“You’ve been weird.”
Immediately, every face on the call lit up like someone had handed them fresh ammunition.
“Oh, here we go,” Leo said, rubbing his hands together.
Zeke dug his hand into Riley’s bowl of popcorn.
“I’m not weird,” I said, looking around to make sure none of my teammates were eavesdropping. “And how would you know, anyway? You’ve been in the new parent twilight zone.”
“Doesn’t take eight hours of sleep to see that my best friend has been distracted.”
“I have not.”
Clay smirked. “That sounded defensive.”
Holden leaned closer to the camera like he was investigating a crime scene.
Kyle leaned up onto his elbows. “You sure this doesn’t have anything to do with a certain tattooed dancer on the sidelines?”
I gritted my teeth as the guys had their fun, some of them whistling, some waggling their brows, all of them leaning in with shit-eating grins.
Heat crept up the back of my neck, and I hoped like hell that heat wasn’t showing as a flush against my skin. “You guys are idiots.”
“Is it us who’s the idiot? Or is it the player flirting with a dancer even though it’s against the rules?” Kyle debated.
Giana popped back into frame like she’d been waiting for this moment. “Oh, my God! Forbidden is truly a slept-on trope. Thetension.”She folded her fingers together and kissed them like a chef marveling at their creation.
“There is no trope and no tension,” I grumbled.
“Interesting. Because didn’t she go car shopping with you over the summer?”
Shit.
I’d let it slip to Kyle one night at his house that Emily had been with me when I bought the Bronco. I thought I’d covered it well enough for him not to think a thing about it.
Apparently, I was wrong.
I schooled my emotions, cracking my neck and feigning indifference. “She happened to be in the lot when my car broke down and she offered to go with me. It was nothing.”
“If it was nothing, wouldn’t you have just saidno, thanks?” Leo argued.
“Yeah. He also probably wouldn’t be drooling all over himself every time we have a break and his eyes fly to where she is on the sidelines.” Kyle winked. “Don’t think I don’t see that, brother.”
“You don’t see shit — least of all the ball, seeing as how you had two drops in a preseason game last week.”
That had everyone laughing andoohingat Kyle’s expense. He flattened his lips. “It was our backup QB and his throws are sloppy.”
“Say that to his face,” I dared.
“I will. And I’ll say this again to yours.” Kyle pointed at the screen. “You’ve been distracted.”
I leaned back against the locker, jaw tightening.
“I’m not distracted,” I said.
Kyle watched me for another second, like he was trying to decide whether to push it further.
Then his grin softened.
