Page 19 of The Midseason Fakeout

Cade must end his story because the whole table erupts in laughter. Aidan and I are still staring at each other until someone calls his name.

We both glance up at the same time, and he waves at a couple of girls that come in as a group. They frown at the lack of room at our table and sit across the restaurant from us.

Kenna sighs. “They’ll stop eventually.”

“Yeah?” I stare the girls down like I have a right to be jealous that they’re calling out Aidan’s name. For all I know, they could be real friends of his.

“Most of them are actually good people. They’re friendly. For some reason, they just happen to lose their damn minds when it comes to football players. Honestly, I don’t understand it at all.”

“It’s because we’re so hot,” Cade says, flexing like a fuckboy.

The guy next to him hits him upside the head. “And modest.”

Cade shrugs. “We’re athletes in our prime. Of course everyone loves us.”

“Not everyone,” Kenna pipes up.

He gives her a charming smile. “You learned to.”

“It took me a while.”

“Hey,” West says defensively.

“Not with you, babe. The rest of them.”

I poke Aidan with my elbow while the table laughs. “See?” I point out to him. “She called him babe.”

He whispers back, “I definitely don’t want his nickname then.”

I roll my eyes.

“What about you, Bailey?” one of the players on the other side of the table asks. “Were you hanging all over Aidan before you started dating?”

Aidan speaks before I can come up with a response. “Naw, man. She’s my friend’s sister.”

A few of the guys laugh uncomfortably. One of them even says, “I bet you guys aren’t friends anymore.”

Unlike me, Aidan takes the teasing in good stride. “Please. My boy knows he has nothing to worry about. I’m a true gentleman.”

Now the table really laughs, and I make myself chuckle, too. Cade, however, peers over at us, as if he’s examining a science experiment. “It could work out, or it could go really, really bad.”

“What? Do you have experience, Farmer?”

Another player shakes his head. “He’s talking about Reid.” The player turns to me, and I wish I could get their names straight. “And by the way, they were perfect for each other.”

Cade looks away, smiling.

I glance at Aidan, whose lips have turned into a thin line. “Who’s Reid?”

Aidan widens his eyes at me. “I can’t believe you just asked me that question.”

“What?”

He places his lips near my ear, and I feel him smirking as he says, “You’re going to have to study up on football, Angel. Reid Parker was QB1 before me. He got drafted and won Rookie of the Year.”

“Is that what you want?” I ask, turning my face toward his. My stare drops to his lips inadvertently, but it’s not my fault. We’re as close as we were the times we kissed, and I’ve barely been able to think about anything else. I can’t be held accountable for the wild thoughts floating to the surface when he’s this close.

I’m still ogling them when he says, “More than anything.”

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