Page 57 of Base Block

I explained how it hadn’t been explicit, like she hadn’t come out and said that she was going to do something awful. “It’s all anonymous. At first, she was telling me to get back in touch, that she wanted to be friends.”

“And you don’t.”

“No, I don’t want to have any connection to any of them,” I said firmly. “But when I didn’t answer, she got more forceful. Like, ‘You better answer me. You have to talk to me. You can’t ignore me.’” I sighed. “I did ignore her and now she did this.”

“But you don’t know for sure who’s writing.” He looked at me. “She didn’t put her name.”

“No, but the only other person it could be is Millie. She would have had the pictures on her laptop because that was where she edited before she posted everything.”

“Why not her?”

“I don’t think she would care enough about me to bother. She didn’t care about any of us, even Matheus and they were kind of a couple.” They were regularly hooking up, but there was no commitment or exclusivity. “It wouldn’t be Damian. He couldn’t have waited for me to respond after the first message because he doesn’t have patience and he can’t plan.” If he had wanted to get back at me for some reason, he would just come and hit me somewhere that it didn’t show, or maybe somewhere that the marks would have been more visible. He wasn’t always careful, which was why Sage and I had used a lot of body makeup. It hadn’t always worked well but his friends had just pretended not to see.

“Don’t be upset. This doesn’t matter.”

But he sounded angry so I wanted to reassure him. “I don’t even care,” I said.

“What?”

“I don’t care that I look like a hag and that my boobs are falling out of the bustier. I don’t even really care that Beau Gowan may see and he could fire me. But if this hurts you somehow, after everything you overcame—if you lose your endorsements, or you don’t get new ones, or the coaches question you—they’re always talking about the Woodsmen family and I know they’re all about values and morals—”

“Rainey, listen to me.” He put his hands on my shoulders and made me stop squirming. “I also don’t care. I also did stupid shit that I don’t want people to discuss. I told you some of it, but I could get into a lot more details of what an asshole I was and how I probably don’t deserve to be here at all.”

“That’s not true!”

“What I’m saying is that we got to this point anyway, and some stupid post on some stupid app doesn’t mean jack. I wouldn’t care if you danced naked on the fifty-yard line.” He hesitated. “No, I wouldn’t like that.”

“I won’t be dancing naked anywhere. I really don’t enjoy it.”

Callum nodded. “Good. You don’t need to worry about the team and you don’t need to worry about them taking back the money they gave me to wear the cleats or do the ad for the restaurant.”

“It was a lot of money,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m happy with what I have. I’m more than happy,” he told me. “I don’t need anything else.”

This could all disappear, and then what? He could get traded or cut tomorrow. “I’m thinking about your future,” I said.

“No, don’t think about me. I’m not important here.”

But what was more important than him? As he hugged me, I decided on the answer: nothing.

Chapter 12

I waited, but the disaster didn’t come.

“Good boy,” Anara told him and Maverick’s tail slapped back and forth. She took another step away from the shoe and I saw him eye it, but he didn’t move at all to grab it and make a break for freedom. “What a good boy!”

He seemed to shake with happiness. She bent to pet him, carefully ensuring that he didn’t cover her face with slobber, and applause broke out.

“Baby, you’re the best,” Demitrious told her as he finished clapping. His proud smile beamed so brightly that it could have stood in for our overhead lights. “You can do anything.”

“That was great,” Callum agreed. “I was sure that he was going to eat that loafer. You have a way with animals.”

“Thank you,” Anara told them. “He really is a good dog. He just wants to please you.”

He did want to please her, for sure. It seemed like she only needed to look at him, and he would immediately behave himself. I was impressed but also jealous. “Thank you, Anara.”

She smiled at me. “You’re welcome. You could do a good job with him, too.”