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“I’ll forward it to you,” Percy agreed before hurrying out of the press box.
“Don’t worry about him.” Cole gestured for me to walk out before him. “Gage has your back, which means the rest of us do too.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I murmured.
“Want me to lead you down to the post-game room?” he asked. “That’s where most of the wives, girlfriends, and families go to wait for the players after the game. I can let Gage know where to find you when I see him in the locker room.”
I flashed him an appreciative smile. “That would be great, thanks.”
I was a little nervous since I hadn’t met any of the wives and girlfriends yet, but I knew that Gage had mentioned to his friends that we were dating. This was confirmed by how I was greeted when I entered the room.
“Oh my gosh! You must be Rory.” A cute blonde with blue eyes and a rounded belly rushed over to greet me. “I’m so excited to meet you!”
I returned her smile. “Um…hey. Yeah, I’m Rory.”
“I’m Finley Channing,” she introduced herself. “My husband, Rhodes, and Gage are friends.”
“And she’s the owner’s niece,” another woman added with a grin as she joined us. She reminded me of a fairy-tale princess with her black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. A very heavily pregnant one.
Finley rolled her eyes. “More importantly, we have something else in common because I’m an NYU alumnus, and I heard you’re a student there.”
“I am,” I confirmed with a nod.
“Double majoring in computer science and math, right?” she asked.
My eyes widened. “Yup.”
“You’ll get used to Finley knowing all sorts of stuff. She’s very well informed.” The brunette extended her hand to me. “I’m Talia, by the way. Brady Summers is my husband.”
As the second-string quarterback, I’d seen him play a lot during the preseason. “He did great in today’s game. His pass completion percentage was the highest it’s been since he went pro.”
“Oh yeah, you two are going to get along great.” Talia gestured back and forth between Finley and me. “With those analytical minds of yours, I bet you could take over the world if you wanted.”
Finley shrugged with a grin. “Or just the Nighthawks someday.”
“I like the sound of that.” I rubbed my palms together. “Not only have I fallen in love with football statistics, but it would drive my brothers up the wall.”
All three of us giggled at my logic, and any lingering nervousness I’d felt coming into the post-game room disappeared. Time flew by as we got to know each other, and before I knew it, the guys had joined us.
After Gage introduced me to Brady and Rhodes, his teammates quickly guided their pregnant wives out of the room so they could head home. Then he turned to me and asked, “Ready to go?”
“Aw, c’mon, Ledger.” One of his teammates came over and slapped him on the back. “You gave Summers such a hard time for ducking out on us when he started dating, and now you’re gonna do the same thing?”
Gage slid his arm around my waist and grinned. “Yup.”
His teammate flashed me a smile. “I guess I can’t blame you.”
An honest-to-goodness growl rumbled up Gage’s chest. “Mine.”
“Damn, you’re just as bad as the rest of the guys who’ve gotten wifed up.” The guy held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but his smile didn’t dim. “Hey, I’m Sylas, the fullback who protects your man’s ass on the field. Maybe you can do me a favor and convince him that I meant no harm? And that you’re up for joining some of us at The End Zone for a drink to celebrate our win and the end of the preseason?”
“Well, I guess when you put it like that.” I blinked up at Gage. “Maybe we should go? Just for one drink?”
“Whatever you want,” he agreed, brushing his thumb against the small of my back.
“I don’t know.” Another player joined us. He narrowed his eyes, but it didn’t hide the mischievous grin in them. “Axton is pretty chill when it comes to the team partying at his club after games, but I doubt he’ll let anyone underage in, even if they’re with us.”
“I’m twenty-one,” I huffed.
