“Uh, so,” Alec continued. “Are you Jamar’s new trainer?”
A surge of shock calcified Jamar’s muscles, rendering him numb. He’d been preparing hiswe’re just friendsstory as an answer to what he thought was the most logical presumption people would make upon seeing him and Taylor out in public.
“What do you mean?” Jamar asked, mentally crossing his fingers and hoping that Alec hadn’t made the correct leap.
The reporter pointed at Taylor with his pencil. “She—Taylor—is a fitness trainer, isn’t she?” He looked to her. “I’ve watched some of your YouTube videos.”
Fuuuuuck.
Jamar tried to play off his unease with a laugh. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she’smytrainer? We’re—”
“C’mon, Jamar.” Alec shot him a sly smile. “There’s been speculation for months that you’re looking to return to the League. It would make sense that you’ve hired a personal trainer to help you get back in playing form.”
Dread raced through his veins. The one thing he’d feared the most was happening, and he had no idea how to stop it.
“I don’t . . . ” he started, but the words caught in his throat.
“Actually, we’re dating,” Taylor said. She grabbed his hand and entwined her fingers with his. A radiant smile stretched across her lips, but when she glanced at him, her eyes were wide with aHoly shit, what did I just say?look.
“It was one of the few positive things to come out of that disastrous viral video,” she continued with a shaky laugh. “I caught Jamar’s eye and he was bold enough to ask me out.”
“I guess there’s a silver lining to every situation,” Alec said. He nodded at Jamar. “If you ever do decide to make a comeback, I’d appreciate a heads-up. You have an open invitation to break the news on Central Texas Sports Talk.”
“You’ll be the first to know.” Jamar managed to smile as he answered the reporter. The moment Mooney was out of earshot, he turned to Taylor. “What was that?”
“I don’t know!” She lifted her hands in hapless frustration. “I panicked! I just said the first thing that came to my mind.” She pressed her palms to her cheeks. “Shit!Shit, shit, shit.”
Jamar sucked in a deliberate breath. It felt as if his ribs were squeezing his chest.
How had things gone so wrong, so fast? Keeping his desire to return to the League a secret should have been an easy task, yet they’d failed it in spectacular fashion. Fucking Mooney. How had he jumped to the right conclusion? How could Alec take one look at Taylor Powell and not assume that hooking up with her would be the first thing on Jamar’s mind?
A knot the size of Texas twisted in his gut, but he knew what he needed to do.
“I’ll catch up with Mooney and tell him the truth,” he said. He started after Alec, but Taylor caught his hand.
“No. Don’t do that. Not yet.” She exhaled an impatient breath. “Look, we’ll figure it out. For now, just . . . go with it.”
“Taylor—”
“We’ll figure it out,” she repeated. “We just have to think this through.”
Jamar stared at her for several moments, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s figure it out.”
CHAPTER TEN
If Taylor thought back on the last twenty-eight years, she could probably come up with at least a dozen awkward situations she’d gotten herself into. There was that time she was caught sneaking underwear out of the boys’ changing room at school—a dare she’d made with her friend Keva. And then there was the time she showed up to her very first job interview on the wrong day.Sooooawkward.
And, goodness, she couldn’t think about her disastrous one and only one-night stand without wincing. Not only had the sex been boring AF, but she’d also woken up the next morning to find the guy’s grandmother standing over the bed with Taylor’s bra hanging from her fingers, opining on the kind of loose women who wore brassieres with a front clasp.
Taylor could only assume that the years had lessened the sting, because none of those previous awkward moments felt as cringe-worthy as what she now experienced nestled in the passenger seat of Jamar’s SUV.
What in the world had she been thinking?
Broadcasting to a reporter, of all people, that she and Jamar Dixon were dating was the most idiotic move she’d made in months. And she’d made her share of super idiotic moves lately.
How could she possibly use Jamar as a legitimate spokesperson for Taylor’d Conditioning now? If word got out that they were dating, people would just assume he was endorsing her simply because she was his girlfriend.
