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“What the hell?” Corey asked as he brushed him off.
“Watermarks from yesterday’s ice. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.”
Daily laughed, but Corey just yanked the T-shirt over his head and tossed it into the bin in his locker.
“Hey, bro, it’s cool. I’ve been hoping you’d get your head out of your ass about it.”
Corey glanced over his shoulder at Daily, braced for another lecture. The words hit too close to Will’s statement to not put Corey on edge. Daily’s dark gaze was teasing, not accusing. Still, Corey didn’t respond.
“Gonna tell me you weren’t with our favorite little reporter?” The corner of Daily’s mouth rose as he finished the sentence. He crossed his arms and rocked back onto his heels.
Corey opened his mouth to deny it, but that didn’t sit right. Daily wasn’t just a teammate, he was a friend. And was it fair to Taran to outright lie about the fact that they were together? He cracked his neck.
“Why do you look like you’re about to punch your fist through the wall?” Tim smiled as he dropped his bag on the floor in front of his locker. No one commented that Tim was late, but it was most likely because it was only ten minutes, which, for Tim, was like being on time.
“I’m not punching anything,” Corey assured him. “Why are you so happy? You’re normally a moody bitch for morning call time.”
“Yeah.” Daily’s focus shifted. “Your walking-on-sunshine makes Corey’s I-got-laid smirk look like the walk of doom. You got a girl?”
Corey shook his head at Daily. The man needed to stop. Otherwise, Corey might need to point out that Daily hadn’t been going out with the team at night for the last couple of weeks. The only reason Corey could imagine that would happen was if he had a girl.
“Better. I got Taran Murphy.”
Corey’s body jerked at the words. What the hell was he talking about? There was nothing between Taran and Tim—right? Daily took two steps toward him.
“Settle down. I’m sure it’s not what you think,” Daily mumbled before adding at a normal volume, “Staff was buzzing about the article when I got here. So much so, I had to scan it myself.”
Oh shit, that’s right. He’d forgotten that came out today. He glanced over at Tim and his giant smile.
“She did a good job,” Daily added.
“Hell yeah. That woman somehow made immature and irresponsible sound good. Two different kids’ equipment companies already reached out to Sean this morning. It’s awesome. She even turned the story of you coming to get me when I missed the flight into something cool.”
Tim chuckled, but Corey’s body went rigid. Taran didn’t mention including him in the article. She never even asked. His hands fisted as he stood up turning to Tim.
“She wrote about me?” Corey worked to keep his tone neutral, but inside, anger burned. He knew this would happen. This was exactly why he had to keep her away from things like the wedding.
“Man, you’re all over the place today.” Tim shook his head, but his smile didn’t fade as he bent into his bag and tossed the Sports Illustrated Magazine over to Corey. Reflexes had Corey catching it before it smacked into his chest. “Read it—but chill out. She just calls you the annoyed teammate.”
Corey’s shoulders slumped with the realization that he’d overreacted. Once again, he’d assumed the worst.
“Yeah, bro, relax. You’re not mentioned at all, and no one who isn’t part of the team would know it was you. I’m surprised you didn’t already tell her she can’t write about you.”
“I did.” It came out so low he was surprised Daily heard him.
“So what’s the problem?”
Corey shook his head and turned back to his locker. But he knew the exact problem—Will was right. Corey claimed he trusted Taran, but both last night when she mentioned her boss wanting his story and right now, his brain had automatically decided she was out to get him. She’d done nothing to deserve that. His gut churned; he wasn’t being fair to her. Could he really trust her? Or was this a sign they should have never started this?
