Krew wasn’t like the rest of the guys. Don’t get me wrong, he was a leader, but he was quiet. Didn’t party, never saw him with a girl, and always remained focused on the game. I respected him for that.
“Let’s check it out,” I murmured as I let my fingers dig into the skin along his outer bicep.
I learned a couple of great techniques from Julia and I’d been itching to try them.
The human body was resilient. It was something I’d always found interesting. The rigorous things we put our bodies through. Especially the depth of the training and physical exertion athletes endured. The way the body can be severely injured, but with the right care, determination, and techniques, become even stronger than before. I got to be a part of that miracle. That rehabilitation.
“This hurt?” I pressed my thumb at the front of his shoulder. His wince was not as subtle as he thought. “You’ve been icing regularly?”
His blank expression told meno.
“Twice a day.” I lifted his arm to rotate his shoulder. “I want you working with the bands more as well.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbled as I rotated it the opposite way.
“How’s the arm?” The voice from behind me had my stomach clenching.
I tried to keep my posture relaxed, but I assumed I let something flash across my face because Krew flickered his eyes to me before he looked over my shoulder at Preston.
“Sore, but I’m good. Plan to ice more and Trinity wants me working with the bands.”
“Sounds good.” He didn’t get any closer, but I could still smell him.Why do all hot men smell like that?“Meet me in my office tomorrow morning. I want to go over a few things before we leave for the airport.”
“Sure thing, Coach.” Krew lifted his chin, then his eyes went back to me. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I said quickly.
I was fine. I wasn’t still thinking about last night when he thought Jagger was at my house for reasons that would never happen. I saw the look on his face. The set in his jaw. Just because neither of us voiced thisthingbetween us didn’t mean that it didn’t exist.
And what he told me about his mom. About what he went through. It made him seem more human, and not just ahot jock.It knocked down a piece of my carefully placed barricade and I’d been suffering the consequences since I laid my head on the pillow last night.
“Go ahead and go in there to Julia. She’ll get you set up,” I practically pushed him off the table, marking down his information on the clipboard before I placed it back in the holder attached to the wall.
“Thanks, Trinity. Have a good night,” he called when he left the room.
I blew out a breath, glancing around at the rest of the guys, who spent the majority of the afternoon cutting up. No one was paying any attention to me.
With a few quiet steps, I escaped to the supply room, where the washer was located. I threw in a load of towels, then flicked the light off before I turned to leave. I barely made it out of the doorway when I collided with a muscular body.
“Whoa.” Preston’s hands gripped my hips on instinct, the touch sending a jolt straight down to my toes.
I glanced up at him, my breath catching in my throat as his blue eyes locked on mine.
“Sorry,” I breathed out but didn’t move.
Why couldn’t I move?
“No problem,” he rasped, his fingers tensing slightly against my joggers.
Tension swirled between us like an angry whirlwind, the force almost unbearable. But the wind-storm came to an abrupt stopwhen I heard my dad’s voice in the distance. I jumped back like I’d been burned, his voice growing louder before he rounded the corner.
“There you are.” He smiled. “I wanted to tell you that Julia has done nothing but brag about you. Says you’re a natural.”
I gave him a smile, trying to ignore the man next to me, who managed to remain as if that moment wasn’t breaching the code of conduct.
“You have plans tonight? We leave early tomorrow. Travel days are always exhausting,” my dad said as he reached out and squeezed my shoulder.
“Yeah. Just going home. I don’t work the next three days. Thankfully, Landry is working with my schedule.”
