoulder my bag. “I’ll see you guys on Monday.”
“Take it easy, Talon,” West offers, shooting me an encouraging grin.
Avery smacks my back in farewell. Gage and Cohen flip their chins in my direction, the two of them lost in conversation.
I lift a hand and exit the locker room. I’m nearly to the parking lot when Coach’s voice booms out.
“Miller! Just the man I was looking for.” Coach hurries toward me.
“Hey, Coach. How’s it going?” I ask.
“Good, good.” He clasps my shoulder. “You all set for this weekend?”
“Yep. Leni said to swing by to pick her up at six.”
“Good. She’s been…different, these past few days.”
“Has she?” I mutter, wondering where Coach is going with this.
His fingers flex involuntarily on my shoulder, and I clear my throat.
Did Leni tell him I kissed her? Did she say anything about the night we had dinner? Is something else going on that I don’t know about?
And why the fuck do I hate it so much? I’ve always felt comfortable around Coach. I could always count on him to have my back.
But, clearly, not when it comes to his own daughter. His flesh and blood.
I’m out of my element and I don’t know what the hell to do about it.
“Keep an eye on her, Miller. I’m trusting you,” Coach warns, his words slamming into me like a punch to the gut.
“I got it, Coach. Don’t worry.”
He snorts, as if he can’t not worry.
Damn.
“Call me if you need anything. And try to enjoy the weekend.”
“Will do,” I say as he gives me one last, hard squeeze and ambles down the hallway.
I push out an exhale and grip the back of my neck. My thoughts whirl as my stomach tightens. I have no clue what I’m getting into this weekend.
All I know is I’m hung up on Leni Strauss.
Her father would fucking kill me.
To an extent, he can determine the trajectory of my career.
I’d never want to put the guys on my team in a compromising position. But I also can’t get the memory of Leni, the feel of my mouth on hers, out of my mind. I’ve thought about her since the moment she walked out of my condo, an Annabelle’s pie box tucked under her arm.
I’ve gone out of my mind that she kept me on read the past few days, not bothering to reply to my text message.
Up until twenty minutes ago, I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure if I was still going to the lake house this weekend. Like a fool, I hoped I was, and I packed a bag accordingly, tossing it into the back of my SUV before coming to the training facility for a morning workout.
Now, I’m ready to go, with energy buzzing in my limbs and concern spooling in my mind.
The last thing I want to do is go home and kill time, waiting for six p.m.
Fuck that.
Pulling out my phone, I tap out a message.
Me: I’m done early. I’ll be by in twenty.
Three bubbles dance across the bottom of our text thread. Stop. Begin again. Stop.
Leni: Now???
Me: Now. We need to talk, Leni.
Leni: You can’t just demand that we need to talk, Talon.
Me: Fine. Can I take you for an early dinner, please? I’d like to talk to you.
Me: I’m a dumbass and I messed up.
Me: I want to have a fun weekend with you.
Me: And I want to apologize—for real—before we begin our drive.
There. I laid it all out. I know I messed up. I shouldn’t have kissed her, but I did anyway. I crossed the fucking line and now, I need to backtrack. But ignoring her or pushing her away isn’t going to help when we’re going to spend the next two days together.
The dots appear again.
Leni: Fine. Thirty minutes.
I grin.
Me: See you soon, babe.
Leni: (eye roll emoji)
Chuckling softly to myself, I slip my phone into my pocket and stride out of the training facility.
The sky is clear, a bright blue without a cloud in sight. The heat wraps around me and I soak it in. After a handful of years in cool, rainy Oregon, I’ve come to love the hot days of Tennessee. My flip-flops smack against the pavement as I walk to my SUV.
I drop my gym bag in the trunk, beside my weekend bag, and grin.
I’m going to have a good fucking weekend with Leni. I’m not going to cross any lines or put either of us in a compromising position.
We’re friends, right?
Friends can hang out, chill, and have a good time together.
That’s what this weekend will be for me and Leni.
I can feel it.
I was fucking wrong.
Shocking, right?
But what the hell was I thinking?
Parked in front of Leni’s parents’ house, I watch as she glides down the front porch. She was already outside and waiting when I pulled up and, Christ, does she look gorgeous.
Her hair bounces around her shoulders, her eyes—that gorgeous cerulean blue—are hidden behind a pair of oversized sunglasses, but I can imagine them sparking.
And how messed up is that? I can imagine what her eyes look like as she watches me pull into her driveway.
I put the gearstick in park before sliding out.
“Hey!” I lift a hand in greeting.
“Hey,” she calls back, her expression carefully neutral. What the hell does that mean?
I move toward her, taking her cute, pink weekender bag off her shoulder.
“I got it,” she mutters while letting me slip it off her arm.
