Quarterback Sneak (Red Zone Rivals #3)(67)

Kevin cleared his throat with a perched brow. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t worry, honey. They’re mostly females,” Nathan assured his husband. “Mostly,” he added, taking a sip of his wine and quickly steering the focus back to me. “Anyway, so you found pole.”

“I did,” I said on a smile. “And suddenly, I was really interested in my major. I loved learning about the way the body works, how it connects to different sports. There are certain injuries that flare up for every athlete, depending on what position or sport they play, and pole is no different. If we don’t work both sides, we can really mess up our spine, our neck, or develop muscles in a really unbalanced way. And so many of the tricks require an understanding of anatomy, of flexibility and mobility. So, what started as something I did for my dad turned into something I do for me.”

Holden grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you do.”

He smiled. “I love learning new things about you.”

My cheeks flushed, and his uncles shared a knowing glance before turning the conversation to one in-between just the two of them so Holden and I could have a moment.

The sun set as Nathan and Kevin opened their second bottle of wine — though Holden and I opted for water — and when Joanne was tucked in for the night, we moved to the sitting room and gathered around the fireplace, talking and laughing until my voice was hoarse.

It was different, seeing Holden around his family. He didn’t take on the stern leadership role that I was so used to seeing him in with the team. Here, he was relaxed, comfortable. He laughed — a lot. He played with his niece and threw jabs at his uncle. Every ounce of stress had melted away the moment we walked through the door. Even his posture showed he was at ease.

It was a nice change, seeing as how the last couple of weeks had been hard on him. He’d led the team to a win the weekend before Thanksgiving, which had secured them a bowl game. And now that they’d won another, all their focus was on waiting to hear the bowl announcements on Sunday, to see if they’d made the playoffs.

If the sports analysts were right, they were a shoo-in.

I knew that was all Holden wanted — the playoff bowl game, the championship win, and then, ultimately, to be drafted. But just because he was close to getting what he wanted didn’t mean the pressure was off. If anything, it had doubled, and I’d felt his tension mounting.

Of course, helping him relieve said tension had become my favorite pastime.

In a lot of ways, not much had changed since that night at the Pit. We still snuck away every second we could get to be together, and we still kept it a secret. Well, almost a secret, anyway. Riley, Giana, and Mary knew — though they still thought we were just hooking up. And apparently, Zeke had his suspicions confirmed that night of the party. Holden’s uncles were now also in that circle of trust, but that was exactly what it was — a tight, small ring of people we knew wouldn’t put either of us in jeopardy.

It was my father we still needed to be wary of.

“You two should call it,” Nathan said when I covered a yawn. “You’ve still got a bit of a drive back to campus, and traffic is always a nightmare heading into the city no matter what time it is.”

Holden nodded, standing and helping Nathan clear glasses. “Yeah, Coach has us practicing early tomorrow. He wants us all to get some rest tomorrow night before the big announcement Sunday.”

“We already booked our flights and hotel,” Kevin said.

Holden paused. “We don’t even know if we made it yet.”

“Oh, we know just fine,” Nathan answered for him, then he and Holden disappeared into the kitchen as Kevin turned toward me.

“How’s your dad hanging on with all the bowl madness up in the air?”

I sighed, rubbing my palms down the length of my jeans. “He’s always a little crazy during the season, but I can tell he’s even more wound up than usual. He gets more controlling in these situations, kind of like a helicopter parent, but with the players instead of me.”

Kevin smiled.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen much of him outside of when our paths cross at the stadium.”

“What about Thanksgiving?”

I cleared my throat. Not even Holden knew that I’d spent that holiday alone. I told him I was with Mary and her family, but it had just been me, a bowl packed with marijuana, and a Christmas movie marathon.

“Uh, he flew down to see my mom.”

“Oh,” Kevin said. “I didn’t realize she wasn’t here with you.”

“She loves our home in Alabama too much to ever leave. She’s got all her church friends there, and her yoga groupies.” I smiled, but it fell a bit too quickly.

“You miss her?”

I shrugged. “I missed her long before I didn’t live under the same roof as her anymore.”

Kevin frowned, and when I saw his expression, I realized I’d said too much without giving context.

“We don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

“Ah,” he said, and then he leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “I know that feeling well.”

I nodded, staring at where my hands were folded in my lap.

“We don’t get to choose our parents, and sometimes, I think we forget they’re humans,” Kevin said. He looked a lot like Holden in that moment — same dimples, same sharp jaw line and bright green eyes. It made me wonder if he and Holden’s dad had been close to twins when they were younger. “But they have complex emotions just like we do, and sometimes, when they’re working through them, we’re collateral damage.”