Page 23 of Touchdown
Define innocent.
Her dots blinked, paused, then blinked again.
Ivy
Men who ask for “just the tips” are fair game. The rest are innocent bystanders.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep in another laugh. Apparently, I failed.
“What the fuck?” Cole’s voice suddenly exclaimed. I glanced up to see him walking in the room, his eyes glued to my face. “I’m almost certain I just heard Saxon laugh.”
Raiden smirked from a bench, wrist-deep in his gym bag. “I’ve concluded that he got laid.”
“Bullshit.” Sylas didn’t miss a beat. “Raiden wouldn’t recognize the signs unless they came with a Yelp review.”
Ames grunted from behind his locker door. “Some of us are just here to lift heavy things, children.”
“Definitely about a woman, though,” Brady murmured.
Ames nodded while Cole studied me a little too closely, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. I figured Lorna had spilled the beans to her husband. I just hoped he read the warning in my expression. Ivy was not up for discussion with these idiots. I wasn’t ready to share her yet.
He inclined his head just the tiniest bit, and I released a relieved breath.
“Who is she?” Ames asked.
“Nope,” I muttered. “Not talking about that.”
Micah shut his own locker with his hip and eyed me like a man appreciating a rare astronomical event. “Well, whoever she is, keep her. You’re almost human these days.”
“Fuck off,” I grunted, my typical scowl back in place. “And stay out of my business.”
Raiden shot a glare at Micah, but it was clearly in fun. “Thanks a lot, Micah. You broke him again. Back to the beast.”
Brady zipped his backpack and slung it over one shoulder, looking at me curiously. “You coming to study film tomorrow?”
“I have PR shit to do.” I pulled on a hoodie, the fabric cool against my warm skin. “And a life.”
Cole raised his eyebrows in mock offense. “So this woman you’re obsessed with. Isn’t she?—”
My dark, warning glare cut him off mid-sentence, but he grinned, clearly not intimidated.
A couple of the guys made a few more cracks, obviously fishing for information.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag. “You’re worse than a pack of gossiping grandmas,” I told them, my tone even, not unamused.
“We’ll get you put back together again one of these days,” Raiden quipped confidently.
I waved a lazy middle finger over my shoulder, cut through the steam and noise, and pushed out into the corridor. My phone was already in my hand before the door shut behind me.
Me
I’m heading out. You need anything before I swing by?
The reply came quickly enough that I knew she’d been holding the phone.
Ivy
Just your good behavior.
