Page 53 of Presley's Christmas Catch
Lincoln puts a hand on my shoulder. “That first part—that’s stupid. The quickest way to get yourself out of this mess would be to tell her what you told me: that you messed up and you want a redo.”
“And the second?” I ask the same time Eli joins us and says, “What’s up?”
I don’t know Eli Dash that well, but he’s one of Lincoln’s best friends, so I extend my trust in Lincoln to him.
Lincoln answers. “Hunter finally realized it.”
I’m sure Eli is going to need more explanation than this, but he just grins at me. “Seriously, man. I was beginning to wonder.”
I massage the bridge of my nose. “I don’t understand how you all can be so sure about something I didn’t even know myself.”
“I told them about Natasha,” Lincoln says.
“Also Faith,” Eli points out.
Lincoln nods. “Right.”
I fix Lincoln with a glare. “Seriously?”
“Please, tell me another way to explain you.” He raises an eyebrow at me skeptically.
“Guys.” I hold my hands out, addressing all three. “I’m very grateful for your support here”—I make sure they hear my sarcasm—“but none of this helps the fact that Presley is a trainer, and I cannot get caught breaking rules.”
“It’s not against the rules,” Eli says. He folds his arms. He’sseveral inches shorter than me, and I have at least thirty pounds on him, but he’s a confident quarterback. He owns the stance.
“We asked Coach,” Lincoln adds.
“You told Coach you thought I had feelings for Presley?” This is a line too far. It’s one thing for him to team up with half the offense to do matchmaking, but telling coach?
“First, weknewyou had feelings for Presley,” Lincoln corrects.
Eli grins at me. “Also, we told him Hurley wanted to date Presley.”
Hurley smirks and wags his eyebrows. I narrow my eyes at him, but it does nothing to wipe the expression off his face, only makes his eyes dance.
“Coach said it’s not against the rules. They don’t encourage personal relationships between the players and the training staff,” Lincoln says, putting an arm on my shoulder, “because those can get messy and make things complicated, but it’s not against the rules.”
“He did say Hurley can’t ask Presley out, if it makes you feel better,” Eli says. Lincoln snorts, and Hurley punches him in the arm.
I huff out an annoyed sigh even though I should be grateful that they’ve worked all this out for me. “So.” I fold my arms. “I just tell her that I’ve caught feelings?”
Eli puts a hand on my shoulder and grins at me. “Brock, have you ever heard of something called the grand gesture?”
CHAPTER 23
PRESLEY
Normally when I get home from work, I shed my work clothes quickly, put on sweats, pull my hair into a bun, and get comfy. If Brock and I were still just friends, I wouldn’t change a thing about this routine. If I was still trying to convince Brock that I could just be his friend, I’d make myself as schlubby as possible to prove it to him.
But we’ve entered Operation Expose Brock, and I’m ruthless.
I can’t be obvious, or he’ll know immediately that something’s up. So I choose a pair of leggings that does very nice things for my butt and a cropped half-zip hoodie that’s the perfect amount of oversized. I happen to know this combo makes me look leggy. I take my hair down from the ponytail I wore all day today to keep it out of my face while I was working. There’s a slight wave to it from the braid I wore on Tuesday, so it looks good without looking like I tried too hard. I touch up my make-up and hope that’s not something Brock will notice—that my makeup looks fresh after a long day of work.
I am banking on the guy being oblivious to his own feelings for me, so I’m not too worried.
Next is setting the stage. I think Christmas spirit romance is the vibe to go with in this case. I spent any downtime I hadtoday curating a Christmas love songs playlist and set it to play softly in the background. I make sure the lights to my Christmas tree are on and dim the main lights just enough to give the room a glow. I bought a special pie from Mila Delaford. Given who her brother is, and her circle of friends, apparently her maternity leave from her bakery has been filled with recipes for the football lifestyle. This pie has a light crust, isn’t too sweet, and has some extra protein. Lincoln brought me a slice after they had Thanksgiving at their house, and I couldn’t deny its deliciousness. (The things I heard about the banana cream pie she brought made me incredibly jealous. It obviously went quickly.) I want to provide a homey atmosphere for Brock to fall in love, and when you’re talking about a guy who’s six-seven, three-hundred pounds and in superb athletic shape, that’s trickier than just making dinner.
I’m setting out the TOK book on the couch when my doorbell rings. My heart flutters, and I take deep breaths as I head toward the door and remind myself I’m playing a long game. Brock will realize his feelings eventually. He’ll keep “messing up” and putting an arm around me or sitting close, and one of those times it’s going to hit him.
