Page 45 of Lessons in Heartbreak

Even though I should’ve let her do it, and my head was swimming dangerously from this not-too-innocent, not-too-stupid moment, I curled my fingers up and around hers, pressing our palms together firmly.

Simply because I wanted to hold her hand.

Ruby glanced up at me, her eyes big in her face, and then she smiled. A real smile too. With the flash of a dimple in her cheek and a tiny spread of laugh lines bracketing her mouth when she did.

“Wanna start the movie again?” she asked.

I nodded, fumbling with my other hand to find the right button on the remote. The music started back up, and we stayed like that, hand in hand, side by side in the dark.

I knew two things right in that moment:

Ruby Tate was so much sexier than she realized.

And I was completely fucked.

Chapter TwelveGriffin

“Don’t go anywhere, folks. After commercial break, we’re going to talk about the King twins.”

“Are we? I thought we’d talked about them enough last week. What are they up to now?”

“Barrett King has been working nonstop, no surprise there.Preparationis the man’s middle name. But Griffin King hasn’t been spotted anywhere around the team facilities in New York since his interview went viral—and we’re going to break down all the gossip about where he might be, if the rumors are true that he’s hunting for another team in order to avoid big brother.” The podcaster paused. “Stay tuned.”

Fuck. I punched the power button on the stereo in my car.

Because I was driving aimlessly, I wasn’t paying attention to where I’d turned until the library came into view. In the back of the parking lot, I saw Ruby’s car. Without thinking about it too heavily, I pulled into a spot, exhaling before I exited the vehicle and walked over to the bench where she and I had sat on that first day.

My phone rang with a video call about three seconds later, and with the assumption that Steven had heard the same clip, I didn’t even bother looking at the screen when I picked it up.

“I know, you’re pissed at me.”

“I probably should be, especially if the rumors are true and you just signed with my team without telling me, you dick.”

At the sound of Marcus Henderson’s voice, I did a double take at the face filling the screen. We’d played at Oregon together, even though I graduated a couple years before him. His hair was longer, the reddish-blond beard around his face scruffier than I’d ever seen it. “Does that mean you’re actually going to start catching the ball well enough that you don’t need a stronger defense?”

His laugh was deep and rich. “I’ll see what I can do. So it’s true, then?”

I scratched the side of my face. “Yeah. Ink’s not dry on the contract, but I go in next week to sign. You gonna talk shit about me in the locker room before I get there?”

“Yeah right. You’re a fucking legend.” He tipped his head back and howled. “I’m throwing a party for you once you’re in town. How long has it been, man?”

“Not long enough. The last time you took me out for drinks—after I played you in Denver a few years ago—I was hungover for a week, and Steven threatened to fire both of us if we ever did that again.” I grimaced. “I still can’t touch tequila after that night.”

He laughed. “Oh yeah. Remember those twins I took home?”

“I’m surprisedyoudo,” I said dryly. “You could hardly see straight.”

“Text me when you’re in next week. I want a repeat.”

“No way. I’m getting too old for that shit.” I narrowed my eyes at the screen. “What are you doing with your hair right now? You look like a fucking Viking.”

Marcus stroked a tattooed hand over his beard. “Chicks dig this; you have no idea.”

“Why? You look feral.”

He grinned unrepentantly. “Exactly.”

“Still an animal, Henderson.”

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