Page 22 of Out of the Shadows
Then he hung up.
Eleven
Colt
I returned Hailey’s bewildered look and switched to my messages. The sheer flood of unread texts made my eyes go wide and my stomach knot with anxiety.
As expected, Knox had opened his big, fat mouth. I just didn’t think it would cause such a huge stir. I hadn’t expected them to badger Hunter for information. Everyone on the team knew he wasn’t up for that sort of thing. The team’s group chat was completely out of control.
Knox Bradshaw: Yo. Am I the only one who didn’t know Michaels had a girlfriend? *exploding head emoji*
Asher Harris: Wait, what?
Jax Henderson: Noway.
Ty McAllister: Fucking Michaels?
Asher Harris: You sure you got that right? *monocle emoji*
Jax Handerson: @Michaels, we need details, like yesterday.
Ty McAllister: @Michaels Yeah, exactly, when did this happen, dude?
Knox Bradshaw: @ Harris, considering she introduced herself as his girlfriend, I assume I got it right *raised eyebrow emoji*
Asher Harris: Holy fuck.
The conversation went on for quite a while, and they kept tagging me, then eventually switched their efforts to Hunter when they got no response from me. I scrolled through the messages, wincing here and there or shaking my head.
Sighing, I let my eyes wander back to Hailey. I had felt her gaze fixed on me, so when I met her gaze again, she gave me an expectant look.
“Knox has graciously informed the team about us.”
“Okay?” She raised her eyebrows.
“That’s what it was about. They all went totally nuts about it and tried to get details out of me. When I didn’t answer, they got on Hunter’s ass and, well, Hunter is … Hunter.”
Hailey nodded. “I can imagine.”
“They probably won’t shut up until I give them something.”I groaned.
Still between my legs, she leaned over my phone, looking at it contemplatively.
“Hmm.”
Ella chose that moment to burst back into the room with the force of a tornado. “Oh, look at that, you guys did it,” she said excitedly, pointing to all the boxes. “At the risk of being the third wheel, you want to grab a bite somewhere?”
Hailey looked at me with a quirked brow, and although I would love nothing more than to spend more time with her, I decided to clear the field. She needed friends here, and Ella seemed nice enough, so I wouldn’t fuck that up.
“You two go out and have dinner together, it’s your first night as roomies, after all. I still have to hit the weight room tonight anyway. I’ll see you soon,” I said, and slowly rose to my full height while maneuvering Hailey gently to the side. Her expression was difficult for me to read.
“Weight room?” Ella asked. “All that lugging around wasn’tenoughfor you today?”
I chuckled. “It’s about accountability. If one of us starts skipping, it sets off a chain reaction. So I’m taking one for the team.”
“Wow, you’re a better person than me. Then again, that’s probably one of the reasons I don’t play a team sport. I don’t know how you do it.” Ella tilted her head. “Anyway, I really appreciate you lettin’ me steal away your girlfriend.”
“No problem.”
