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"She's the jealous type, so yeah, probably. What about Kris? Will this get his attention?"
The more I heard about Kris, the more I realised I barely knew the guy. He hadn't even reached out to say sorry for sleeping with my girlfriend. I can't say I missed the asshole.Friends don't do that to friends. Was I the only one who saw us as friends?
"If he sees it, it will," she said. "I'm sure someone will show him."
"Yeah. There's always someone ready to rub stuff like that in a guy's face." I sounded happier about it than I probably should, but I was entitled to be pissed at the guy.
"Here's a nicer photo." She turned the phone around again.
This one was much better. Ashley stood with her head at the same height as my shoulder. The smiles on our faces looked genuine. If I didn't know better, I'd think the people in the photo were an actual couple. They sure did look cute together.
Who said the camera never lies?
I read the caption. "Chase, star wide receiver for the Rapids and his new girlfriend."
I glanced at the first of the comments and grimaced.
They were the usual kind of thing. 'Doesn't she know he's mine? Hands off, bitch. Angry emoji, angry emoji, angry emoji' and 'She could lose a few kilos.'
Never, ever read the comments. Honestly I can't understand the need to be so nasty to total strangers. Besides, I'd never date a woman who overused angry face emojis. Life was too short for that.
"It's a great photo," I said. It was the kind I'd hang on the wall if we were a real couple.
If Ashley read the comments, I didn't see it on her face when she went back to scrolling. Smart woman.
"It is. There's a lot of you on the catwalk. Lots of your rear end. There's another. And another." She seemed to take her time looking at each of them.
"You'll make me blush," I said after a while.
Her head jerked up. "What? Oh, I…" She blushed.
I grinned. "I don't mind. I work out. If anyone appreciates the effort I put in for hours every day…" I did it for work, to keep game-fit, but if people wanted to stare, it did me no harm. Besides, my ass was in good shape. Not as cute as hers, but I'd seen worse.
"Well, in that case." She peered more closely at the screen and then smiled at me over the top of it.
I shook my head and chuckled. I liked that I could be myself around her. I never had to try to be someone I wasn't. I could be my usual goofy self and she seemed to like it. With Brandi, I always felt like I needed to tone it down a notch. Being with Brandi was worth it.
Right?
"Am I going to be your lock screen now?" I joked.
Her smile widened. "You weren't, until you suggested it."
"If that doesn't make Kris jealous, nothing will," I said.
Her smile slipped a little. "It really would." She put her phone down and picked up her coffee. "We raised a lot for the charity. The boss is going to want you guys back every year."
"I'm happy to help out," I said. "I try to do my bit as best I can. I could do more though, especially in the off-season. Hawk is always busy doing charity stuff. He puts the rest of us to shame."
"I had heard that about him," Ashley agreed. "But it's not a competition."
I looked at her for a long moment, then burst out laughing. "You've met us all, right? We live to compete. If it's not against another team, then it's against each other. Friendly rivalry, but still a rivalry."
She looked amused. "I stand corrected. Do I need to make a chart for you guys, with every dollar you've raised?"
"That would get really ugly, really fast," I said. "Efficient and motivating as hell, but ugly."
"Okay," she said slowly. "I'll keep a tally in my head."
