Page 8 of The Game

“Shut it.” He waves his hand in my direction like he’s brushing me off and turns to Dani. “His panties are in a bunch because he takes a celibacy pact every football season.”

“What?” Her head jerks back, and she stares like I’m an alien creature with three heads.

“God, you’re a prick.” I groan and stare at the white light fixture on the ceiling. Anything is better than witnessing the shock in Dani’s eyes. She leans forward, and I sense her gaze raking over me.

“You take a celibacy pledge?”

“No. Not exactly. It’s not exactly a pledge. I’m focused on the team,” I bite out between gritted teeth. My brain feels like it’s pounding against my skull. Bang. Bang. Thump. It’s like it beats on one side and then reverberates until it slams against the opposite temple.

Tony leans forward and places his elbows on his knees. “And guess what.”

“What?” Her eyes are enormous against her face.

“When we lost last year, he kept the pledge all throughout the off-season.”

She cocks her head to the side, and her mouth drops open. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“No, I’m not.”

For fuck’s sake, he’s an asshole. The muscles in my neck and back are screaming from tension.

“But…” Her mouth moves as if she’s counting in her head. “That’s…” She raises her hands and flicks her fingers.

“That’s more fingers than you’ve got.” I glare at my ex-right-hand man. I’m going to junk punch him in the locker room.

“Obviously, he’s wound tight.” Tony’s mouth twitches and then curves into a wicked grin. “He needs someone to put him out of his misery.”

She worries her bottom lip and glances between the two of us.

“Enough. Dani doesn’t want to hear this shit.” I’ve got to get out of here before I snap.

Dani jumps and turns away from me. “I need to go.”

Tony grabs her hand. “Don’

t rush off on his account. He’s being a jackass.” He glares at me like I’m the biggest asshole on the planet.

My hands ball into fists. I want to pry his damn fingers off her and break each one of them. One by one.

“Let’s ignore him and get back to the tantra chair.” He smiles at her reassuringly, like he needs to soothe her after how I’ve been acting. He’s the one being a dick.

“Sure.” She tilts her head and twists away from me.

My teeth grind together, and I snatch up my gear. Shit. What’s wrong with me? She has a girlfriend.

I stomp across the rubber-coated floor. It’s lax under the soles of my tennis shoes. As I grasp the door, I turn and watch them.

Dani’s face is bright red, and she’s clutching her chest. Tony laughs and shoves his elbow into her upper arm. When they break out into a fit of giggles, I fight the urge to flip them the bird. Kiss my ass.

Chapter Five

Dani

I brace my shoulders and walk up to the group of men – Gunner, Tony, Jerimiah Edwards, and Devin Grant. From what I’ve gathered over the last couple of weeks, they’re the tightest bunch on the team. They work out together, talk tape together, and give each other crap.

While I’m not a part of their crowd, each one of them has tried to make me feel welcome.

“Hey, Dani,” Jeremiah says when he sees me approach.

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