Page 18 of Thunderstruck
“I’m going to hold you to that promise,” I say and step back.
Bean scrambles off the table, probably to get as far from me and my elbow as he can, but he only makes it two steps before he stops and looks down at his leg. “Wow.” He wiggles around as if testing the muscle and grins back at me. “Okay, Miss Magic Hands.” With a clap on Moxie’s shoulder, he heads for the locker room.
I can feel two pairs of eyes on me, but I grab a towel and start wiping down the table, suddenly self-conscious.
“How’s Gator’s shoulder?” Moxie asks. Thankfully, it’s not a question I can answer, so I keep my head down.
“I’d rather he sit out this week’s game,” Mel says, “but it’s up to you. I know he’s your best prop.”
Mel said the coach isn’t as hands on as he could be, but I’m still surprised by the way she’s talking to Moxie like he’s the one in charge. He’s team captain, so of course he has some say, but just how flaky is Coach Galvin?
Moxie lets out a deep sigh, and there’s enough frustration in his tone to make me look up. “Coach won’t like it if I take him out of the starting fifteen.” He runs a hand through his hair, turning his gaze to me. He seemed nice enough when Darcy was talking to him, but the intensity in his eyes soaks through my skin, telling me that this guy won’t bend to my will as easily as Bean did. “So, Paxton. You gonna be torturing my players a lot?”
Heat floods my face, which means I’m probably red as a tomato. It may take a lot to get under my skin, but I do not hide embarrassment well when it hits. “Oh. Well, it took a lot to work out the muscle, so I thought I should—”
“Don’t apologize,” Mel says. “He deserves it.”
“Bean is not big on stretching,” Moxie agrees with a nod. “It’s a miracle he hasn’t been injured.”
“It’s a miracle he can walk,” I mumble back. “Will he actually keep his promise to me, do you think?”
Glancing at the doorway behind him, Moxie shrugs. “Hard to say.”
Now that I only have him in front of me rather than an entire team of beautiful men, I can see why he’s the team captain. There’s a calmness about him, a steadiness that I haven’t seen in any of the other guys thus far. He’s probably close in age to me, somewhere in his mid-twenties, but his vibes are older.
He’s also entirely gorgeous, hazel eyes and curly brown hair above sharp features, not to mention the sheer amount of muscle on the guy. He’s more of a lean build than a bulky one, but he could probably squat with me on his shoulders without breaking a sweat. He almost gives Cole a run for his money when it comes to attractiveness.
Almost.
“Can I ask you something, Moxie?” I say, stepping forward so we’re not talking across the room. I don’t mind Mel listening in, but I’m glad when she busies herself with organizing the kinesiology tape and ice packs.
Moxie is wary, his eyes narrowing as I approach. “Sure.”
“What was that between Bean and Cole?”
Tension fills his body, muscles straining as he folds his arms. “That was nothing.”
“I don’t think that was nothing.” Bean may have hissed out a million threats against me while I was working out the muscle in his leg, but other than that I’ve only seen him good natured and friendly. He was anything but when it came to Cole. “Shouldn’t your team be, I don’t know, a team? They weren’t exactly chummy.”
Moxie kicks the door jamb out from under the door and doesn’t say anything until the door swings shut behind him. “Here’s the thing you need to understand,” he says, an edge to his voice. “Cole is my best player, but the rest of the team will never admit it.”
“Why not?”
“He’s a newbie to rugby and got drafted early, which drives them nuts because it’s not easy to make it on a team when the league is so small. Plus, Cole came from the NFL, and most of the guys see football as an inferior sport. ”
I consider that with a frown. “That makes no sense. I’ve never watched a rugby game, but I’ve seen plenty of football. Those guys take a beating every game and are seriously athletic.”
Moxie chuckles and shares a grin with Mel. “Don’t let any of the guys hear you say that, Paxton. You’ll be an outcast like Cole, and we need you.”
We need you. Those words settle over me like a warm blanket in the middle of January, and I can’t hold back my smile. “You need me?”
“You have no idea,” Mel says, her voice thick with sincerity. “I nearly cried when I heard you were coming on. I’m trying to take care of these boys, but this single parenting thing is harder than I expected.”
Moxie’s lips press together, and he takes a step toward Mel, as if he wants to comfort her, but he stops himself and shakes his head. “We know you’re doing your best,” he tells her.
I don’t want to interrupt whatever moment they’re having, but my curiosity is burning too bright to ignore. “Why is Cole an outcast? Because he played football?”
“That,” Moxie says, “and he hasn’t been especially friendly ever since his girlfriend broke up with him back in October.”
