Page 30 of Forever Relentless

Jason looked like he was ready to cry. “I’ve been with her for almost seven years,” he said, and he sounded miserable. “We’re, you know . . . waiting.”

Dustin wasn’t going to be supportive. I knew it the moment his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Dante stepped in quickly before they lost the fragile hold they had over the tight end.

“It’s admirable,” he said quickly, assuming the role of leader he wore so well on the field. “It takes a lot to wait so that the first time is your wedding night, especially on the platform you’ve built for yourself.”

As he spoke, I saw Noah hadn’t caught what Jason meant, and while he didn’t look as astounded as Dustin had, he wasn’t hiding his surprise well either.

“It was stupid,” Jason said, dropping into a crouch, his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. “One night, an away game, and I fucked up.”

Oh my God, he sounded like he was going to cry. And I could only see the top of his head now.

Dustin turned, and I saw him look at Dante in what could only be described as panic, so Moore was definitely emotional. I bit back the laugh at the flat glare that Dante gave his wide receiver before he sighed and adopted a similar pose to his tight end.

Why were they crouching? There were seats right there. They could move, sit on the seats, and I could hear better.

“Is Briar likely to come back?” Dante asked Noah, looking up at him.

“Back?” Noah turned to look at the entrance where I was supposed to be hovering. “Huh . . . Didn’t see her leave.” He turned slowly, his gaze scanning the stadium. Once more, I held my breath. This guy could probably hear my pulse racing, and I willed myself to stay calm.

“What?” Dustin looked around, but it was clear he wasn’t really looking. “She won’t be gone long, she needs to take the photos.” He turned to Jason. “Speed it up, man, before you have the social media girl listening to your confession and plastering it everywhere.”

Geez, thanks, Slater.

“Dust has a point. Wherever she is, she won’t be long, and this may be something you don’t want some random to hear,” Noah said firmly. “From the look on your face, Jason, you don’t want us to hear, and we’re on your side.”

Some random? Did he mean me? Asshole.

He also made the same point as Dustin, only he said it better. And I resented that I noticed.

As Jason stood, almost leaning on his quarterback for support. The three of them walked him to the seats nearest them, and they all sat down about three rows in front of me.

Now I could hear everything better, but I had one hundred million percent more chance of being caught.

And how the fuck was I going to ‘walk’ back into the stadium when I never left and was lying on the ground, only a few rows above them?

Shit. I really didn’t think this through.

“You need to tell us,” Dante reminded Jason.

I watched Dustin fidget in his seat. Noah was impassive and didn’t fidget, and didn’t shuffle his feet, or look away. His focus was solely on Jason, and I had the feeling that if Jason was going to lie, Noah would know before the sentence was finished. I wondered idly if that’s what made Moore start talking, the threat that Matthews would know he wasn’t telling them everything.

“You don’t need to tell the whole story, just the abridged version,” Dante murmured to his teammate.

Jason lifted his head, blowing his cheeks out. “Yeah . . . Just . . . Ah, fuck it, you’re going to hate me as much as Laurie-Anne will.”

“I don’t think we will.” Dustin tried and failed to sound sympathetic, and maybe they were all thinking the same thing I was, namely, I wasn’t the one you cheated on.

Jason rolled his head from side to side and then gave Dante his full attention. “I got caught with someone other than my girlfriend.” He sighed loudly. “My very public, well-known girlfriend.”

“How did they catch you?” Dante asked carefully. “Were you out in public?” Which I knew even as he asked, would never happen. Jason Moore was image-conscious.

“Party,” Jason mumbled. “Private. It was an away game. I used to go to school with some of the team. They invited me back to their hotel to catch up.”

“You knew her?” Noah asked him. Jason shook his head, not looking at any of them. “Did your old teammates know her?”

Jason stood and started pacing in front of them. Perfect for me to see and hear, not-so-perfect for my chances of being caught.

He threw his hands in the air. “I dunno. She was just there, and we got to talking,” he said briskly. “She suggested somewhere more private.” He was striving for impersonal and detached, but he looked ready to break down at any time.