Page 117 of Colliding with Ten

“How?”

“Bro,” he said as if it were obvious. “You’re talking to me. Plus, you two looked cozy on the sidelines before the game, during warmups.”

“We said hello to each other.”

“Nope, you were extra smiley with her. I could see all your front teeth. You never show all your front teeth on the field.” He pointed a wing bone at me. “And she was smiling back.”

I turned to the mirror and held the charcoal blazer against my chest. Dammit. I was smiling that day.

“So, what happened?”

“We spent the night together. After the game.”

Jace nodded, his face working to stay neutral. I waited until he had full control. He cleared his throat, sat up straighter, and folded his hands. “Okay, continue.”

“It was—” I stopped and pulled a different shirt off the rack. “It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had with anyone.”

The joking fell away, and Jace wore an expression most people didn’t see. He was intelligent and disciplined. He knew every cornerback's leverage in the league, and he deserved every dollar as the highest-paid receiver. Most people only saw the jokester on the surface.

“That happens sometimes. Chemistry hits different with certain people. Doesn’t mean you gotta overthink it. Just see her again, and let it be what it’s gonna be.”

“She hasn’t spoken to me in a week.”

He frowned, rearing his head back, looking annoyed. “Are you serious?”

“She hasn’t texted or called since the morning she snuck out of my bed.”

“After spending the night with you?”

I looked to see if he was judging me for what I might have done wrong, but he looked surprised instead.

“Yup”

Jace set the plate down. He didn’t set down food for anything short of a genuine problem, so he was bothered.

“Look. She seemed like a cool girl from the way you talked about her. And at the game, I could tell this wasn’t some random situation. But if she’s not showing the same interest—” He paused, finding his words. “Maybe it’s time to move on, man.”

He was saying the words I’d feared. If someone wasn’t calling, there was a reason. But the facts kept colliding with everything I’d felt that night. There was a connection between us, not just our bodies. Could I explain it? Nope. But I wasn’t crazy. It was there. I hadn’t told anyone; it was private, and I was afraid of how it would make me sound.

I turned away from the rack and released a long breath. “There was a moment.”

Jace waited.

“While we were—” I stopped and looked at the ceiling. “During. There was a moment when I was⁠—”

“We’re adults. Spit it out.”

“I was on top, looking down at her,” I said, wanting to get the memory right. “And there was this moment where I had this clarity. Like I knew what she was feeling. We were connected in a way that went past what we were doing.”

My heart hammered in my chest. The words were out there now, and I couldn’t take them back.

Jace gave me a blank look. “That sounds like you were about to nut.”

I huffed. “This is why I don’t tell you anything.” Then I headed toward the mirror on the wall.

“I’m kidding,” he called after me. He was off the table now, following me. “I’m kidding. That’s just . . . that’s how I’m wired, man. You know that. The joke comes first and then the serious part. Give me a minute.”

I stood at the mirror with my back to him, waiting. Jace did like to deflect with humor; it was the appetizer, but his real answer would follow. Still, I was nervous. He came up beside me, and when I looked at him in the mirror, the joke was gone.