Page 21 of Steeling Her
“I’m not really understanding, Carter. I have no idea about football . . .” She’s still not making the link.
“Look, if people know I’m a Steel, they’ll use me to get to my dad, especially thefootball players. . .” I put emphasis on the words football players for her to try and link it herself. I see the realization set in, in her eyes and she purses her lips to the side.
“You mean TJ and Nick.”
I nod and look down at my feet. I feel my arms drop down to my side like the energy had left them. I feel emotionally drained after today. “I won’t say anything, I promise. But I think somebody else will find out one way or another. I mean, there’s an email with your name in it that was sent to all three of us. If Haley sees it, she’ll make the same connection, and she knows about football. But it’s your choice, Carter. I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.” Her hands rub my shoulders to comfort me after I’ve panicked. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think either of them will use you to get a career in the NFL.” She leans in to hug me and I hug her back.
“You don’t know that . . .” I whisper to her. My heart rate slows down with time.
“True, but I’ve got a feeling they won’t.” She squeezes me and then lets go of me. Walking over to the open door of the refrigerator, she pokes her head inside to see what we have available. “Let’s eat out tonight, I’m not in the mood to cook. I can bet neither is Haley. Let’s go out and we can get ice cream afterwards?” I nod my head, thinking she read my mind. This girl is going to be one of my closest friends. I can feel it.
“Cool! I’ll text Haley, it’ll probably make her day! She was not in a good mood this morning . . . I’ll make sure she knows it’s just us girls going so she doesn’t ask Nick or TJ . . . unless you want them to come with us?” She smirks as she leans back on the counter. Why is she looking at me like that?
“What? Why are you smiling like that?” She just shrugs her shoulders. “Danielle, what? What do you know?” I step over to her side.
“Oh nothing . . . but I think one of them may have a little thing for you,” she trails off typing the message into our group chat. My heart jumps into my mouth at her words as she swivels around to take in my reaction.
“What? N-No . . . TJ likes Haley, n-not me!” I assure her.
“Oh, I know he does. I wasn’t talking about TJ.” She smirks over at me again and I roll my eyes at her.
“Nick? Are you nuts! Nick doesn’t like me! He has a girlfriend!” I laugh at her. I shake my head, closing the door and avoiding eye contact with her.
“I think he does. Plus, that girl is definitely not his girlfriend. He’s known for never having a girlfriend. He’s a ladies man, a complete player . . . but I think he has a little thing for you!” She pokes my cheek playfully making a smile grown on my face and I grab on to her finger. She gasps at me and says, “And by the looks of things, you have a little thing for him too! OMG, you like him! Well, I mean, every girl except for Haley likes him! He’s so hot! Good lord is that boy hot!” She throws her head back, appreciating Nick and his hotness. I couldn’t agree more. God, he’s so hot.
“I do not like him! That’s Haley’s brother, Danielle! Plus, he’s way out of my league! Have you seen the girls on this campus?” I squeak out at her slightly laughing.
“Denial isn’t just a river in India, Carter! Have you seen yourself? Hello! You’re gorgeous! I’m pretty sure Nick noticed . . . and apparently, Ryan too.” She taps her finger on my head, telling me to wake up and smell the roses. But I just lean back and laugh at her while looking up at the ceiling.
“It’s in Egypt, actually.” I laugh.
“Whatever. If you don’t believe me, then that’s on you! But I’ve got a feeling he does . . .” She winks before walking to the sofa.
“That’s only an opinion and not a fact, Danielle. I think he just feels sorry for me, which is even worse . . . Like, I’m so awkward . . .” I moan to the back of her retreating head. I join her and we start to watch ESPN. I tell her the basics about football while we watch a game. I tell her who were my two brothers and I point to her where my dad was on the screen. She just stares in awe the entire time. I know it’s her just checking out the guys on the screen, but it was fun to watch it with her. She started to grasp the rules of the game quickly, to my surprise. I mean, the girl did think The Nile river was in India.
Haley arrived back at five and we all decided to go out and eat, just us girls. We had such a great time eating and laughing together. There were a crowd of guys that kept us entertained. We got one of their numbers when they asked us to come to a party some night, courtesy of Danielle and Haley. I had no input in that, I just sat there staring at them. I couldn’t form any words.
Currently, we were sitting on Haley’s bed and talking about them. Haley wasn’t interested and Danielle and I know why. She really likes TJ; you can see it in her face, but we want her to tell us. I didn’t realize I fell asleep with Haley and Danielle in her bed until I felt someone cuddle up to me.
All three of us were huddled up together when I opened my eyes to look around the dark room with the moonlight shining through the window. I smile at the two sleeping girls and lay back down to fall asleep again.
Chapter Six
’Night, Kids! Stay Safe, and Wear Protection
Nick
I can hear the guys grunt as they make impact with the padding held by the coaching staff. Coach starts to yell at us to be more energetic. I look at the people making their way to their seats in the stands. I can’t see my sister yet. She’ll be here, she always does for my games. My parents are usually here, but my dad is away on a business trip and my mom didn’t want to come without him.
I pull on my jersey and bite on to the collar. I see TJ running the lines as fast as he can. It gets him pumped for the game. If he doesn’t do his running, he won’t play well. Once he’s finished, he’ll make his way over to me. Then we’ll have a team talk in the locker room and make our way back out onto the field.
I’m throwing the ball to a staff member, warming up my arm. But I keep looking into the stands to see if I can find my sister, and also another girl. In the back of my mind, I have a feeling she won’t come tonight but I still want to know for sure. She’s never seen me play and I want her to. Haley said she might come to the party tonight. Here’s hoping.
TJ has done nothing but tease me the entire week about her. I felt bad for what I said to her. I want to apologize to her, but she couldn’t have ran away from me quick enough. Even when she was walking back to her dorm, she briefly looked back at TJ and me and then kept walking with her head down. That’s when I knew we affected her a little more than we originally thought. Then I saw her talking to Ryan and I immediately stared at them both. I know what he was trying to do but he told TJ she said no to a date.
I relaxed instantly when he told me that. He even knew because he was smirking so hard at me. So I started to wrestle with him about it, denying anything what he said about her.
“Jackson! Focus!” Bulldog shouts over the field at me, catching my attention. Bulldog is on our coaching staff, and he’s called “Bulldog” for a reason. He may be a short, stumpy man but you wouldn’t want to cross him because he will own you in two seconds flat. You do as your told with him, no questions asked. One of the best in college football too.
