AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ryan turned around and walked back to his locker. He dropped his towel and stepped commando into his basketball shorts.
Jeff hoisted his bag on his shoulder. Man, he appreciated how his friends were just so willing to do what he needed. No questions asked. “I’ll meet you at the car,” he called over his shoulder as he walked to the door. He knew his boys would be right behind him.
He was halfway to the car when he heard his name being called. When he turned and saw Sims jogging toward him, his first instinct was to punch the fucker in the face. But Brandon wasn’t to blame for this. He was.
Brandon stopped in front of him. “I’m guessing you saw the article?”
His hands clenched into fists. “Yeah.”
“That wasn’t anything like that picture made it look. She was just checking the tattoo because she was pissed I did that diving catch, and she was worried I’d messed up her work.” Brandon absently touched the tattoo on his forearm.
“Yeah, I know, she told me.” He dragged his hand down his jaw. “That’s on me. I was a dick.”
“Yeah, you were.” Brandon chuckled. “You have to know I’d never go after your girl. Once she said you were dating, that’s all I needed to hear.”
“I appreciate that.”
“I’ll bet she’s freaking out about these articles.”
He caught sight of Gonzo, Pete and Ryan walking toward him. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Don’t let her run,” Brandon said.
He regarded his teammate. How did he know Kia would run? “I don’t plan to.”
Brandon stared at him for several seconds, then slapped him on the shoulder. “Good.” He walked away, then turned back toward Jeff. “If you need me to do any media shit with all this, just say the word.”
Jeff’s body jerked. He hadn’t expected that at all. Out of all the guys on the team, Brandon seemed to be the most uncomfortable with the media.
Gonzo, Ryan, and Pete stepped up beside them. “You ready?” Gonzo asked.
“Yeah, one sec,” Jeff told them. He turned to Brandon. “Why would you do that?”
Brandon rolled his shoulders, like he was uncomfortable with the discussion. “She’s a… she’s a special lady.”
Jeff tensed.
“Jesus,” Brandon growled. “Not like that. We already went over this.” He looked at his tattooed arm. “We just connected as friends. And that shit matters to me. So—” He pinned Jeff with a steely look. “Don’t fuck it up. And don’t let her.”
Jeff stared at his teammate, then finally nodded. “Thanks. I won’t.” He turned and tossed his bag in the back of Ryan’s SUV. “Let’s go.”
Inside the vehicle, he scrolled through the articles on his phone again. He could only imagine what Kia’s mind was doing. Looking up, he noted where they were. “Can you drive any faster?”
“Not if I don’t want a ticket,” Ryan replied. “I know you’re freaking out, man, but a couple of minutes won’t make much difference. Or just call her now.”
“Yeah, Kia would love that. Me talking to her with all of you in the car,” he scoffed. “I’m in enough shit already about all this. That’s the last thing I need to do.”
“Why would you be in shit? You had nothing to do with it. Maybe she needs to look at that loser she was dating before because that one article you showed me sure sounded like they’d talked to him,” Gonzo said in his defense.
“Yeah, that fucker definitely had something to do with it.” Jeff’s jaw clenched so tight he was surprised he didn’t crack his teeth. It was a good thing Austin wasn’t in front of him right now or there was no doubt there’d be assault charges in his future. And Kia would just love that.
“The articles look bad, but Kia can’t be pissed at you about them,” Pete said.
He laughed hollowly. Silence lingered in the car.
“It’ll be okay.” Gonzo’s hand clamped on his shoulder.
“Yeah.” He sure as fuck hoped so.
