Page 19 of Off Sides

“Please forgive me! I’ll do anything! And I mean anything!” Adler joins in with a shrill, over-the-top voice. I’m starting to feel much better, and I start to stand up so I can look them both in the eyes when I tell them to fuck off, but Micah’s hand goes over my chest, keeping me sitting on the grass.

“Laps. Now,” he says in Shield’s and Adler’s direction. “Don’t stop until I blow the whistle. Go.”

They both huff and puff, but neither says anything else as they jog toward the outside of the field to do what Micah ordered them to, laughing like proud hyenas the whole way.

“I’m sorry,” Calvin says again, so quiet I barely hear him.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I say to him, hoping he really hears me, but the guilt-stricken look on his face nearly steals my breath again.

“Did you hit your head?”

“No,” I say immediately and firmly. It’s the truth, but I know if there was any hesitation on my part, my brother would be dragging me to the hospital. I don’t have a concussion, and I’m not in the mood for concussion protocol. Although yes, I know it’s important, and if I did hit my head, I’d allow him to baby me. But I didn’t. “Body took the hit.”

Micah stands up and reaches for my hand, pulling me up gently. “All right, practice is over for the day. Go shower.” He’s talking to the whole team now but then gets a little louder in the direction of the guys running laps. “Everyone but Shields and Adler.” He points to the two dipshits still running laps and looking pretty tired. They groan but keep going.

Guess their spots on the team are important to them because I know my brother, and he’s pissed. Even more than he’s letting on, and they know it.

I make my way into the locker room with Calvin stalking in behind me. “I really am sorry,” he says again, peeling off his pads and shirt, leaving him sweaty and with a naked chest I shouldn’t look at, but I mean, it’s right there.

“I’m okay,” I say with a laugh, trying to portray just how unbothered I am by it. It hurt, but I’ve been playing football for years. I can handle a little pain.

“Maybe we could hang out . . .” he says. And yeah, I know it’s because he feels guilty, but I’m not above using that guilt a little.

“Yeah?” I ask, stripping out of my sweaty shirt and enjoying the way his eyes roam over my naked torso. “Tonight?”

His eyes snap up to my face, and he looks like he’s going to say no, but his lips purse, and then he gives the quickest nod known to man before stripping out of his shorts and underwear, fleeing to the shower and giving me a perfect view of that magnificent ass. “Okay.”

Holy shit. Well, okay then.

I strip off quickly and take the world’s fastest shower. One, I can’t wait to hang out with him. Two, I cannot be naked and think about him being naked really, really close to me around all our teammates.

Not the time for that.

Uh—not that there ever will be the time for that.

But a guy can hope, right?

We’re both dressed and walking out of the locker room when a very tired Adler and Shields stumble in through the door, sweaty and disgusting and huffing and puffing.

They sneer at us, but I think they’re just too tired to say a damn thing. Micah knows what he’s doing. I plaster an obnoxious grin on my face as we pass them and then get a little hop in my step on the way out to my truck—which again is parked right next to Calvin’s.

“So, my place or yours?”

“Uh—” I watch as he nervously pushes a hand through his wet hair, and God, I want to do that for him. I want to feel his short locks with my hands, let my fingers tickle his scalp before dancing over the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. “Is that okay?”

Oh shit. He was talking?

“What?” I ask dumbly, and yeah, he’s looking at me with a little concern that I might be insane or maybe really dumb. Whoops.

“I said maybe we could go back to your place. I owe your sister-in-law an apology.”

Oh my God, he really is adorable. “You don’t have to apologize to Jenna. She was just worried about you.”

He looks bashful, his cheeks all flushed. “I shouldn’t have left like I did.” Okay, so the guilt is really hitting him.

“Let’s go,” I say, choosing not to deal with this in the parking lot. We both drive our own trucks to my house, but this time, he doesn’t seem as hesitant to go inside the house, though the hesitation is still there.

We walk in and are instantly greeted by my two nieces, hyper and happy as always. “Uncle Jonah!” Ruby looks over at Calvin. “You’re back.”