Page 15 of Hard Count
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t have the energy to explain it to you.” I begin to walk away but turn on my heel. Nash stares back at me with a bend to his brow. “Here.” I fold my report in half and slam it into his chest. His hands clamp over mine and I ignore the warmth that flows through my veins from his touch.
“What’s this?” He eyes me suspiciously and maybe a hint of concern which I don’t appreciate. I don’t want to be a problem he thinks he needs to fix. I don’t want him to be worried about me.
“More of my ideas to impress my dad with. Good job by the way. I can’t wait for him to tell me how well everything worked the next time I see him.” I swallow down the tinge of betrayal I feel.
His head drops. Light brown eyes full of regret hit mine so hard I have to look away. “I’m sorry. That’s not what happened. I tried…” His voice trails off as he attempts to hand the report back.
“I can guess exactly what you tried to do. You keep it. It’s of no use to me anymore.”
Nash moves closer. Once again, I have to look away. This time to avoid drowning in his cologne. It’s woodsy with a trace of lemon and mint. It draws me in and makes me lose my senses.
“I tried to explain how I figured everything out but he didn’t care about the source. He only cared about making a plan in time for Saturday. I’ll talkto him.”
“It’s a fool’s errand,” I say, shaking my head. “Don’t worry about it. He’s not going to magically believe I have anything useful to offer.”
The tips of his fingers graze over the top of my hand as I release the papers into his possession. “Thanks for this. It’s going to help us win this weekend.”
“I know.” I walk away with the image of his smirk etched in my memory.
6
NASH
NEWHOUSE 1-0
“Are you coming upstairs?” Eli asks from the doorway of my room. I glance at him then go back to the papers I have spread out over my bed. “I told you it was an accident.” He crosses his arms over his chest and smirks.
“I’m not mad about Drew running into you. I never was.” It’s the truth. I wasn’t mad she ran into him. I’m mad at myself for being irritated with the fact he was touching her.
“Then why are you sulking down here by yourself instead of celebrating our win with the rest of the team and half the campus upstairs?”
Thinking of our packed living room and backyard has me wincing. He could never get me to admit it but I kind of miss having Hart around for his party policing. He always kept the crowd manageable and made sure everyone left at a decent time.
“I’m not sulking. I’m thinking.”
Eli peers at the mess of papers I could recite word for word I’ve read them so many times. “Do you think we would have won without that information?”
Sighing, I scrub my hand down my face and over the stubble I was too tired to deal with this morning. “I want to say yes but I’m not sure. How many plays would it have taken for you to figure out number seven ran a curl route every time he slapped his right thigh?”
“I would still be clueless. It doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have won.”
“No, it doesn’t.” The question is if I’m willing to risk playing a game without her analysis of the other team. Knowing more about my opponents helped me prepare physically but it didn’t cure my personal problem.
I still have a mental block. I still hesitated. I still threw away passes.
“You aren’t going to figure anything out tonight. Come upstairs and celebrate with everyone. You have to at least make an appearance.”
This is the part of being the starting quarterback no one tells you about. For some reason my position on the team makes people believe they get unlimited access to me. The better we perform on the field the more vulnerable my privacy becomes. There are some players who thrive in the spotlight. I am not one of them.
“If seeing Ozzy and his new girlfriend doesn’t get you upstairs, I invited Frankie,” he says, dangling the carrot. Thechance of Drew being here makes my heart beat a little faster and a rush of blood flow through my veins.
“When did Ozzy get a girlfriend?” I ask as I casually stack the papers on my bed and then shove them into my nightstand drawer.
“I don’t know exactly but he announced it the night you had dinner with Coach. It’s new and…awkward. Funny as hell to watch.”
I shuck off my shirt and find a fresh one in my closet. “That I have to see. I can’t picture him being uncomfortable in any situation. Let alone one with a woman.”
