Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
MILES
FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON…
I’m a ball of fucking nerves. I don’t think I’ve sweated this much from anxiety since my first game in the league.
When I was traded to the Grizzlies midseason last year, I was pissed off and distracted when I arrived in Chicago.
I slacked, and the better the Kingsmen did during the year, the more pissed off I became.
Watching your former team win the Bowl without you is soul-crushing.
But I have an opportunity to make a name for myself this year and I’m not going to waste it.
“Hey, man, you look like you’re about a minute away from throwing up.” Siska comes over, wearing only his pants, untied.
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“Stop thinking. That’s rule number one. You’re one of the best safeties in the league. That’s why you were traded.”
I’m not usually a guy who needs a pick-me-up, but it feels good to hear he thinks that.
After all, the articles Bryce Burns wrote about me in San Francisco weren’t exactly ego-boosting.
She always harped on the negative. One positive remark and four negative ones every damn time.
There were times she had a point though, and all those words and phrases have stuck with me during the years.
“Nerves?” Cooper comes and sits next to me. “I still get them before every game.”
“And now you have an audience of women watching your every move,” Siska says, laughing.
Cooper picks up a roll of tape and throws it at him.
“Speaking of women, you never told us about the one you took downstairs at the rooftop game?” Cooper says to Siska.
“Fuck, man, she stayed the entire night. I’m not a kiss-and-tell kind of guy, but if my condo was brand new, we’d have christened every surface.”
“I ran into her when she was leaving the next morning,” I say. “You could’ve loaned her a comb. She was trying to put her fingers through those knots.”
Color had tinted her cheeks as if she was embarrassed, which seemed odd to me since one-night-stand women aren’t usually like that. They’re usually texting friends and snapping pictures of our places. They don’t look mortified as they wait for their Uber.
“You bastard, you didn’t even see her out?” Coop says.
Siska holds up his hands. “I tried, man. She was adamant that she wanted to leave by herself. As if she was ashamed of me or some shit. She wasn’t ashamed when my head was between her legs.”
Cooper shakes his head. “That’s kissing and telling, asshole.”
“It’s a given that I did that when I said we had sex. Do you not always get them ready with your tongue first?”
We stare at him for a beat.
“I’m not talking about my preferences on how to get a woman off,” I say.
“I second that.” Cooper raises his hand, cracking his neck at the same time.
At least I’m not the only one with nerves.
“It’s not kissing and telling. Maybe we can learn something from one another.”
Again, we stare at Siska blankly.
“Next thing you’ll want is demonstrations.” Cooper stands and digs his pads from his locker before shoving them on his shoulders.
“Speaking of girls, that B friend of yours is a hot little number.” Siska waggles his eyebrows and looks at me as if to confirm.
“Haven’t met her yet,” I say. They kept talking about their friend Bea, but she was gone by the time I got to the rooftop. “But what’s up with you and Elle?”
Cooper’s head whips around and his eyes hold a fiery gaze that tells me exactly what’s up with them.
“Sorry, man, I was just asking,” I say. “Didn’t realize you were actually just friends.”
“Friends, yeah?” Siska laughs, putting on his pads.
“We are just friends, but I’d rather not have her date any of my teammates. If things go south, it could be complicated, you know?” Cooper says.
I nod. “Sure. Of course.”
“Also, because he wants her but refuses to cross the line.”
“Fuck you, Siska. You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Cooper doesn’t even bother looking at him.
“Everyone sees it. It’s obvious when you look at her.” Siska pretends to stare at us with puppy-dog eyes.
I shake my head. “I didn’t want any teammate to touch my sister, but fucking Chase Andrews swooped in and now they’re having a baby together.” A full-body shiver racks my body.
“Yeah, he’s got balls,” Siska says.
“Well, he’s Chase fucking Andrews.” Cooper turns to me. “But I’d fix you up with B. She loves sports, football is her favorite, and she’s just a lot of fun to be around. Not much gets her in a bad mood.”
I shrug. “I guess we’ll see the next time you guys all hang out.”
I’m still hung up on the fact that Bryce Burns is living in Chicago now.
After my sister told me that my archnemesis had moved here to write for Sportsverse Magazine, I was proud of Bryce because I know she wants to make a name for herself, but at the same time, I’d thought I had escaped her.
That I’d be able to start over without worrying about running into her.
Maybe this Bea will help take Bryce off my mind.
“She and Elle are stopping in before the game. They used to do it in college, and I thought maybe it’d give us all good luck this season if they wished me good luck before the game.” Cooper shrugs. “I’m willing to do about anything to win the Bowl this year.”
Siska and I nod. We both want it too, like a burning need inside us. I want it to prove my worth, Siska because it pisses him off that Lee, our other college buddy, won it last year, and Cooper because I think he wants to prove he’s more than just easy on the eyes.
We continue to get ready, and once we’re all dressed, we sit around in the circle. Siska and Cooper are captains, so they lead the team with a talk that should get us hyped up to win. And they each do a great job.
I grab my helmet from the locker room as the door bursts open. Standing there in team gear is Elle with Cooper’s number on her cheek and a shorter woman who has the Grizzlies mascot head on as she dances into the locker room.
This must be Bea. Even with a mascot head, it’s easy to see that she has a sexy body. She’s wearing Cooper’s jersey and her shorts show off her olive-toned legs with a pair of orange Converse. I’m already interested.
The team watches with laughter as they attack Cooper, giving him hugs.
“What the hell?” He lifts the mascot head, revealing a mass of dark hair.
When she laughs, my mouth hangs open and I realize that Bea isn’t Bea. It’s B, the first initial of the name Bryce. Her dark eyes land on me and there’s no surprise in them like there must be in mine.
She knew. Of course she did. My trade to this team wasn’t a secret.
“Only you, B,” Cooper says and brings her over to me. “B, this is Miles. Miles, this is B.” Cooper’s hand moves back and forth between us.
This is a telling moment. Will she reveal she knows me, or do we act like strangers?
“Hello, Miles,” she says, lips pressed into a thin line and not hiding her displeasure.
Guess I have my answer.
I give her a curt nod. “Bryce.”