Page 87 of Too Safe

He speaks quietly into his headset, then a whistle blows on the field.

“Did you just—”

“Time-out!”

The players jog off the field, and Decker doesn’t look any worse for wear. Sweaty and breathless, yes, but his eyes are fine now, and he’s keeping up with the other players.

Maybe I overreacted?

Locke and Kendrick make their way over to us while one of the coaches pulls Decker aside.

Kylian hands Kendrick one of his devices, and Kendrick immediately starts scrolling.

Locke squirts water into his mouth, jutting his chin in acknowledgment toward Kylian. “Cap said you told coach to call it. What’s up?”

“Jo thought she saw something happen when Decker got sacked.”

“The fuck?” Kendrick’s head snaps up, his hard gaze darting first to Kylian, then over to glare at me. “We stopped the drive because Ohio thinks she knows the first fucking thing about football now that she’s been to three games?”

“When Decker got hit—”

I swallow my words mid-sentence and jump as Kendrick lunges forward and gets in my face.

“You don’t know shit,” he spits out. “First my family. Now football? You keep digging your manipulative claws into my world, and you and I are going to have a real fucking problem, Jojo.”

He snarls, sweat dripping down his face as he fists his helmet. And with a shove of the iPad in Kylian’s direction, he storms off.

I close my eyes in disbelief.

“Shit. Joey…”

“It’s fine,” I insist. When I open my eyes, both Locke and Kylian are staring at me wide-eyed, so I drop my chin, avoiding their scrutiny.

Maybe I should have showed Kendrick the pictures. I know what I saw, even if it isn’t as bad as I originally thought. But clearly, there’s no such thing as “better safe than sorry” when it comes to Kendrick’s attitude and this team.

“He’s intense during games. He’s just—”

Before Locke can continue, I hold up my hands. I won’t fall apart because of some hotheaded egomaniac. I’ve dealt with far worse than the likes of Kendrick Taylor.

“It’sfine. I’m not just saying that. I’m good. Focus on the game. But please keep an eye on Decker. He really didn’t look okay for a few seconds there.”

Locke nods, and the refs alert the team that play needs to resume.

Kylian and I sit back on the bench. I don’t pick up the camera again.

Chapter 36

Josephine

Thepartyisinfull force by the time we get back to the house.

The Crusaders won, securing their record of 3-0 for the season.

Kylian grasps the handle of the sliding glass door but pauses to look back at me before opening it.

I’m learning his quirks and picking up on his tells. He is so focused and on-point during football games. Then afterward, he crashes. Hard.

Right now, his jaw is set, and his eyes are a little glassy. He does an excellent job of keeping it together until we get home. To most, he probably just looks tired. But I see the way he reacts slower and really has to process each word spoken to him in this state. Almost as if he has to work to remember how to carry on a conversation before he can engage.

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