“Really?” Troy’s eyes hold mine as he takes a drink.
“Hmm. Yes.” My voice takes on a dreamy note.
“Now this sounds interesting.”
“I used to plaster Beckett Miller posters in my dorm room. My best friend, Amy?—”
“From the party?”
“The same. She grew up in Oklahoma. We used to get into enormous battles about who was better—Brendan or Beckett. Then when they released ‘Bloodlines,’ it was this massive ceasefire.”
Troy smirks. “I was Team Beckett until I was at the concert in Dallas when they played ‘Bloodlines’ for the first time. Now, I’m just as big of a Brendan Blake fan.
“I’m not jealous at all,” I pout.
“Well, we can’t have that. How about some dinner music?” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell. Using it, he changes the music from classical to the song in question—a ballad about finding your personal strength and conquering the world by being the person you are.
I put my wine down, pick up a wooden spoon and belt out part of the refrain, “Yeah, the fire I carry, the storm I survived. Ain’t just history—it’s my bloodlines.”
Troy murmurs, “Now I really wonder.”
I pause in my kitchen karaoke to ask, “About?”
“What drives you? Who or what else you love?”
I lay the spoon down as he drizzles a glaze on top of the pork. “Anything else?”
He picks up both plates. “Mind grabbing the wine?”
“Of course.” We make our way to the counter. After setting my plate down, I hand Troy his wine.
He waits until I’m seated before point blank asking me, “I want to know what made you decide to stay when last night I was certain you were going to go.”
Waiting for him to join me, I lay my napkin across my lap. Once he’s settled, I lift my glass to offer a toast.
Troy does the same.
“You stood up for me when you didn’t have to. You didn’t make a show of it—you just…did it. Without being asked.”
“I was so busy trying to figure out how I could have missed all the flags he must have been throwing, I didn’t give thought to the people who were guarding me.”
I lift my glass closer to his. “You asked why I stayed? I came here with a goal in mind—to take some well-deserved time off. To get to do so with someone who has shown the world he’s loyal to those he cares about, dependable and makes me excited.”
Troy grumbles, “You make me sound like a Labrador.”
“If the kick fits. I hear they do that in their sleep.”
Troy’s voice drops just before our glasses touch with a soft chime. “I’ve never had complaints about that before.”
The flush heating my skin only intensifies when I take a sip of the rich red. But despite that, I can’t look away from this complex man who I’m uncertain I ever really saw before I decided I needed to get far away to outrun a series of shameful plays.
14
SNAP – BALL IS HIKED FROM CENTER TO QB TO BEGIN A PLAY.
I’ve faced fourth-quarter pressure, viral chaos, and locker-room fights—but asking Maya if she wants to spend time together might actually kill me. I told myself it could be as simple as a cup of coffee, a walk through the vines. Who knows? After how well last night went, maybe we’d progress to sharing a laugh or two.
Who am I kidding? She probably still thinks of me as the guy who turned into a human guard dog on social media after her ex’s cheating blew up to be more prominent than the Jumbotron at AT&T Stadium.
