AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let’s find you a comfortable seat then so we don’t risk it,” I suggested, leading her over to one of the seats on the balcony. Several other wives introduced themselves to me, but their names were all a blur since there were so many people. Dakota and Cleo—the punter’s wife—tried explaining the game to me when it started.
Surrounded by women madly in love with their husbands, I felt like a horrible fake by halftime. Everyone was being so nice to me, and all I’d done was lie to them about anything concerning my relationship with Brady. Leaning toward Dakota, I whispered, “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She turned to look at me, and her eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?”
I wasn’t, but I nodded anyway. “Yeah, just headed to the restroom.”
“Oh, I’ll go with you.”
I was going there to give myself a moment alone, but I couldn’t tell my heavily pregnant friend that she couldn’t come too. Instead, I helped her out of her seat and followed her to the private restroom in the far corner of the suite.
She flipped the lock when the door shut behind us and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Umm…” I hadn’t planned to share our secret with anyone, but I couldn’t resist spilling my guts. “I feel like such a fraud. Brady and I haven’t been dating for six months like we said at dinner on Wednesday. We only met that night when he saved me from a creep at the bar.”
I filled her in on everything that happened when I’d gone to get our kiddie cocktails, and when I finished, she let out a low whistle. “Wow, I never would’ve guessed any of that with how comfortable you both seemed with each other. Or all of the sparks flying between you. I even remember thinking that you two would fit in perfectly with the rest of us couples.”
“Really?” With how awkward I’d felt about pretending to be Brady’s girlfriend, her observation surprised me.
“Yeah, it’s actually kind of funny now that I think about it.” She laughed and shook her head. “If you had asked me anything about football plays a year ago, I wouldn’t have had a clue. My best friend was a huge fan of the Nighthawks, but I wasn’t into the game at all. So I didn’t realize that the way a lot of the couples met each other fits with the guy’s position. You guys included now that you’ve shared all this with me.”
My brows drew together as I tried to figure out what she was talking about. “How so?”
“Well, take Ames and me as an example. I thought he was my blind date when we met, but it turned out that he took that guy’s spot because he wanted to be the one sitting across from me at dinner. Charmaine joked about how we got a false start since he didn’t tell me that he wasn’t my blind date until the next time we went out, but I didn’t realize other couples on the team have similar stories. Ames is on the offensive line, and we got a false start.”
I nodded. “Ahh, I get your bestie’s joke now.”
“But we’re not the only ones. Nixon intercepted Ember when she was on her way to a blind date that Naomi set her up on with Jordan, and getting an interception is something he’s always aiming for on the defensive line. Plus, the entire world thought Cleo was with some Brazilian actor when she and Rigby got together…and his main role for the team is to punt for a voluntary change of possession.”
My eyes widened. “Wow. You’re right. Those are some interesting coincidences.”
“Heck, you’re not even the only couple who started out by fake dating. So did Jordan and Wrenley,” she informed me.
“Whoa,” I breathed. “I had no idea.”
“Which reminds me…that last play Brady ran before the end of the quarter, it’s called a pump fake. So I have a hunch your relationship will turn out to be as real as the rest of ours. Especially since I’ve seen how he looks at you.”
10
BRADY
“Damn, Brady,” Dempsey laughed as we ran off the field. “You were like a man possessed out there. The other team didn’t stand a fucking chance.”
Ames was ahead of us, and he turned around to walk backward, grinning. “Almost seems like he was trying to impress someone besides Lennox and the coaches.”
I flipped him the bird and rolled my eyes. “Like you don’t strut around like a peacock whenever Dakota is at a game?”
“Ah,” Dempsey said, his tone filled with amusement. “Talia’s here.”
“Of course his girl is here,” Nixon snorted as he caught up to us and bumped his shoulder into mine. “You ever seen him play like that before?”
My teammates laughed, and I let them have their fun because it was all good-natured ribbing, and honestly, I probably deserved a lot more after I’d given them shit about being so sappy with their wives over the years.
Also, they weren’t wrong. Knowing Talia was watching me, wearing my jersey, and rooting for me, had given me an extra boost of determination to kill it on the field. “Laugh it up, boys,” I replied with a grin. “I don’t give a fuck because, at the end of the night, Talia is coming home with me.”
They all nodded, knowing exactly how I felt.
As we congregated in the locker room, there were more congratulations and back slaps on my way to my cubby. I thanked everyone and stripped off my gear before heading to the showers.
