She tossed her wavy hair over her shoulder along with a glare, which she followed by sticking her tongue out at me. I smirked when I should have been running in the opposite direction. The blue-eyed bombshell brought out a wild side of me that I never knew existed.
Coach blew his whistle. “Two laps around the track then hit the showers.”
I poured myself a cup of Gatorade. “Well? Are you?”
“I have to at least see what she has to offer,” he said.
“No way. Tryouts ended two weeks ago.”
“If I don’t, she could make a stink with the school board. Flynn won’t like that.”
I knocked back the cold liquid then threw my cup in the trash can beside the cooler. “Do you hear yourself?” I asked, my voice rising. “She’s a girl who could get hurt.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Are you afraid she’ll show you up?”
Yes.“No. Of course not.” So she could throw a football like a pro, but that was only one throw in a relaxed environment. I shouldn’t be worried. She wasn’t about to take my position, although she would definitely distract me from the game.
“Hit the track,” Coach said.
Instead of joining the team, I jogged in the opposite direction toward Austin, who was talking with Montana and Elvira. When I approached, the threesome broke up. Montana and Elvira beelined up the hill toward the school. I almost ran after them to shake some sense into Montana. Instead, I decided to cool off.
“Coach is giving her a shot,” Austin said. “Can you believe it?”
Hell no.“Do you know where she lives?”
“I’ll text Elvira,” he said.
“Send it to me when you get it. I’ve got to do my laps. By the way, how’s the hamstring?”
“Sore, but I’ll be ready for Friday’s game.”
I hoped so. Austin was our best wide receiver. He was my go-to man on the field along with Derek. I left Austin and finished my laps. Then I hit the showers. The locker room droned with Montana’s name bouncing around.
“Calm down,” I said to the team. “Coach is only letting her so he doesn’t get shit from the school board.”
“But you saw her throw,” Derek blurted out as he tore off his shoulder pads.
“There’s more to making the team than throwing a football. She’s got to know the game. She’s got to do all the drills that we had to do. That’s the only fair way. Right?” I wasn’t sure how much she knew about the game.
Lou scratched his matted blond hair. “Who are you trying to convince—us or yourself, dude?”
“Both,” I said.
The entire team broke out in a fit of laughter. I groaned.
“You’re afraid of her,” Derek said. “You like her too. And don’t deny it. I see it in your eyes. You’re hungry. I got that vibe yesterday on the beach after Nina left.”
I groaned again, mainly at the Nina reference. At that moment, I decided to stop snarling every time Nina’s name was brought up. I couldn’t walk around biting off heads, especially those of my team. They needed me to be the captain they believed in. Not only that, but Derek was right. I hadn’t stopped ogling Montana when she jumped to hit the volleyball or when she dove, trying to keep the ball alive. She certainly was taking my mind off of other people.
I stripped down. “So Montana is hot. Doesn’t mean I want anything to do with her,” I protested.
Derek folded large arms over an even larger chest as he eyed me with small brown eyes. “Take her to bed. Get her out of your system, or else you’re going to be shit on the field. She might help you get over Nina too.”
Iwasover Nina. I just didn’t like her assuming that she and I would be a couple again. “Isn’t happening, man. In fact, absolutely no girls for me this year.” I walked my bare ass into the showers.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Derek said at my back.
The entire locker room broke out with barbs and laughter.Whatever.I was sticking to my plan of no girls. No distractions. I was going to concentrate on football.
