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He follows me at my heels like an insistent puppy and continues to berate me and stare me down as I adjust the settings on the treadmill.
“Listen up, kid,” he scolds. “I know she’s a pretty young thing, and you’re this hot-shot football player who thinks he can do whatever he wants, but you’re skating on thin ice here.”
I roll my eyes and hit the start button, reaching for my headphones as I start to jog on the belt. But before I can grab my headphones, he yanks it from my reach and hits the stop button, looking me in the eyes.
“I’m serious, Brady. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Okay, seriously? What’s your problem? I haven’t done anything, and we’re just friends.”
As much as I’d like the last part of that sentence to be a lie, it was in fact completely true.
Sure, I’d flirted and dropped hints, and even invited her and the little guy to stay with me, but nothing’s happened. As cocky and hot-headed as I am, I really do need this contract to stay intact. Football is way too important for me to risk losing it.
He huffs and rubs his jaw, clearly frustrated.
“Really? And she and the kid are staying with you because you’rejust friends?”
“Coach, c’mon,” I snap. “Everyone on the team—including you— knows that her house is infested with termites right now. She needed some place to go.”
He laughs and looks at me up and down, bracing himself against the treadmill as he shakes his head at me.
“Yeah, and you’re the poster boy for helping people out of the goodness of your heart, right?”
“Would you rather her go to some sleazy motel and have her job performance suffer? How do you think she’s gonna make all those fancy muffins and shit for our diet plan if all she’s got to work with is some dingy microwave and a toaster oven? This is for the benefit of myself and the team.”
He leans back and crosses his arms again, skepticism all over his face. His gaze narrows into mine, and I can tell he wants to believe me, but doesn’t—not yet.
“And the fact that our dietitian is an attractive young blonde has nothing to do with it? I’m not blind, Brady, I see the way you look at her.”
I smirk and shake my head at him.
“Have you seen the way the rest of the team looks at her too, coach? It’s not just me. Plus,” I add with a wink, “just because I’m on a diet, doesn’t mean I can’t take a peek at the dessert menu.”
I press the start button on the treadmill again and snatch my headphones from his grasp, plugging them into the jack on my iPod.
“Look, coach, I get it,” I say as I pick up my pace. “She’s off limits, my contract depends on me being a good boy, football is life, everything for the team, blah blah blah…”
He glares at me, and I throw my hands up in a mock surrender, smiling. He’s clearly not impressed, but seems to be tired of arguing his point, glancing at his watch and shaking his head.
“Alright, Brady, but I’m watching you. Your contract is very clear, and you’ve got no strikes left.”
I roll my eyes and grin as I tease him, putting a headphone in.
“Really, coach? A baseball reference to a football player? C’mon, you can do better than that.”
“Ugh! You’re impossible.”
He turns and stalks off back towards the locker room, muttering under his breath as he goes.
I laugh and shake my head, getting back to my jog. I put the other headphone in my ear.
Sure, it’s a contract, but there’s always a loophole or way out of those things, right? There’s got to be, and once I find out what it is…
Touchdown.
Izzie
It’s bye week for the team and it’s also my birthday. Combine that with the fact that Liam is spending another night at his friend’s place, as well as Alex and a few of our friends being free?
