“And still made you look silly when Callahan caught that pass.”Turning to Callahan, I said, “Can’t wait to watch that play on film so I can appreciate your awesomeness.”Then I sobered.“That is if you’re still on the team.What the hell was going on in Coach’s office?”
“Tell you later.”Callahan ushered Jamaica, his hot, curly-haired girlfriend, into the booth.
Bax and Piper slid in across from them, while Patty slid in beside Bax.Saylor shot daggers at her friends, but I didn’t even bother to hide my grin.
“We have space for you with us, Saylor,” I said, gesturing for her to slide into our booth.
She turned those daggers on me, and I merely raised a brow as I gave her a quick once-over, ending with her eyes—daring her.Without a word she slid into the booth, and I wasted no time in sliding in beside her.Finn and his girlfriend, Chessly, slid in beside Dally.With his attention on the beer list, Dally didn’t pick up on the charged looks the three of them—Finn, Chessly, and Saylor—exchanged.But with my attention on Saylor, I couldn’t miss it.
Directing my question at Finn, I asked, “What the hell happened after the game?”
“Tory Miller put one of her little friends up to trying to wreck Finn’s life,” Saylor answered for him.
I pulled my brows together.“Who is Tory Miller, and how could her friend wreck Finn’s life?”
“She’s a skank who’s been making Chessly and Jamaica’s lives hard for the past two years.Dragging Finn into it was just nasty.”From Saylor’s tone, I could tell she’d like a piece of Tory Miller.
“How—?”
“Her friend went to Coach and said I was the father of the bun in her oven.”Finn put up a hand when I started to ask.“Which I’m not.”
“After today’s stunt, maybe Coach will finally listen to the captains about not wanting Tory’s dad’s sponsorship money anymore,” Dally said from the corner of the booth.
Huh.Guess hewasdialed in.
“The captains have been telling him that all year, but this stunt might be the last straw.”Finn settled in closer to Chessly.“I can’t help but feel sorry for the girl though.Judging by the way her dad treated her in Ellis’s office, she has bigger problems than being pregnant.”
“She’s the kind of girl Tory and her posse of mean girls loves to target,” Chessly said.“I think they get their jollies from turning nice girls into bitches like them.”
“Harsh,” I said.
Beside me Saylor piped up.“But not wrong.”
“Everything’s good with Ellis now though, right?”I asked, returning to the important part.
“Yeah.”Finn sounded like he’d played in three scrimmages back-to-back-to-back.
Chessly whispered something in his ear, and the big defensive end visibly relaxed.
“Good work out there today,” Dally said, giving us a welcome change of subject.“You and Patty could become the dual quarterback threat that can take us to the promised land.”His grin was almost as big as he was.
“Thanks.”
After the effort I’d put in all semester to bring the guys around to seeing me as an asset rather than a threat, it felt good to hear those words from my center’s mouth.
Turning to the gorgeous girl beside me, I said, “What did you think of the game?”
Those incredible amber eyes held a speculative gleam.“You’re pretty competitive for someone who’s not planning to play in the NFL.”
“What the fuck?”Finn almost choked.
The server interrupted before I could answer.“What can I get you guys?”she asked, her attention on Dally.
“What are you in the mood for?”he asked the rest of us.
We settled on a pitcher of lager and a pitcher of wheat and two extra-large pizzas—the works for us guys, and a chicken and artichoke pie for the girls.
Once the server moved off to put in our order, Finn returned the spotlight to me.“Why aren’t you trying for the pros?”
