I just take another bite of my sandwich and hold his gaze likeI’mthe normal one.
“You want me to go to your family dinner?” Daniel asks.
I nod. “Sunday. With my parents. Bring your best fake smile and maybe a condom for spiritual protection.”
“Spiritual—Jesus, Luke.”
I grin. “He’ll be there too. Front and center.”
Daniel stares at me for another beat, then says, “You told them you’re dating me?”
That actually pulls a real laugh out of me. “I told them I had aboyfriend.You were just conveniently standing in the blast radius when the idea hit.”
“And I’m just supposed to go along with that?”
I lean back in my chair and sip from my drink, keeping my expression casual. But something tight coils in my chest—something rawer than I want to admit. I shove it down.
“You’re hot. I’m hot. You’re not currently sleeping with my coach or anyone else that I know of, so honestly, you're my most respectable option.”
Daniel’s eyes narrow. “Respectable?”
“You own button-downs. That already puts you ahead of half the guys I’ve hooked up with.”
He doesn’t laugh.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Daniel mutters something that sounds like “I fucking doubt it,” but I catch the twitch of his mouth before he turns back to his plate.
Across the table, Ty makes an exaggerated gasp. “Wow. So we’re just not even in the running, huh?”
“Yeah,” Will says. “What the hell, Maddox? You couldn’t have fake-datedme?”
I take a long, theatrical sip of my drink. “You’re straight, Ty. Painfully so. Like, missionary-position-on-your-wedding-night straight.”
Will chokes on his food laughing, and I point my fork at him. “And you? You made a whole ass chart ranking which women on campus you’d break your dry spell with. Respectfully, not giving that PowerPoint to my parents.”
Will groans. “That was supposed to be private.”
Ty shrugs. “But you had to go with the bisexual hockey player. We’re clearly the more dependable option.”
Daniel lifts a brow at him. “Pretty sure I’m being blackmailed.”
“Semantics,” I say brightly, already feeling the attention shift off me and back to something safer. “You’re pretty and cooperative. That’s all that matters.”
“Still not cooperative,” Daniel mutters under his breath.
I flash him a grin. “Not yet.”
TEN
SILAS
The sun’snot even at its peak when we wrap up morning drills, but the heat’s already brutal. Summer training camp never pretends to be anything but relentless, and I don’t hand out breaks easily.
The guys filter off the field, some of them dragging, others still keyed up. Luke and his little group are the last ones jogging in. His shirt is damp, clinging to his lower back, and his smile is all teeth as he tosses a comment over his shoulder that makes Ty bark out a laugh.
I shouldn’t be watching him.
