"Dumbfucks with guns.That'sa moment of clarity."
"Oh, you saw combat?"
"Got my scars. Got out."
I moved from the worktable to settle the potted flowers onto the shelf next to the east-facing wall. When I turned, she was there. So close…the air warmed; it moved like it was electric and alive.
God, I wanted to touch her. Just feel the skin of her arms, her hands, against mine. It didn't have to be sexual.Who do you think you're kidding?
Her eyes lifted. She blinked, turned her head with a flip of her hair. I caught the scent of strawberries and coconut as she shuffled back to her chair.
"Feeling better?"
“I’m…conflicted."
"About what? Him? The cheating—" I bit back the rest as I knelt to return the bag of soil to the ground.
"Oh, not?—"
I stood and she shifted back a step. Her head tilted and she met my gaze.
"Ah, I guess, I just haven't been with anyone else in so long." She shook her head. "It seems…strange to start over."
I scowled—like I had any skin in this game, when I didn't. Shouldn't. I pulled off my gloves, chucking them at the worktable.What's wrong with me?
"Could I ask you for a favor?" She said.
No, no and no."Sure."I'm not helping you deal with your crummy, cheating asshat of a?—
"I want to know what it's like to kiss you."
Chapter Five
MADDOX
February 14
Charity Flag Football Game
When I returned to the sideline, a miracle had happened. Three women sat on the ground, alongside Sato and Kurt—the whole group stretching. I recognized one as being from the basketball team.Should be able to run and catch.
Danny fluttered near the newcomers, his mouth running faster than his running-back legs. His man bun wobbled in the breeze. I wanted to cut it off. "Hey Mick, these are our better teammates, come to save the day." He pointed at them with a clipboard.
"Misha invited us," a dark-haired girl grunted as she pivoted in a hamstring stretch.
The woman of the hour stepped forward and took the clipboard from Danny. "Don't look at melike that,Mick. I got this whole thing covered." Her mouth tucked up onone side and her head bobbed from side to side. "You just gotta have faith."
I gave her a nod, my eyes straying across the field to the freshmen group running drills. We were still two girls short, and they had a whole squad—including subs. Several top scholarship female athletes…
My elbow ached. I flexed my hand and turned away. This was dumb. If we forfeited, not only were we on the hook to embarrass ourselves, but I’d have to listen to Seager for the rest of the semester—and all summer at the junior league camp we’d been asked to coach.
Beaux Seager. The captain of the freshman team cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted at his players. The guy wore a hachimaki tied around his blond hair, and the heat coming off his forehead in this cold could’ve been steam from his fiery temper. He had an inch or two of height on me, but with my hand-to-hand combat training, I could take him in a fight.Can't be the one to start it.
Misha patted my arm and held up the clipboard. “Gotta make sure all the paperwork gets done.”
"Done, you hear me? D-o-n-e, you’re fuckingdone!" Coach Kenbrough's face squinched into a series of lumps. He jabbed a finger at my chest. "If you want to play football, fill out the trade paperwork and go someplace else. Because if I'm here next year—you can God-damned count on the fact thatyou won't be."
The quick rattle-clack of cleats clattering against concrete sounded from the parking lot.
