Page 45 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

Until his eyes had opened and he’d realized she was gone, he hadn’t known how badly he’d wanted her to be there when he woke up, wrapped in his arms. And that thought had haunted him all morning. He’d had to remind himself countless times that whatever had happened between them was strictly…what, exactly? He didn’t quite know. They were attracted to each other, but they didn’t—couldn’t—have feelings for each other. They needed to be able to move forward and focus on the season.

Except he couldn’t focus. He kept wondering why he couldn’t have both the season and Lucia. Would a relationship really be so bad? He looked at Rudy, Chris, Sam, and all the rest of his teammates who had partners. If they could do it, why couldn’t he?

Colton had always believed exhilaration was something he felt when he stepped into the end zone with the ball, or when he lobbed up a perfect pass to a receiver. That breathless feeling that accompanied a win? A hard-fought, well-deserved game ball? He’d thought those were the greatest feelings in the world. But Lucia set exhilaration to a higher standard, put it on a pedestal that only she could reach.

The problem? It was fake. She’d only agreed to the relationship to get the media off of her back and to get back at Clark. Which meant she probably wasn’t having any of these concerns, exemplified by the fact that she’d left before he’d even woken up at five that morning.

He changed in record time and drove the few minutes to Lucia’s house. She was already out on her porch, looking stunning in a long, floral dress similar to the one she’d worn the evening before. Colton shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hating how his dick had such a mind of its own.

“Hi,” she chirped, a strange expression on her face.

“Hi.”

Neither of them knew how to act, the car silent as he drove to Sabertooths Park. Finally, tired of the way she always closed in on herself after they’d shared a moment, he said, “Luc, we should talk.”

Her head snapped to look at him. “Wha—what about?”

“Luc, it was one thing when you avoided me after what happened in your office, but this is different. We can’t keep pretending these things aren’t happening.”

He pulled into the parking lot, seeing half his teammates already throwing a ball around, their children chasing after them.

She cleared her throat. “Okay, you’re right. We should probably…I don’t know. We probably should’ve set boundaries from the start. I just wasn’t expecting to need to since we’re…you know.”

“We’re what?”

“Us. We’re us. Who, in a million years, could have seen yesterday coming?”

“Oh, right. ‘Cause I’m so easy to resist.”

She smacked his shoulder, chuckling.

He drew in a breath before saying the dreaded, “So, boundaries.”

“Right, yes. We—we keep any hanging-outside-of-work time to a minimum. Just what we need to do to keep Tessa off our backs. We do nothing that could distract us or jeopardize our jobs.”

Ouch. At least she’d confirmed what he’d known. He was a distraction to her. She didn’t have the same war waging inside her that he’d had all day.

“Right. No distractions. Sounds good.”

She smiled at him, getting ready to open her door. “Ready?”

“Moretti, if you open that door, I’m going to throw you back into your seat and close it on you just so I can open it again. As far as everyone else is concerned”—he nodded toward his teammates—“you’re mine, and if I’m gonna be in a fake relationship, I’m gonna do it right.”

He’d meant it as a joke. Kind of. But from the awestruck look on her face—whether good or bad—she hadn’t taken it that way. Her hand slipped into her lap, and she cocked her head to the side.

“Alright, big boy. Let’s see it.”

He adjusted himself in his pants again, cursing as she snorted. He walked around the car and opened the door for her, extending his arm in a dramatic this way gesture and bowing.

“Princess…”

Before she could respond, Rudy was calling him over.

“Is holding hands within our boundaries?” He extended his hand toward her.

She slipped her hand into his. “Well, we’re in public, so it’s fine.”

He smirked down at her. “Better be careful about making that the standard, Moretti.”

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