I’d spent the entire drive over to the restaurant thinking about Rhett, wondering if it was a mistake to go out with his teammate like this. But I was having such a great time with Cole that I forgot all about it.
Now our sizzling training room affair loomed large.
We weren’t exclusive or anything. I wasn’t doing anythingwrong, and I didn’t feel guilty for agreeing to this date. But the two men were teammates. If I kept that information from Cole and he ended up finding out another way, it might screw up the dynamic of the team.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look like you just remembered you left the oven on at home.”
Damnit. I needed to spit it out now, before this went any further. “Cole, there’s something I need to tell you.”
He sat back in the booth. “Uh oh. Is it about the next bracket I was going to talk about?” He showed me his phone. “It’s a bracket of the best Davids.”
“David Rose,” I said without hesitation. “I don’t even need to look at the bracket.”
“Ehh, there are a lot of good Davids on here,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter. David Rose fromSchitt’s Creekwins by a mile. Or, as you Canadians say, one-point-six kilometers.”
He narrowed his eyes at me and pointed at his phone. “You really think a fictional character is better than Michaelangelo’s David? The most famous statue in the world?”
“It’s just a statue. David Rose isiconic.” I shook my head. “We’re getting off topic…”
Before I could say more, an ear-piercing siren filled the restaurant. Cole and I covered our ears and stood up, looking around.
“The fire alarm?” Cole asked.
The hostess began shouting. “Everyone please leave through the front door! Sorry for the inconvenience! Please leave your tables and follow me outside…”
“Hopefully it’s just a false alarm,” I said as we slid out of the booths. “I thought our entrees were about to come out.”
“Don’t think so.” Cole pointed. “There’s smoke coming out of the kitchen.”
“Oh, shit.”
He put a hand on my lower back and escorted me out of the restaurant. It was a pleasant night out, warm for the end of November and with a very slight breeze. We stood around in the parking lot while all the other patrons filed out of the building.
“I don’t mean to brag, but that’s my ride.” Cole nodded to a car in the next row over.
“Ford Bronco. Very O.J. Simpson of you.”
“It was free,” he said with a grin. “Have I mentioned that I got it for free? I’m actually kind of a big deal. I’m the captain of a major sports team.”
I giggled at the joke. “Speaking of which, those two guys are staring. I think they recognize you.”
Cole sighed. “It was nice while it lasted.”
“I’ve got this.” I slid my arm around his waist and leaned in close, then glared at the two men from across the parking lot. It worked, and they turned away, whispering to themselves.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
He put his arm around me. “I wish I knew that’s all it took to keep fans from asking for selfies. I would’ve hired an actress to glare at people in publicyearsago.”
“My rate is fifty bucks an hour,” I said.
“You could charge a lot more than that. What did you want to tell me?”
Damnit. I’d forgotten all about that thanks to the fire alarm.
I pulled away from him and spit it out before I could change my mind. “I had sex with Rhett.”
