He snorted. “You might want to try saying that again with a straight face. You are losing your mind over that girl. Did you think I didn’t notice that you were one second away from fighting me on the dance floor?”
I glared at him. “Jax, I knew you were doing it on purpose.”
“Obviously.” He stroked his chin like he always did when he was about to be annoying. “And you need to get a grip. She’s a great girl, but you’re acting as if you’ve never been around a woman before.”
“I’ve been around plenty of women.” I scoffed. “Are you done now?”
“Look, man. I’m not judging you. But whatever is happening between you two, you need to figure it out. You might want to pretend you don’t care, but you sure are acting as if you do. If you don’t pull yourself together, people will start talking. And not in the way that you want.”
“She has a boyfriend,” I repeated for what felt like the tenth time in the last five minutes.
His eyebrows popped up. “You sure about that, because I’m not.”
“Are you saying she’s lying?”
“People lie about stuff all the time.” He shrugged. “She didn’t mention anything about a boyfriend when I was dancing with her.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” I gave him a pointed look. “Can we change the subject now?”
“For the record. I think she’s into you, too.”
He patted my shoulder once, then walked away, leaving me standing in the middle of the crowd with his words echoing in my ears.
Why would she lie about being in a relationship? It didn’t make sense.
Maybe I was thinking too hard, or maybe Jax was right. And I didn’t know which one bothered me more.
That she might be taken, or hoping she wasn’t.
“We are sitting with my family.”I gestured for Becca to follow me.
“Are they going to be okay with me being here and asking questions?”
My steps faltered. I probably should have given them more of a heads-up. All I told them was that she was sitting with us and why she was here. “Do me a favor and focus more on me. If you want to ask them a few soft questions, that’s fine, but nothing too heavy.”
“So, no asking if you had any porn addictions as a teen?”
I cocked a brow. “That’s a little personal. Are you sure you’re not asking for yourself?”
She smirked. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how you deflected on that answer.”
I shook my head with a smile and led her across the room. We walked close enough that I was aware of every step she took. My dad spotted us first, followed by my mom. Callie’s face lit up so fast it was almost embarrassing.
“Hey, guys. This is Becca Hendrix. She is a sports reporter who is shadowing me tonight.”
Dad stood and extended his hand. “Edward Sandler, nice to meet you, and this is my wife, Sharon.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Becca smiled while accepting his hand.
Mom got up and held out her arms. “I’m a hugger.” Becca’s eyes widened in surprise while my mom pulled her into her arms. “I’m so glad you could join us.”
“Thank you.” You could tell she wasn’t used to this type of affection.
Becca moved closer to Callie so she could read her lips. “You must be Callie. I’ve heard so much about you.”
My sister sat up straighter in her chair. Excitement was written all over her face. “Nate said he was bringing a sports reporter who covered the team, but he forgot to mention how pretty you were.”
Becca blushed, like she wasn’t sure how to take the compliment. Meanwhile, I adjusted the collar of my dress shirt, hoping my sister wasn’t getting ideas in her head.
