Page 145 of Hard Pass

“Well, shit,” the one in front says, eyes sweeping the room before landing on me. “He wasn’t kidding about you being here.” He smiles and steps forward. “You must be Dublin.”

“Last I checked,” I say, swallowing over my nerves.

His grin widens as he offers his hand. “Malachi.”

We shake. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Jaxon,” the one behind him says, shaking my hand and then dropping into a chair like he’s been here a hundred times.

“Tristan,” the third one says as he shakes my hand, his gaze lingering on mine a fraction longer than normal.

Definitely the observant one of the bunch.

“You ready for this?” Malachi asks, lifting his chin toward the field.

“I didn’t realize I had a choice.”

Jaxon snorts. “You don’t.”

“Cole warned us not to scare you off,” Tristan says and grins. “We’ll be on our best behavior.”

“I’m not that easy to scare off.”

“Good,” Tristan says, “because this?”—he gestures to the field beyond as people continue to file into the stadium—“this gets loud.”

Like I don’t know that, but I don’t say it because this isn’t my world. Not really. I glance at the jersey on the table as I turn Cole’s note over in my hand.

Not yet anyway.

“I’m going to”—I grab the jersey from the table and hold it up—“change.”

The three of them all exchange a glance that I could interpret several ways—surprise, doubt, or curiosity—and I’m not sure which one I’d prefer it to be. I head out of the suite and before the door closes hear—

“First she moves in—”

“And now he leaves her a jersey?”

“She could’ve bought it.”

“Nah. He left it for her. That’s a no doubter.”

“Is Valor feeling okay or—”

“Whipped. Has to be. Valor has never—”

“Done shit like that.”

“Ever.”

The door finally closes, and I exhale the breath I was holding. I guess that’s a good thing, right? That I’m the first? Either that or it’s his guilt speaking but . . . I just don’t think so.

I’m grateful the suite bathrooms are individual with locking doors because someone might question the woman standing in front of the mirror for way too long as she contemplates the Cole Valor jersey in her hands.

They’d think it’s just fabric.

But it’s not. It’s more than that. Putting this jersey on isn’t just clothing. It’s a choice. It’s a statement I can’t take back.

A statement about so many parts of my life that puts them all on display and says I’m no longer standing outside of this looking objectively.