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Mac’s head smacked back onto the cushions. “Fuck, I forgot.”
“We know,” Noah and I said at the same time.
“I’ll order pizza tonight and go first thing after the workout tomorrow. Back to my dark little love dumpling.”
I groaned. “You need better nicknames.”
Mac pulled out his phone and sent off an order for dinner while he continued. “She went to some yoga retreat over the summer and found herself. Retired the angst. Goes by Brighton now.”
I faked a gasp. “You mean Lenore wasn’t her real name?”
“Ha ha. I figured why not give the new version a chance at all this.” He gestured at himself with a wide grin. “She said as much as I rocked her world, she was tragically with someone else now.”
Noah snorted. “That’snotwhat she said.”
“I was paraphrasing.”
My non-dramatic roommate crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at Mac’s phone. “How long on the pizza?”
“About forty-five minutes. Unless Danny delivers it again. Then add an extra twenty minutes for him to hang around outside the apartment hoping for a glimpse of Eva.”
We all rolled our eyes at the newest predicament we’d discovered after Eva moved in. Noah grunted and headed for the hallway that led to our rooms. “I’m going to take a shower. Let me know when it gets here.”
Mac nodded once, then turned his full attention on me. “Now that you’re not pouting anymore, want to talk about RJ?”
“No.” I closed my eyes, but I knew Mac wouldn’t let it go.
“I can’t believe Coach actually recruited a girl, but after seeing her, I’m a believer.”
“You spent twenty minutes pretending to spot for her. How does that relate to her ability to play?” I was proud I’d kept my voice neutral, but Mac nudged me until I met his gaze.
He’d dropped his ever-present smile in an attempt to look solemn, a foreign expression for him. “I am an expert judge of the female physique. She’s got the strength and the size to compete. Not to mention the legs of a distance runner. I can’t wait to see what she can do on the field.”
I shelved the urge to argue with him, or worse, lecture him on how dangerous it could be for her. All he’d hear was my frustration, which wouldn’t be helpful. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing was Matt Delongio’s idea.”
Mac’s brows drew together. “Why would the athletic director get involved?”
“Riley creates a new media splash the university controls in the hopes of getting people to forget about all the shit from last year. Worst case scenario, she’s not that great and spends the season on the bench.”
“Best case scenario, she’s a prodigy, and you have another weapon in your arsenal for your quest to win the championship that never was,” Mac countered.
I linked my fingers behind my head and stared at the ceiling. He wasn’t wrong. I didn’t have as many elite targets this year after Soren left. Coach Lancaster hadn’t expected Soren to enter the draft, so he hadn’t picked up a replacement before he was fired.
A couple of the underclassmen stepped up, but none showed the combination of speed, strength, and awareness that had brought us to the championship last year. They needed more time. Riley could be an answer to that weakness.
If we could work together.
No one else seemed to have the reaction I did. Hell, Mac had spent more time with her than I had, and he’d immediately friend zoned her. I frowned at the white expanse above me. He didn’t usually skip the flirting phase, which was why I’d assumed it was a hook-up in the first place.
I rolled my head to the side to ask him. “Why are you so taken with her?”
“She looks like Wonder Woman,” Mac said in all seriousness.
A laugh burst out of me. “She’s blonde.”
He scooted closer, clearly excited about the topic. “Other than the hair. Did you see her arms? I’m going to try to convince her to dress up as my future wife for Halloween.”
I rubbed my eyes. “You can’t keep referring to Wonder Woman that way.”
