Page 77 of Scoring the Player
She smiles at Teddy and pushes a lock of her blonde hair behind one ear. “Hey.”
“Hi,” he replies back to her, then says to me, “I’ll catch you back at the house.”
Teddy hops into his truck and I toss my bag in my car and then lean against it to keep my wobbly legs from collapsing.
“I’m sorry for the surprise attack, but I wanted to give you this.” She holds out my black sweatshirt.
“Thanks.” I take it without removing my eyes from her. She’s in a golf skirt and tank top, similar to what I saw her in on Monday. It’s cute and sporty and her boobs look incredible. I try not to stare directly at them but fail miserably. “Coming from practice?”
“Yeah, well, sort of. I stayed a little late to work on a few things. Then I had to go straight to campus for a group project meeting.” She glances around. “Are you just getting done for the night?”
“I stayed a little late to work on a few things, too.”
“Excited for the game?”
“Honestly?” I run a hand through my hair. “Scared shitless.”
“What?!” Her mouth curves with a surprised smile. “Why?”
“NAU is tough this year. One of the better teams we’ll go against this season.”
“Aren’t you, like, the best college quarterback in the country or something?” The genuine confusion on her face as she tries to understand why I’m nervous about this weekend’s game is adorable. And something I’ve gotten used to. On the outside, I’m all confidence because that’s what my team needs. But the reality of what this season means for my future has me a little freaked out. You can go from being number one to some guy who could have been great in an instant.
“What are you doing for the next couple hours?” I ask her.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Hang out with me for a while? I’ve barely seen you. Archer and Brogan have also noted your absence at breakfast. Real bummer vibes from them.”
She laughs. “I’m sorry. Monday I had to meet with my advisor, Tuesday I overslept, and…anyway, yes, I’d love to hang out.”
I take her to my place first so I can shower and change, scarf down a sandwich and protein drink, and then we sit around with my roommates. Lucas and Teddy are playing video games. I opt out so I can keep my focus on Dahlia.
“How was your week?” I ask.
“Good. Just school and golf. Yours?”
“Good. Just school and football.” I sling an arm around her back and let my fingers brush against her shoulder. “What are you girls going to get up to this weekend?”
“I’m not sure. It sounds like it’s going to be pretty quiet around campus.”
She’s right. The football and basketball teams are both traveling, and I ran into Jordan at the dining hall today and he said the hockey guys are doing some team building event upstate Saturday and Sunday.
“I need to do curfew check in about thirty minutes. Want to come keep me company?”
“Curfew check?” she asks, brows pinching together.
“I go by the dorms and make sure the guys are in their rooms and ready for tomorrow. The bus leaves early.”
Lucas coughs into his hand, “Overbearing asshole.”
I flip him off, stand, and pull Dahlia to her feet.
“You personally check that every guy on the team is in by curfew?” she asks.
“Not every guy, but most of them.”
“I already talked to Archer and Brogan,” Teddy says. “They’re in and ready to go.”