I fight my eye roll and move to the trunk, stowing her bag with mine.
“You ready?” I ask.
“Yep,” she says, widening her stance as if we’re about to face off.
Hell, are we?
I fight my grin.
Leni slides into my passenger seat and I slip back behind the steering wheel. We pull out of her driveway in silence, and I point my ride toward a decent burger joint Gage introduced me to.
The tension pulls between us, taut and ready to snap, like a rubber band.
At the first red light, I decide to be the bigger person.
“I’m sorry—” I start.
“I wanted to kiss you,” she admits at the same time.
“What?” I stare at her.
Leni sighs and pushes her head back into the headrest. Her fingers twist in her lap. Before I can stop myself, I reach over to clasp both of her hands in one of mine.
“Why are you sorry?” she asks.
Shit. The light turns green, and I ease the SUV forward.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. And I don’t want to cross any lines.”
“Because of my dad.”
“Football is my entire life,” I admit, half apology, half stating a fact.
“Yeah, I get that.”
“No.” I shake my head, sliding my palm over the top of the steering wheel. “It’s really like the only thing I have going for me. I’m not like you, Len. I didn’t grow up with parents and options and security.” I blow out a breath.
She turns toward me and pushes those sunglasses up onto the top of her head. Her blue eyes hold mine and fuck if I don’t want to drown in them.
“I’m not saying this to upset you. I’m saying it so you understand where I’m coming from. I don’t know how to do this.” I squeeze her fingers. “I don’t know how to do anything, cultivate any type of relationship, that isn’t connected to my team. It’s all I’ve ever known.”
“You’ve never…dated?” she asks, confusion in her tone.
“Not for real. I’ve taken women out on dates, yes. Wined and dined them? Sure. Saw a few more than two or three times.” I squint, trying to recall the women I had brief flings with. “Twice,” I confirm. “But a real relationship? With talks about the future and going to meet a woman’s parents and being included in conversations about their lives or careers?” I shake my head. “Never.”
Her mouth drops open, and I note the shock in her irises.
“Kissing you, hell, being with you, it’s confusing for me. I like hanging with you, Leni. I like talking and saying shit that’s real and substantial for once. But…” I sigh and pause as I pull into the parking lot of the burger place. “But you’re my coach’s daughter. Your dad pulled me through a really dark time and showed up for me when my mom passed.”
Leni sucks in a deep breath, horrified. I squeeze her fingers again.
Parking the SUV, I turn it off and look at Leni.
“I don’t want to disappoint a man I admire so much, Leni.”
“Why would you disappoint him?” she wonders.
I snort. She’s so na?ve. Sweet and good and big-hearted. “Babe, I’m not good enough for you.”
“Talon.”
“I’m not saying that to upset you either. Just stating a fact. I’m not in your league. I know it. Your dad knows it. And deep down, I hope you know it too.” I clear my throat, feeling out of sorts. I never put myself out there like this but if we’re going to get through the weekend—and remain friends, are we friends?—I need to be honest.
“The fact that you would say all that makes you worthy of any woman you want to be with,” Leni replies, her voice soft, her eyes sad. “I’ve sworn off football players my entire life, Talon. You’re the first one I’ve ever kissed. And I wanted to.”
“Len,” I breathe out. “There are things at stake, our futures to consider.” Fuck. How am I already waffling? For all my tough talk, I know I’ll crumble to whatever Leni wants.
The fact that you would say all that makes you worthy of any woman you want to be with.
She sees me, a version of me, that no one’s ever taken the time to notice before. And fuck if that’s not heady. Healing.
“I know,” she sighs. “I just wanted you to know that I wanted that kiss with you.”
I smirk, releasing her hands to cup her cheek. “Me too, babe. More than you can understand. I want to have fun with you this weekend. I don’t want to do this awkward shit. I don’t know how. If you’ve got something to say to me, say it. If I do something you don’t like, tell me. If you want something from me, ask.”
Her eyes widen as she searches my expression. “That simple, huh?”
“That simple, Len. I’m a guy who’s never been in any type of real relationship before. I don’t have the skill set to navigate a woman’s feelings without her clueing me in.”
Leni huffs out a laugh. “All right. I’ll be straightforward.”
I brush my thumb over her high cheekbone before dropping my hand. “I appreciate that.” I stare at her for a long beat, noting the sparkle in her eyes, the curve of her bottom lip, the light dance of freckles across the bridge of her nose. “Want to eat a burger?”
She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Sure. We’ll probably hit some traffic so it’s best to eat now.”
We exit my SUV. As we step forward, I place my hand on the small of her back and instead of inching forward, she presses back into my touch. It feels natural. Right.
But I don’t read too much into that. I can’t.