Page 33 of The New York Nighthawks: Vol 1

Starting out at a leisurely pace, I warmed up a bit before speeding up, then practiced my footwork as the rope whipped around me.

“Hey, Jordan.”

I nearly tripped when Prentice greeted one of our offensive lineman, Jordan Stallard. He also happened to be the guy Naomi wanted to set up with my gi—Ember. Which made him an asshole in my book.

Somehow, I kept my composure and continued to skip rope.

“Prentice, how’s it going?” he responded to my brother-in-law as they shook hands.

“Can’t complain. You need a spotter?”

“No, I actually wanted to talk to you about your wife.”

My pace slowed slightly and my head turned a couple of degrees so I could fully see their expressions.

Prentice raised an eyebrow and folded his huge arms over his equally huge chest, his stare hard and focused. Jordan swallowed hard but didn’t otherwise let on how intimidated he was.

Impressive. But still an asshole.

“What about my wife?”

“I wasn’t sure if you knew, and I wanted to make sure you did, and that it wasn’t anything you should be worried about. I figured it was better to make sure you heard it from me rather than the grapevine, and I didn’t want you to be upset with your wife-–”

Rambling. Less impressive. Still an asshole.

Prentice’s lips twitched, and I realized he was messing with our teammate.

My pace dropped back to a leisurely pace…to rest, not so I could hear their conversation better.

“Spit it out, Jordan,” the quarterback growled.

Jordan didn’t buckle, and I had to give him a little credit for that.

Yeah, but he’s still an asshole.

“Your wife called me.”

Prentice was silent for so long, I was worried he might have actually cracked Jordan, but then he grinned and clapped the O lineman on the back. “Yeah, I know. I’m just fucking with you.”

Jordan rolled his eyes and punched Prentice in the shoulder. “You’re an asshole.”

Takes one to know one.

“If it had been anyone but your wife,” he muttered with a shake of his head.

Prentice laughed. “She called you about Ember, huh?”

“She wants to set us up,” he confirmed with a nod. “Since she’s friends with your wife, I’m assuming it’s safe to say that this won’t be something I deeply regret for the rest of my life?”

I stopped jumping altogether and busied myself by wiping down and taking a long drink from my water bottle.

“Ember is awesome,” Prentice told him. “You’ll love her.”

Not if I have any-fucking-thing to say about it.

The voice in my head was immediately confronted by another, asking what the fuck I intended to do about it, and if the answer was nothing, then to shut the fuck up.

“Have you ever been to Daniel?”

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