I blow out a breath and prepare to tell Paige about the past. Even before she and Easton started dating, I had a good feeling about her, and we became close. Since then, we’ve become more like sisters.
And I kissed her father the other night.
Not weird at all.
All hail my sarcasm.
Paige is one of the few people who know the reasons behind my reluctance to date athletes, and since she’s always been honest with me, I know I can trust her.
“Wes and your dad are looking at a QB from my past.” I sit down on the edge of my desk, my legs suddenly shaky.
“To replace Thomas?”
“Yep.” I clench my jaw as I think about it.
“By the look on your face, I’m guessing you didn’t have a good past?”
“He’s the guy that got me fired, the guy that forced himself on me, and…” I trail off because she doesn’t need to hear the details to know what I’m implying.
“Oh, fuck, Keeley. You never told me that he made it to the pros.”
“I try not to talk about him at all.” Or think about him for that matter, when he’s not a hot topic.
“Understandably. So…what did they say?”
“Who?”
“My dad and Wes.”
“Oh.” I cringe and Paige sighs in understanding, her expression sympathetic.
“You haven’t told them?”
“Not yet.”
“You should at least tell my dad. He’s not going to want to sign him if he knows what he’s like.”
“I know. But that was years ago. What if he’s changed? What if he’s a genuinely good guy, just like his reputation suggests?”What if they choose him over me?
“What if he’s not?” Her words hang in the air and my chest tightens at the thought.
“This could open a whole can of worms and ruin his career.”Or mine.
“Is that really what you’re worried about?”
“Yes.” My voice lifts, giving away my lie.
“What’s going on?” Paige reaches forward and grabs my hand, giving me a squeeze.
“You know that your dad and I are close, right?”
“Ido.” She speaks slowly, and it would make me laugh if Sal and I hadn’t had a moment the other night. That’s not what I’m referring to here.
“I’m worried he’ll go into protection mode,” I lie again, though now that I think about it, that’s another possibility.
“Oooh.” Paige’s mouth forms an O before she visibly cringes. “He’s definitely going to do that. I don’t think it’s avoidable.”
“So what do I do?”
