The guys are all still standing around our lockers when I come back out. Davis nods to Micah, and Micah clears his throat.All of their eyes are on me, so I peer around. “Jesus. What is it now?”
Reid gestures to the big guy still sitting on the bench. “Micah has something to say.”
I turn toward Micah, and I can tell he wants to roll his eyes. “I’m sorry we were so insensitive,” he states, staring around at the guys.
I peer around at them, too, and they’re nodding. I have to hold back a laugh. “That was the worst apology I’ve ever heard.”
“Itwaspretty bad,” Davis says, backing me up.
“Even so, it was true.” Micah peers up at me. “It’s just so easy to rag on you that I can’t help it sometimes.”
“Wow, you guys are pulling out all the stops just to find out who I like. Interesting.”
Reid sighs. “No, we just realized we were being dicks. You genuinely asked us for help, and we teased you. We weren’t being very good teammates, and we’reallsorry.”
“I actually said I thought he was being sincere,” Davis notes. “No one listened to me.”
The rest of the guys glare at him, and I chuckle. “Apology accepted. Now can we talk about something else?”
“No, we want to know how the wooing is going.”
“It’ll be going better once I leave here.”
“Do you need advice?” Micah asks.
“Nope. Pretty sure I have it handled. She’s starting to fall for me, I can feel it.”
I change quickly, then run the towel through my hair again before styling it. Farmer wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Aww, look at our little pumpkin. He’s heading off into the great big world all by himself.”
“Fuck off,” I retort, playfully shoving him away.
I grab my things and leave, walking backward as they all blow kisses at me and wave, pitching their voices high as theysay goodbye coupled with pet names like sugar and sweetheart. Right before I turn the corner to leave, Davis says, “Man, I’m going to be the last bachelor. This sucks.”
I might have to message him privately because I never knew what I was missing out on until I realized Tab was the one.
Once I’m in the underground parking garage, I check my phone again. My stomach flips when I see that Tab has responded.
Tab: Well…
Tab: Raeann just told me that her and Athena are going to Micah’s tonight. Do you maybe want to come over?
While I’m holding the phone, she texts again.
Tab: You don’t have to.
I quickly type out a response. She’d written the first two messages five minutes ago, so she probably got cold feet when I didn’t respond. I can just picture her biting her lip, waiting for me to answer and trying to act cool around Raeann all at the same time.
Me: No, I’m coming. Sorry, the guys were giving me shit.
Me: I’ll text you when I get there.
I hop in the car and maneuver through the streets of Nashville as fast as traffic will allow. I don’t head straight to Tab’s place though. Instead, I stop off at a big box store, running into the place and heading for the flower department. It won’t be as beautiful as the arrangement I got her from the flower shop, but all of those places are closed this late at night.
I pick out a bouquet and a cute teddy bear the size of a coffee mug who’s holding a balloon that has Love scrawled across it and head toward the self-checkouts. I ring them up, run back to my car, and then take the time to change into the special shirt I had planned on wearing for our next encounter. I chuckle when I pull it over my head, loving how snug it is. It’s at least one size too small for me, and I know I look like a fuckboy, but that’s the idea.
Tab’s going to get the biggest kick out of this.
It hits me then. That’s how I’ve been living my life since I first saw her at the coffee shop again. Not for football. Not for me. But for what I can do for her. How can I make her see that my feelings are real? How can I make her happy? How can I put a smile on her face?
