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“The look on your face. The only time someone looks like that is when they’re talking to an ex. Also… I heard you shouting. The balcony door is thin.” He winced apologetically. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
I dropped into the couch and sighed. “Yeah. Jessie is my ex.” I quickly switched the pronouns in my head. “Shewas another bodyguard at my agency. She cheated on me with an eighteen-year-old who she was assigned to. And then tried to twist it around and blame me for it.”
“She sounds like a bitch.”
“She was. In so many ways. I’m still mad about the whole thing… but man, I’m glad I got that wake-up callbeforewe got married. We were engaged.”
Luke put his arm across the back of the couch and gave me a sympathetic smile. “That’s rough. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.”
“I know assholes like that cheat for a bunch of different reasons, but I’m sure you’re much hotter than the eighteen-year-old.” He gestured at me with his free hand. “Seriously, you’re a ten. And not just your body, either. Your personality. You’re fucking awesome. I can’t imagine cheating on you.”
Warmth and comfort and relief spread in my chest, dousing the lingering anger from Jessie’s phone call. “Thanks, Luke. I really needed to hear that right now.”
He smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He had the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen in my life, eyes that seemed to absorb all of my pain and frustration. I hadn’t been this close to a guy, physically and emotionally, in nearly a year. It felt nice. Luke’s arm was still across the back of the couch, lingering next to my head. I wanted to lean against it, to feel his touch. I found myself desperately wanting to kiss him. To pull off his T-shirt and run my fingers along the lines of muscle that covered his body…
Then he said, “I can compliment you without it being weird, right? Since you’re not into guys? I mean, you might as well be my sister.”
“Yeah, of course,” I replied, shaking off the feelings I had just felt. “It’s not weird at all.”
Get a hold of yourself, Caz, I told myself as we resumed watching TV.
10
Luke
Despite the way I had treated her during her first week on the job, I had gotten used to Cazzie being around. She was a comforting presence at my side, and I soon realized it wasn’t just because she made me feel safe. She made me feel lessalone. Moving from Pennsylvania to Utah had been a big life change for me, and I didn’t realize just how much it was affecting my mood and mindset. My teammates were friendly to me, but they weren’t myfriends. And even though Cazzie was only here to earn a paycheck, it was easy to forget that fact. After a month together, she felt more like myfriend.
I had never had a female friend before. Ever since I was old enough to start appreciating members of the opposite sex, the girls and women around me had more in mind than just friendship. I had girlfriends, and dates, and admirers who were hoping to catch my eye. I’d never known a woman who had purely platonic intentions.
Having that kind of friendship with Cazzie was nice. I was certain that if we had met randomly rather than through a security assignment, we could have become friends. And it was nice turning off the part of my brain that would normally over-analyze situations and try to put the moves on her.
The silver lining to getting attacked, I thought while we boarded the team plane for Philadelphia. One of the security agents spent a little extra time patting Cazzie down, and she gave me a look that made me smile.Now I have a new friend.
Philadelphia was a ruthless place to play football; the crowd rained boos down on us at every turn, and me especially since I was a local boy playing for another team. But they hadn’t had a reliable quarterback since their Super Bowl win, and we were able to cruise to an easy win.
“You’re now seven-and-oh,” one of the reporters said to me during the post-game interviews. “Are you starting to think about the undefeated 1972 Dolphins? Or the 2007 Patriots?”
I laughed. “Those Patriots only went undefeated in the regular season. They lost when it counted in the Super Bowl. And as for the Dolphins team…” I looked at my teammates next to me, Dallas Lockett and Dominic DeMarco. “None of us care about going undefeated unless it results in another ring. I feel especially passionate about that, since I’m the only player up here without a ring.” The reporters laughed, and then I went on. “It’s early. We’re not even halfway through the season. If we’re still undefeated in December,thenyou can ask me about that.”
Out in the hallway, Cazzie fell in beside me. She accompanied me everywhere I went, even though the walk from the media room to the locker room would only take twenty seconds. The reporters knew that a bodyguard was assigned to me, but were kind enough not to make a story out of it. A professional courtesy.
“You handled that question well,” Cazzie said.
“Undefeated season,” I muttered. “We still have ten games remaining. The last thing we need is that kind of pressure looming over us.”
“The media will jump on anything for a story,” she agreed. “Like I said, you handled the question well. Better than most rookies.”
“I have three older sisters. I’m used to deflecting annoying questions.” I paused outside the locker room. “Speaking of which, I got approval from the travel director to stay in Philly until tomorrow. I’m getting dinner with my family tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” she replied with an evil grin. “I’d love to meet your family. I bet they have some really embarrassing stories to share.”
I groaned. “On second thought, maybe I don’t need an escort tonight.”
“Nonsense!” she said as I went into the locker room, voice carrying through the door. “I won’t leave you alone for a second.”
The drive to my family’s house took half an hour. Five cars were parked in front of the two-story rancher, indicating that all my sisters were able to come over to see me. Part of me was excited about that, but I knew it meant they would gang up on me the way they always did.
