I watched him jog back toward the sideline. “Not yet.”
“Wait.” She paused. “You’re talking to me about this before him?”
I was probably screwing this up.
“I wanted him to focus on his game today,” I said quickly, as if that somehow made me feel more responsible. “I figured we would talk later.”
Her brows lifted. “Becca, that is the weakest excuse I have ever heard come out of your mouth.”
I shook my head. I should have known this would be a bad idea.
“You are not helping.” I glanced around. “And please keep your voice down.”
“Fine,” she said, talking lower. “But avoiding it and trying to pretend nothing is going on isn’t the solution either.”
“Ember, this is my career. I’ve already crossed one too many lines with him.”
“So, what’s one more?” she shot back.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “You are such a bad influence.”
I looked away, and she followed my line of sight.
“Oh, would you look at that? He’s looking up here for you.”
He wasn’t waving or making it obvious. If you weren’t paying attention, you would miss the way his gaze lingered before turning back to his teammates.
“I’m scared, Ember. This is all happening so fast.”
It felt like every warning bell in my head was ringing and I was ignoring every single one.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I’ve done everything in my power to prevent myself from developing feelings for him. Somehow Nate managed to sneak right past all my defenses. I couldn’t even tell you when it happened, only that it had.”
There was a serious risk there. Not just for my career. What if I took a chance on him and it blew up in my face? It felt like I was jumping off a cliff, hoping there was something to catch me before I hit the ground.
“If you think it would work out between you two, then let people talk. Let them question and make assumptions. As long as you know what’s in your heart, then why should any of that matter?”
On the field, he threw a perfect pass to Ryder. The entire stadium went wild. I was on my feet before I could stop myself.
Ember leaned back in her seat. “I think he’s scoring for you.”
Heat crept up my neck. “He’s just having a good game.”
I looked down at the field again. He was laughing with Jax and Ryder, completely in his element.
She broke off a piece of her pretzel. “Becca, do you really think he would pursue you so heavily if he wasn’t serious about you?”
I gave her a look as the crowd roared. The Hawks ran for a first down and were just within field goal range. We were down by three and forty seconds to go.
“What if we start dating and it blows up?” I leaned in closer. “I’ll always be labeled as the reporter who slept her way to getting the interview. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. You, know more than anyone how that news gets twisted.”
Her eyes softened. “I think you’re making assumptions. Do you think you’re the first reporter who has ever dated an athlete?”
I swallowed hard because I was finally going to admit what was keeping me up at night. “That’s the other thing. What if thisis all just fun and games to him? What if it’s all about the chase? For all I know, he might want something casual with no strings. I’ll be the one standing there with a broken heart and a bad reputation. Not only that, but I’ll also still have to see him and pretend that nothing happened.”
She wiped her hands on a napkin. “Becca, you can be as logical as you want about this. You can try to keep everything in a neatly wrapped bow, but none of that is going to change how you feel about him.”
