Page 9 of The Game

“Hi.” I stumble when Gunner’s gaze catches mine. His fucking blue eyes drive me nuts. No one should have eyes that look like they’re seeing into your soul and reading your mind. I shudder.

At least he shouldn’t be able to read my mind, because it’s filled with dirty thoughts of him.

“Hey, Dani,” all of them say in unison.

Tony grins and puts his arm around my shoulders. “How’s my favorite trainer?”

“I’m good.” I punch him in the ribs, and he doubles over in mock pain.

Everyone laughs, except Gunner, he steps back from us and pulls out his cellphone.

Like I could hurt a pro player with my muscles. These guys are used to men weighing two hundred fifty-pound men running at them like Mack Trucks.

“Can I ask you guys to look this over?” I hold out a sheet of paper. “I was talking with my boss earlier this week about making some adjustments to the lifting schedule, and he gave me the green light. But I want someone else to analyze it before I hand it over to him.”

“Sure.” Tony grabs it and scans through the document. His brows crease. “What are we looking at here? Increasing concentration curls and Lat pull-downs?”

“Yes.” My heart skips a beat. Tony doesn’t mince words. I’m not sure I’m prepared for his brutal honesty.

He presses his lips together. “It makes sense to me.” Glancing over at Gunner, he shoves the paper between his face and the phone. “Gunner, what do you think?”

“What?” Gunner frowns.

Shit. So glad we could interrupt whatever awesome shit you’ve got going on. I roll my eyes and then quickly glance around to see if the guys noticed. Jeremiah and Devin have moved on and are talking about the game on Sunday.

“Dani has put together a new training schedule. Why don’t you get your head out of your ass and review it?”

“Sure.” He flushes and takes the page from Tony.

My stupid hands shake as he scans the document. Why do I give a shit? For the last two weeks, he’s been polite to me, but more times than not, he’s avoided me.

Tony places a hand on my shoulder. “I think it is great. You’re doing a fantastic job, Dani.”

“Thanks.” I smile briefly at him and then gnaw on my bottom lip. What’s taking him so long? It’s not that huge of a list. Warmups. Some crunches. A few extra pull-ups. A couple circuits on the squat machine. Ice downs. Hello?

Gunner tilts his head to the side.

“I’ll talk to you later.” Tony grabs his bag. “Later, Gunner.”

“Yeah…” Gunner doesn’t glance up as Tony leaves the gym.

It can’t be that bad, can it? My mouth is so dry, I can’t swallow, and my face heats. Fuck. “Here.” I jerk my hand out. “I’ll shred it.”

“Stop.” He glares at me. “It’s fine.”

I cross my arms and glare back. “Then, what took you so damn long to look at it?”

“Shit.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with this,” He sighs and hands me back the page.

When his fingers brush mine, my heart slams against my ribs. He inhales and jerks his arm back. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” God, what does he find so repulsive about me? I fucking shower. Brush my teeth. Yeah, I get it. My tits aren’t huge, and I keep what I do have strapped down at the gym, but shit, I’m not ugly.

“My sister is having problems with her ex.” His jaw twitches, and he shoves his cellphone back into his pocket.

“I’m so sorry.” Oh, my God, could I be any more self-centered? “I know there’s probably nothing for me to do, but if you need anything, let me know.”

“Thanks.” He smiles. “I’ll take care of it. He’s more of a nuisance now than anything else.”

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