“Did your parents encourage you to play football?”
“My mom wasn’t around much. And when she was, she didn’t…she never really talked to me? More my siblings. My dad’s into sports but we have a casual relationship, I would call it.”
God, now I want to give him a hug. Except he doesn’t sound sad reciting this answer.
“Was that difficult?”
He locks eyes with me, and I can see through the rich blue glint a need to reassure me. Genuine, I think.
“Not really. I had plenty of love from other places.”
“Your siblings.”
“Yeah.”
He reaches for his water and takes a long sip as I watch him, thinking on our dynamic. During the interview, at my townhouse that first time, and then tonight…
“Rawley, do you talk this easily to other people? Usually?”
He bites his lip. “No. Do you?”
“No.”
A heaviness drops in the air as we look at each other, and the longer our eyes are connected, the more that weight feels like it’s sitting right on my chest.
Rawley’s eyes are loaded with intensity, as if he’s also processing the observation. Then he rubs his hand over his face, breaking our eye contact.
As if on cue, Luisa’s voice breaks through the air as she steps into the private room.
“Okay, how was dinner? Do you need anything else right now?”
“No, I think we’re all set here,” I reply.
“It was so good, thank you,” Rawley adds.
“Excellent. We were delighted to have you. When you’re ready, we can take you out the back.” Taylor said she’d take care of payment and tips, so they should be good on that front.
When we exit, there’s no planned photo moment on the back end. Within ten minutes we’re in Rawley’s car, headed to my townhouse so he can drop me off.
The earlier tension between us has dissipated. He has Bad Bunny on, and we’re both silently bopping to it, sending smiles to each other now and again.
Phew, almost done with this latest assignment from Taylor. My mind starts traveling to the prep I need to do for tomorrow’s road trip.
Only when we pull onto my street, I notice Rawley suddenly sit ramrod straight, at attention.
And a split second later, I’m blinded by the flash of cameras.
Many, many cameras.
19
RAWLEY
What the fuck? Why are all these paparazzi here, at Avery’s house?
I park the car and there’s a million thoughts racing through my mind. Most of them are about Avery’s safety. Her townhouse door is easily accessible from the street—no gate, no guard obviously. It’s a relaxed family community.
These guys are basically on her lawn. No way am I comfortable just leaving her here by herself.
