The way he pauses to look at me, hope in his eyes, would make me melt if it didn’t break my heart just a little bit. “You know you don’t have to ask.”
His expression warms. “My girl.”
The game’s a nail-biter,even for me, but the boys manage to eke out a win after Reeve throws a touchdown pass in the last minute to put us ahead. As soon as the guys are showered anddressed, we pile into two cars: me, Reeve, Lenni, and Cam in Cam’s truck; Maisy, Lorenzo, Ruby, and Cash in the sedan Maisy and Cash share. But before we can pull out of the parking lot, Cash hops out of his car and opens the door to the rear cab of Cam’s truck where I’m seated with Lenni.
“You mind scooting over, honey?” he asks me. “I can’t do ninety minutes in the car with my sister.”
“But you’re going to do ninety minutes sitting thigh to thigh with Jade?” From the front passenger seat, Reeve puts a protective hand on my knee, stopping me from sliding into the middle to accommodate Cash.
“I’d be more than happy to take the middle seat and sit thigh to thigh with both ladies if that’s better.” Cash winks at Lenni next to me.
Cam smiles. “Dude, until you or Maisy have a girlfriend, you’re the fourth couple this weekend. That’s how it’s always been.”
“Fucking gross. I’m sick of being mistaken for an actual couple when I’m with my sister.”
“Like the man said, get yourself a girl,” Reeve tells him.
I slide into the middle seat and wave Cash in. “Come on. Plenty of room.”
“Thanks, darling.” He tips an imaginary hat at me. “That blond asshole doesn’t deserve you.”
By the time we reach the town where Lorenzo grew up, dusk is settling in. Ruby has already warned us the town of Lakeside is boring, the lake is cold, and the citizens are nosy—Ruby and Lorenzo were neighbors growing up, best friends long before they fell in love—but Lorenzo’s house is adorable, a cedar-shingled Craftsman set on a long, narrow lot with an evergreen-studded backyard that stretches down to the lake’s pebbled shoreline.
As soon as we arrive, the boys unload the bags, and thenRuby pushes them into the backyard to grill up our dinner and gather wood to build a bonfire.
“Good, now we’re rid of them!” she declares, closing the sliding door between the kitchen and the deck. “I know our boys are athletes, but is anyone else sick of hearing about sports? Please, for the love of god, let’s talk about something that doesn’t involve balls.”
Maisy grins, opening bottles of beer in assembly-line fashion. “Balls ofanykind.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say.
Ruby lets out a whoop, Maisy hands out the beers, and we cheer, laughing as our bottles clink and foam dribbles to the tile floor.
Dinner is chicken, a mess of grilled vegetables, and a few loaves of bread eaten from paper plates, plus more beer around the impressive bonfire the guys built at the far end of the yard. Reeve nods along with the conversation during dinner, but he’s subdued. I noticed he didn’t have much to say on the ride here, either, but I’d figured that was because we were in close quarters with Cash, the only man on earth who can outtalk Reeve Dalton. But clearly it’s more than that.
When everyone heads inside after dinner to clean up, I hold him back.
“Fireside make-out sesh?” he asks, eyebrows raised.
“Hmm, enticing. Can I ask a question first?”
“Shoot.”
“You’ve been quiet since we left home. Are you having a medical emergency? Do I need to call an ambulance?”
He gives a small smile. “I’m okay.”
I squeeze his hand. “But ...”
“Same shit as always. I’m just stressed about football.”
“You’re not happy about how you played today?”
Reeve glances toward the screen doors of the house, beyondwhich our friends bustle in the kitchen. “You want to take a little walk?”
He takes my hand as we stroll toward the lake, a cold breeze stirring the long limbs of the pine trees around us. “I played fine today. But fine isn’t good enough, not when the clock is ticking. I wanted to be on fire, have everyone questioning why the fuck Beltman was given the start last game when I was good to go. I’ve gotta be perfect or else ... I don’t know what. Everything I’ve done is for nothing.”
I should have known he’s thinking far beyond today’s game. “There’s no way you don’t get drafted, right?”
