Chapter 4 #2
The coach nails me with a hard look, reminding me of my place in the pack.
“A real man isn’t afraid to love, Connor.
” He opens his gaze to include the others.
“During this monthlong period, there aren’t going to be any pranks or bad press.
Not one of you, as you call it, will be players—with women.
Do you understand? Bonus points if you can settle down.
Now, get out of here. I have work to do. ”
Various sounds of resigned affirmation come from the guys as we exit the office.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Coach calls. “At the end of the month, there will be a ball.”
“A what?” Grey asks.
“A football?” Declan asks.
Hammer chuckles. “Something like that.” Then he picks up the phone, dismissing us.
We form a huddle in the hallway, all of us ready to spout off. Okay, that’s mostly me, but this is ridiculous.
When you spend this much time with a bunch of dudes, you learn to read their body language almost better than the words they use. That said, no one is happy.
Grey’s gaze is level but a reprimand nonetheless. “Listen, you know what this team means to me. We’re going to follow orders.”
“Good luck keeping Wolf away from women,” Declan says.
Chase says, “You heard him. If one of us screws up, we’re all off the team. We’re going to approach this like we would a game. We need a playbook...of rules.”
I shift away, never a fan of rules. Declan shoots me a glance of sympathy. Getting me to follow rules is like trying to fold a piece of paper in half more than twelve times. Can’t be done. Seven is the average. Those are facts.
Chase tugs me back into the huddle. “This is serious. I’ll repeat what Hammer said. If one of us screws up, we’re all out.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re waiting to get married.”
Chase shrugs like nothing will dissuade him from honoring his faith.
Declan’s hand wanders to the chain around his neck and hidden under his shirt. “It’s just a month.”
As for me, faith is a nice idea, a quaint concept. Not something I fully embrace, well, at least that’s what I’d say if asked. I don’t really know where I stand other than on the wrong side of the football field if I make the wrong move.
“The playbook rules: no kissing, no touching. Eyes up, hands off. No flirting, no dating...” Grey starts.
“You’re no fun,” I mutter.
With a glance at the desperation hidden in Grey’s eyes, Declan says, “I’m with Chase. The rules apply unless you fall in love.”
“And ask her to marry you,” Chase adds.
Declan doesn’t disagree.
I rap him on the back of the head. “Thought you’d be on my team.”
“We’re all on the same team,” he says.
Between the words in Declan’s comment, I read the message loud and clear. Although I have a reputation among the ladies as being king player, it’s time to hang up my crown for a month. What fun is that?
Chase extends his hand. Grey sets his on top. Declan tosses his into the center. With a groan, I reluctantly follow suit. Then we chorus, “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin.’”
Grey’s phone pings with a message.
As we walk down the hall, I say, “All things considered, you have to admit, I have a good butt.”
“I’m not saying anything about your butt other than that I’m going to kick it if you so much as breathe in the same room as a woman during this month,” Declan warns.
“You can thank yourself for getting us into this situation,” I retort.
“The mooning prank was all your idea.”
“No, if I remember—”
We start bickering.
“Forget about it. What matters is that we’re going to a public relations etiquette program and we have to—” Chase starts.
Grey interrupts. “More like reform school.”
“Charm school.”
“Probation.”
“No women. This is the worst,” I say as we turn the corner.
“It’s not prison. I’m sure we’ll have some free time.
” Declan’s phone pings in his pocket. He wears a private smile.
No doubt the call is from his so-called best friend, Maggie.
No way they don’t share an undercurrent of attraction.
Mark my words, they’ll hook up at some point.
Just hopefully not while we’re on probation.
There is plenty of room in my life for women, just nothing long-term. Cain suggested I was jealous of him for getting married. More like relieved I haven’t been tricked into tying the knot.
“Did Hammer say camp or glamp? Maybe it’ll be at a luxury spa,” Chase says.
“You’d like that,” I tease.
Chase’s phone pings and he swipes to his email. “I just got the travel info from Coach’s assistant. Sounds like a fancy school of some sort. Finishing school.”
“Like old-school etiquette?”
“Like sipping tea with our pinkies turned out.” Chase demonstrates.
Grey swats him.
“What? I had three sisters. You’d better believe they made me sit in on their tea parties. Maybe this isn’t going to be half bad...” Chase says.
“But it’s not the same as the field time and practice that’s going to get us ready for the season,” Grey says.
“It says here that we’ll still be training. They’re sending a specialist or something,” Chase says, reading the email.
“Yeah, I feel special,” I say darkly.
Chase claps me on the shoulder.
“Oh, you are,” Grey teases.
“Guys, we have just enough time to go home, pack, and meet up to take the flight to the finishing school in a remote country called Concordia. Ever heard of the place?”
More like enough time to not go home, pack, or take a flight anywhere. This is ridiculous. I do a one-eighty in the hallway and start back the way we came.
“Where are you going?” Declan asks.
“Going to talk to Hammer.”
Three sets of hands land on me and I brace myself for a team tackle. It doesn’t come, but they do march me in the other direction.
I hem and haw, almost whine and plead, but don’t go that far.
“No, we’re a team. We stick together,” Grey says with the final word.