Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(44)
Now more than ever I thought so, too. If Luke wasn’t the one who put the note on my car, then who did?
“I’ll tell her later tonight after we go on our date,” I told him. “I don’t want to ruin the evening by telling her before then. Now all we need to do is figure out who put it on my car. Is there anyone else who has a thing for your sister?”
Evan shrugged. “I’m not sure. She’s only ever around the team, so if it’s someone who likes her it could be one of the others. Tonight after your date ask her if any of the guys have been coming on to her. It might give us an idea on who it could be.”
“And if it happens to be someone on the team?” I asked.
“Then we kick his ass,” he replied, cracking his knuckles, “just like we’re going to do to the Seahawks this afternoon. Don’t worry, though, we’ll figure it all out. Right now we need to get our heads in the game.”
Easier said than done when I wanted answers.
The time had come for the game, and now a new worry had fallen in my lap. I hadn’t thought more on the note until now, and as I watched each and every single player walk out of the locker room, I couldn’t imagine that one of them would stab me in the back. If there was one thing I knew for certain, I had to keep my eyes open.
We were up by six points in the fourth quarter with only one minute left to spare. It was anyone’s game so we couldn’t celebrate yet. The call was for me to reverse the play to our running back and have him pass it off to Evan. The only problem I had with that play was that there was too much room for error. My uncle was going to kick my ass, but I had to go with my instinct.
Our full back, Ashton Blake, was one of the fastest runners we had, and that was what I needed at the moment. If we went with our current running back and counted on him to pass the ball to Evan we’d be screwed. I would rather just pass the ball to Evan myself and be done with it, but the Seahawks knew that Evan was my prime choice. I had to switch it up.
“It’s coming to you, Ash,” I whispered low as I passed him to get into position.
He nodded once and I knew I only had one chance to make this play. Once into position, I glanced at our line quickly and yelled, “Blue 24, Blue 24, Hut, Hut, Hike!”
The second the ball snapped to me, I waited for Ashton to get in the clear, blocking out the yells Joel spat my way. Once I threw it, I didn’t get to see Ashton catch it because the moment the ball left my fingers my body slammed into the ground by a giant Seahawk tackling me to the ground. The breath was knocked out of my lungs and they burned as I gasped for air.
What the f*ck? That hurt.
Screams and cheers erupted through the stands, and when I turned my head to look at the score I hollered as well. As soon as the other player got off of me, I jumped to my feet and ran down the field toward Ashton. All of the players surrounded him, including my uncle who was ecstatic and cheering along. Kate, however, ran toward me.
“Cooper, are you okay? How’s your shoulder?” she asked worriedly.
Lifting her in my arms, I held her tight and kissed her. “It’s doing great. Don’t worry about me, love.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know about that just yet. Joel wasn’t too happy with the play change.” We both turned to look at Joel who had the biggest grin on his face. “Well, maybe he’s happy now, but just a few minutes ago he was pissed.”
Taking her hand, I pulled her along beside me and off the field. “Well, how about we get out of here before he has a chance to yell at me. That could take all night, and I promised to take you out on our first date. I can’t have him ruining that.”
Kate looked back at the screaming mass on the field and picked up her pace. “I agree … let’s go!”
While I changed for our date, Cooper stayed downstairs and watched television. After about twenty minutes of rummaging through my clothes, I settled on a thin, white long-sleeved lacy top that was still summer looking but perfect for September. The bruises on my wrists were close to being gone, but I wanted to keep them covered for a little bit longer. Tonight once we got back I just had to make sure the room was a little dark before we had our fun in the bedroom.
If Cooper saw them I knew it would tear him apart to know that he hurt me even though it didn’t actually hurt me. Hastily, I picked out the skirt I wanted to wear and danced around my room in my bra and underwear, singing my favorite Bruno Mars song. Thankfully, Cooper was downstairs with the television on so I knew he couldn’t hear me.
However, when I turned around, my eyes went wide and I gasped. Cooper stood there, leaning against the door frame with a smile on his face. Quickly, I clasped my hands behind my back hoping to hide my wrists, but I wasn’t quick enough; he saw them. His smile immediately vanished while his gaze stayed frozen on my arms, but my wrists were behind my back.
“Cooper,” I whispered. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Gritting his teeth, he slowly walked toward me; cautiously, like he expected me to cower away from him. Gently, he took my face in his hands and tilted my head to each side, clenching his teeth harder with each mark he found on my body. There were a couple of places where he sucked too hard, and needless to say, it resulted in hickeys. I didn’t like them being visible, but I used makeup and my hair to hide them; that was an easy fix.