Page 54 of Overtime
“Oh, I think you should tell her the whole story.” Violet side-eyes me again.
“Iwaspromised a backstory. Is this the backstory or a new story?” Harper perks up at that.
“A remake. They’re playing a game of chicken. Seeing who caves and asks for sex first.” Violet rolls her eyes.
“Um excuse you, no. We agreed to keep our hands to ourselves and not get involved physically again because it ended so poorly last time.”
“And that’s what you’ve been doing…notgetting involved—physically?” Violet’s brow goes sky-high, and she says it in the most obnoxious tone possible while Harper stifles a laugh.
“Listen… I haven’t had a good hookup in… Let’s not even say how long because it’s embarrassing. So I can’t help it if temptation is constantly at my door. That’s why I said, tell me what’s going on at this party. Maybe I can have some fun there.” I laugh because there’s no way I’d do it, and Violet knows it.
“So Colt can get arrested for murder? No, thank you. I like the Phantom’s chances this year and my husband needs his quarterback.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I would want to see Colt mad. He’s always so calm and quiet,” Harper adds.
“He’ll be fine.”
“Famous last words.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Colt
When I getout of the game, I start to head straight for my car. I’m fucking exhausted. The game was hard fought, and I’m thankful we won but it wasn’t without me hitting the turf one too many times. We desperately need new linemen, especially on the outside. Prescott and Slader are doing a solid job, but they can only do so much. Daniels had been a mistake just like we all predicted and ends up on his ass so much that he’s virtually useless.
As I pass by the area where the families meet up with the players, I see someone wearing a Westfield jersey. Someone that looks distinctly like a black-haired, green-eyed woman who spends a lot of her free time attempting to torture me. She’s amused, and she spins around in the jersey as Tobias watches. My blood runs cold when she leans into his shoulder laughing.
If she’s in with the families, it means she has a player’s family ticket, and it definitely wasn’t mine or Ben’s. My heart rate ticks up, and I start walking in her direction. I have no clue what I’m going to say or do when I get there, but I’m ready for this weird flirtation she has going with Westfield to be snuffed out for good.
He sees me coming before she does, and I watch him give me an amused once over and then haul ass out of there before I can get close enough to say anything. She looks up a little dazed, her eyes searching for where he went and why. She starts to walk out and down the hall, presumably back to her car or to find him. I stalk behind her, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her into one of the side hallways that leads to the stadium seats. Pulling her into a space where there’s an alcove and pressing her against the wall.
It’s late and all the fans are gone. The stadium’s dark and even the cleaning crew is starting to pack up, so it’s just the two of us here. A small squeak comes out of her at being startled and then she looks up at me confused.
“Farm Boy, you scared the shit out of me. Jesus.” She presses her hand to her heart.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I rasp, pinning her up against the wall.
She looks at me wide-eyed.
“Walking to my car?”
“I mean what are you doing with the families and whose fucking jersey are you wearing?”
“Oh. Yeah…” Her hands go to the jersey as she looks down at it. “Tobias gave me a ticket on the condition I wore his jersey… So I did.”
“Tobias gave you a ticket?”
“Well, technically I asked. I wanted to sit with Violet and Harper, and I didn’t want to make them sit down in the stands. Especially since Harper is semi-famous after that little stunt Alex pulled.” She looks up at me like she’s done absolutely nothing wrong, blinking innocently with a faint smile on her face.
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
“I heard them say you don’t have tickets, since your family isn’t out here often. And I was already planning to go to Tobias’s party tonight, so I just asked while we were talking.”
The mention of my family alongside this discussion of Tobias’s party is pressing my buttons again, frustrating me, and making me worry at the same time.
“How much are you talking with Tobias now? I thought you said nothing was going on there.”
“Nothing is going on there. We’re just friends.”
