I grin at him. “Your mom.”
Reid rolls his eyes. “My mom is way too classy for your ass.”
Unease tightens my stomach. In one way, sneaking around is a hell of a lot of fun, but in this way, it’s not. I want to tell them all about Tab. I’ve seen them with their girls, and I was never jealous, but there’s this way that they all stare at each other. It’s like there are so many emotions tied up in one glance, and now all I really want is to see if Tab will look at me that way. “Youtold me to get back to you in a few days, so that’s what I’ll do,” I remind them. “But it’ll still be her.”
“Now I’m intrigued,” Farmer says. “Where’d you meet her?”
“Out.”
“What does she look like?”
“Pretty.”
“You woo her with those one-word sentences, Newb?” Micah interjects.
One thing he’s not going to like is when he finds out I’ve been seeing Tab right under his nose, scaling his penthouse, intruding his space. I wish I could say I was unbothered by it, but it’s important to me that my teammates respect me. And though he might not be bothered otherwise, Raeann will care, which will make him care.
“Trust me, she has no complaints.” Except for one, apparently. Loyalty. Her words yesterday filter through my brain again, and I have to swallow hard. She thinks I just woke up one day and decided it was her, but I’ve been drawn to her since the fire in ways I’m not sure I could express clearly. It’s not fascination as if she’s a circus show to be gawked at. I’m not jumping around with a billboard and shouting,Come seethe girl who survived the fire.
It’s something so much deeper, and I’ll just have to take the time to prove it to her.
We enter the locker room, and I open my locker and grab a towel to dry the sweat dripping down my face. Then I check my phone. The restraint not to carry it onto the field with me earlier was amazing. Phones are prohibited on the field, as they should be, but that didn’t make me stop thinking about whether she was going to text me once the flowers were delivered.
My heart jumps in my chest when I see a notification waiting. I press on it, and it brings up a picture. I quickly shut the screen off, then peer around to make sure no one is looking. With a sighof relief, I step closer to my locker and hide the screen within it to find a selfie of Tab with the flowers.
Tab: An admirer got me these.
Me: He has good taste.
I wait to see if she’ll text me back, but she doesn’t. She’s probably busy at work. Man, what a huge step for her to go back today. I scan the picture again and notice she’s added a long-sleeved layer under the shirt I picked out for her. I’m not surprised, but also, I wish she didn’t feel the need to cover up. Regardless, she looks gorgeous.
I Cash App her some money and message again.
Me: Get yourself some coffee and doughnuts on me.
Tab: Sorry, I had to sneak away.
Tab: Ooh, big spender.
I chuckle. I really thought coffee and doughnuts would only cost twenty bucks, but if she wants more…
I Cash App her some more money.
Tab: WTF, Levi. I was joking. I don’t need $5,000.
Me: My girl doesn’t have a wallet anymore.
Tab: Raeann actually told me where it was this morning. I have it with me now.
Me: In that case…
Tab: Oh, thank God. Take it back.
I grin while sending her more money. She wants me to show her loyalty, and that’s what I’ll do.
Tab: The fuck are you doing, Levi? I don’t need $25,000 on a random weekday.
Me: Just being your sugar daddy. Buy yourself something nice. *kiss face emoji*
