Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(24)

“I’m about to get you.”

I closed the distance and wrapped my arms around her waist, tackling her to the ground. My body hit first, taking the brunt of the hit. We lay on the ground, out of breath from laughing. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that,” she panted.

“What? It was fun. You should’ve seen your face.”

I let her go and she slapped me on the arm. “It’s not funny, mean ass. I’ve never had a guy who’s around six foot three and outweighs me by at least seventy pounds come charging after me.”

“Were you scared?” I teased.

“A little. I’d hate to know what it feels like to be tackled by someone as big as you.” As soon as she said it, her face turned bright red; I couldn’t help but smile. Most girls wanted to be tackled by me. Usually I would make an inappropriate comment, but something held me back. I didn’t know Hayden well enough to f*ck with her like that.

I leaned on my elbow to face her, but it was Bear’s turn to tackle me. He licked my face but couldn’t get close enough because of the walker. I helped him out and laid him on the ground between us. We petted him and gazed at each other.

“You’re a linebacker, right?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yep. I help protect my teammates. It’s the position I played ever since I was in peewee football.”

“What will you do when you can’t play anymore?”

“I don’t know, sit on my ass and do nothing,” I joked.

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You must have studied something in college.”

“I did.”

She waited on me to elaborate, which I didn’t. “Well, what was it? I’m curious.”

“What do you think it was?” I asked. Most people would look at me and think I was a dumb jock, especially if I told them I was from the backwoods of Tennessee. Hayden sat up and looked down at me, pursing her lips in concentration. I stared at them and wondered what they would taste like. Those were dangerous thoughts.

“Let’s see…I don’t think you’re the type to want to stay in an office. Suits and ties don’t seem like your thing.” She was right there. “But I see you wanting to be adventurous. You protect your team, and I can tell that being protective is part of your passion. You’re strong, so your strength should definitely be utilized. With that being said, I’d say you majored in some kind of criminal justice?”

Chuckling, I sat up and faced her. “You got half of it right. I did major in criminal justice, but my main goal was getting a degree in wildlife management and forestry. I want to be a park ranger.”

Her eyes lit up. “I can totally see you doing that.”

“Hopefully I’ll have several more years of football before that. I don’t want it to end just yet.”

“I still need to watch you play.”

“How about next weekend? It’s our first home game. I can get you the best seats in the house.” She looked at me and bit her lip, her chest rising and falling with her breaths. When she didn’t answer, I knew something was wrong. “Hayden?”

Averting her gaze, she looked down at the grass and picked at it. “Is all of this just part of the bet we made, or do you really want me to be there with you? As much as I like you and enjoy your company, I don’t want to be another conquest. I’ll be more than happy to come to your game, but I don’t want to be someone you forget after the week is done. I’m already losing my best friend in a couple of weeks. I don’t want to get my heart broken.”

I grabbed her hand to keep her from making a gaping hole in my yard. Being just friends with her wasn’t what I really wanted, but it was clearly either that or nothing. “I’m not going to break your heart, because I’m not going to ask for it. I don’t want you trusting me with something that precious. As far as being friends, I meant it. After I win the bet, I plan on keeping in touch with you.”

She scoffed and tossed a handful of grass at me. “I should’ve known not to make a bet with you.”

I winked at her. “You’ll know next time.”

Sighing, she looked up at the sky and then back into my eyes. “I’ll come to your game. But if you don’t win, I won’t ever go to another one.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to win.”





Chapter 11





Hayden


“I can’t believe your boyfriend is a freaking superstar,” Amanda exclaimed.

“Shh…don’t talk so loud. He’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends,” I corrected her.

She shook her head, gawking at me incredulously. “Friends don’t talk to each other like you do. Plus, he’s getting away from practice to come eat lunch with you. Just a friend doesn’t do that.”

“Michael and I do. We eat lunch together all the time.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and Dr. Briggs have known each other since you were in diapers. Besides, he’s gay. He doesn’t count.”

“I’m glad to see my sexual orientation comes up in your conversations,” Michael said, waltzing into the room. The second I’d left Derek’s house on Sunday, I’d called Michael and told him everything. He didn’t believe that Derek and I could keep things on a friend level. I was determined to prove him wrong.