Page 33 of The Goat in the Bedroom
“Isn't it? Think about it. When you're happy and relaxed in your personal life, you play better. When you're stressed and lonely and spending all your free time worrying about whether you belong on the team, you play like shit.”
“I'm not lonely. I have you.”
The simple way he said it made something flutter in my chest, but I pushed the feeling aside. It was sweet of him, but I wasn't the one who was going to sleep with him. This wasn't about me. This was about helping my best friend succeed.
And I knew the surest way to make that happen. Mr. Fix It would be more than willing to go along if he thought he was going to be fixing my love life too.
“Bestie support is not the same thing as romantic fulfillment, and you know it.”
He was quiet for a moment, considering. “Even if that were true, which I'm not admitting it is, what exactly are you suggesting? That I download a dating app and start swiping my way to better football performance?”
“I'm suggesting we both get back out there. We've been hiding in this house like hermits ever since we swore off dating after our respective disasters.”
“We haven't been hiding. Unless of course you mean you've been hiding from making a decision about moving to the other side of the world.”
Damn, he could see through me like a clear mountain morning. Which I had been counting on. Come into my web said the spider to... the other spider. “Shush your face. That's not what this is about.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Look, everyone else in our friend group is either coupled up or actively dating. Parker's been meeting people, Freddie's connecting with classmates, Sean and Ren are obviously settled. We're the only ones who aren't pursuing anything romantic.”
“And?”
“And maybe it's time. We've had enough time to get over our breakups. We're both settled in here for the most part. Plus, you asked me to move in with you partly because you were nervous about meeting new people in a new city, right?”
He nodded reluctantly.
“Well, we've met people now. Good people. But neither of us is going to meet potential romantic partners if we keep spending all our free time meal prepping and watching game film.”
Gryff was starting to look interested despite himself. “So what are you suggesting?”
Gotcha. “I'm suggesting we help each other. We're both clearly terrible at picking partners for ourselves, hence the spectacular breakups, but we know each other better than anyone. Who would you trust more to find someone compatible with me than my best friend?”
“That's...” he paused, considering. “Actually not the worst logic you've ever used.”
“Thanks for the ringing endorsement. And since we don't know a ton of people in LA yet, we could ask Sean and Ren to help. They seem like they'd be great at matchmaking.”
“They do seem like the type who'd enjoy that.”
I could see him warming to the idea, which was exactly what I'd hoped for. If I could get him focused on finding me someonegreat, he'd be distracted from his own anxiety about dating and might actually agree to let Sean set him up too.
He was quiet for a moment, and I could practically see the wheels turning. Gryff loved solving problems, especially when those problems involved taking care of other people.
“There's just one issue,” he said finally. “Sloane.”
“What about her?”
His expression shifted, becoming more serious. “I got a call from her today about Abbey Cat. She saw Freddie's InstaSnap posts and wanted to know why we didn't bring the documentary crew along.”
Oh, crappola. “How upset was she?”
“She wasn't upset, exactly. More like... disappointed. In that way that's somehow worse than being yelled at.” He rubbed his forehead. “She was very sweet about it, but also very clear that we have a contract and obligations. Apparently 'authentic LA lifestyle content' means they need to actually document our social activities.”
“Ooph. I'm slightly regretting signing that release now.”
“Sorry. We don't have to. I can just like... I don't know, get her to film me babysitting Burrito Petito while Flynn and Tempest go out. I'm sure Sloane would be happy to make me out to be the loneliest rookie in the League this season.”
Nope. Make an immediate U-turn, you have missed your exit. “No way. If Sloane's going to want to document every second of your life we need to get back on her good side first. Because I'm not going to the premier with a loo-hoo-zerrrr.”
