Page 36 of Break

“Right now, it’s no. It’s no,” I breathe.

The guys both take deep breaths. Heat rolls off them. I know they’re ready to go. I know how much they want to continue forward, but instead, Coach Carpenter calls the team. Jaxon is the first one to take a step back.

“She said no, Dimitri. Coach called,” he says.

When Dimitri keeps watching me with confusion, Jaxon pulls him away. But he looks at me and winks. “Home isn’t professional.”

“Not even close, Sweetheart. Home… I have plenty of ideas for home,” Dimitri answers.

My blood burns with that promise. It’s a wrong response. I know that. I shouldn’t want them like this. The basic courtesy they’re showing me shouldn’t matter, but it does. Their restraint matters. They are a part of me. And since they’re not staying in my past, I don’t know what hope I have for keeping myself in line in the future.

“I have good news, Jared,” I say two days after Dimitri and Jaxon nearly got their hands on me.

“What’s that?”

“You’re cleared! You’re good to go back. I told you that finesse would make the difference, and it has,” I say brightly. “You’re good to play.”

He grins. “I’m glad to hear it.”

But he looks at me a little differently. He looks at me like he wants to say something, wants to do something, but there’ssomething else in his eyes, a wild glint that has me worried. I lick my bottom lip, then gently wave my hand in front of his face.

“Jared? Are you still with me?”

“With you,” he says, then snaps back. “Yeah. Of course. This is great news.”

I smile. “You’ll get to spend your days with the guys instead of with me. That’s a step up,” I say brightly.

“A step up,” he repeats, then shakes his head. “You smell better than they do.”

I laugh, a real laugh. It feels good. Really good. I pat his chest. “I’m proud of you, really. You worked hard, and it’s paying off. I can’t wait to see you on the field.”

“It’ll be great,” he says. “But I will miss my time with you.”

“I’ll still be here, making sure no one hurts themselves in the gym. You’ll see me plenty,” I assure him. “Now get out there and have some fun.”

As he walks away, I catch Jaxon watching me. Dimitri is spotting Knox, but Knox’s gaze is locked on me as well. I adjust my shirt, feeling self-conscious, and try to go about my day.

The day runs smoothly and goes by pretty quickly. I clean up, glance around, and make sure everyone is out. Then I close up and start walking through the building, heading to my car outside.

And it seems my shadow is still here.

A cigarette rests between his lips as his intense gaze lands on me. Green, hot, and overwhelming. He flicks his cigarette into the road.

“I think you could use an escort home,” he says.

“Funny enough, I’ve survived plenty long without you,” I say, but only half the venom I intend comes out. “And you have a weak ankle.”

“Oh, sweetheart, nothing about me is weak. You know that better than most, no matter what you saw,” he corrects, slinging his arm over my shoulder. His thumb grazes the side of my breast. “But I know one of us is never enough to satisfy you for long, is it?”

I scoff and try to rip away from him but nearly choke on that when I see Dimitri and Jaxon waiting at the corner. They fall into step without stopping their conversation about who’s got the best odds of scoring more. Dimitri drapes his arm around my waist, and Jaxon walks backward so that he gets to look at me.

I’m frozen in their touch and move with them as confusion settles within.

“Undo a few buttons, Knox. I think she looks a little hot,” Jaxon says while staring at my tits, then lifts his gaze to look at me. “You are always hot, but that blush…”

“We can’t have you dying of heat stroke,” Dimitri agrees.

“Nope. That view and that pretty mark between her tits is for us and only us,” Knox says.

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