Catching Summer (Second Chances, #6)(16)

I strolled inside, and behind me I heard him chuckle, but I didn’t turn around. When we got to the bar, his body brushed up against mine and he leaned down toward my ear. “That woman out there may want me, but she’s not what I want. I prefer something a little sweeter.” His warm breath fanned over my skin and I broke into chills, shivering. As he walked back to his table, he glanced at me over his shoulder and smiled. Beaming in return, I sat down at the bar and sighed. Was falling for him such a good idea? No, but it didn’t look like I had a choice.





Chapter 8


Summer


GAME NIGHT

The stadium was packed, with the bulk of people wearing the black and blue jerseys of the Carolina Cougars. We were facing off against Seattle and our team was ready. Kate sat in one of the chairs on the sideline, her face flushed. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked, kneeling down at her side.

“It’s just a little hot out here. I always watch Cooper play and I don’t want to miss a pass by being a pansy.” Shaking my head, I got back to my feet.

“Are you going to the party tonight?” Jaxon asked, coming to my side, his jersey bearing the number FIFTEEN. Kate snorted, but I didn’t think he heard it.

“I am,” I replied. “Are you?”

“Yep, which is why I wanted to see if you’d like to go with me.”

“I can’t. I already told Evan I’d be his date.” His grin diminished, while Kate choked on a laugh behind us.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you there. If you get bored of Townsend, make sure you find me.” He winked and scurried on his way.

“Is he always like that?” I asked Kate.

“Pretty much. He screwed around with Lindsey behind Evan’s back. They don’t exactly get along these days.” So that was why there had been so much tension between them.

“I had no clue,” I remarked. “Evan didn’t tell me.”

“He was pretty pissed about it, but he moved on. I think the betrayal of his teammate hurt him worse than her actually cheating. Lindsey is definitely in his past.”

“You sure about that? She looked like she wanted to kick my ass yesterday when I showed up to practice with him.”

Kate scoffed. “Please, that girl isn’t going to get anywhere near Evan. She used to look at me like that when I was dating Cooper. She can get the f*ck over it. At least I knew he didn’t have feelings for her.”

The score was sixteen to twenty-seven, our lead, in the fourth quarter, with only thirty seconds left to go. Our guys were tired, but so was everyone else. We had one more play left, and shortly after Cooper was snapped the ball, he let it fly straight down the field to Evan. One of Seattle’s players barreled toward him but the ball was still in the air.

“Come on,” I mumbled to myself. “Catch it.” Evan’s arms lifted in the air and the ball sailed straight into his chest, his hands holding it tight. Screaming for joy, I jumped up and down. “Run.” Swerving left and right, he ran the ball twenty yards down the field and dove headfirst into the end zone. Touchdown. The crowd went wild and so did our players, rushing down the field to Evan. We won the game.

Out of the chaos, I was surprised to see him trying to catch my attention with a wave of his hand. He wanted me to join him on the field. There were so many people, I knew I’d get trampled. So instead, I waved and smiled, keeping my spot beside Kate. “He likes you,” Kate murmured softly. “I can see it in his eyes.”

“What is it with you all? Are you trying to play matchmaker?”

Kate giggled. “No, but it’s just so obvious. Have you not ever noticed him watching you from time to time? I think he’s been interested in you for a long while now.”

The players started running toward the sidelines, including Evan and Cooper. “Kate, I haven’t noticed much of anything until here recently. For the longest time, I felt invisible. Or, better yet, I wanted to be invisible.”

Kate squeezed my shoulder. “I know how you feel. But now people can see you. You just need to decide if you want to be seen.”

“Did you see that pass?” Cooper shouted excitedly.

Moving out of the way, I bumped into Evan as Cooper wrapped his sweaty arms around Kate. She scrunched her nose and froze in his arms. “I did, but now I have Cooper stink all over me.”

“That’s not what you thought last night when—”

“All right,” Evan groaned. “I don’t need to hear about that shit.”

Laughing, I elbowed him in the side. “Neither do I. But I think you do need to take a shower.”

“What? You mean you don’t want to be seen with me like this?” he asked, opening his arms wide. “No worries. You’ll just have to take one, too.”

In one quick movement, he slung one sweaty arm over my shoulders and the other under my legs, lifting me in his arms. He swung me around, laughing the entire time, while I held on for dear life, giggling. Cameras flashed and people cheered. I could only imagine what rumors would be spread after that display. By the time he set me down, I was dizzy and had to hold on to him.

“You better hope I don’t puke on you.”

He guffawed and leaned over, his breath hot against my ear. “You might want to suck it up because you’re about to be on the news.” By the time the world stopped spinning, we were surrounded by reporters and cameras, all wanting a word from the Cougars’ favorite players and their coach. Joel stood by Cooper’s side with a triumphant smile on his face as he spoke into the camera. I, on the other hand, felt like a complete idiot with my mouth hanging down to the ground. The last time I’d been in front of the camera was when I was chased down after Austin was murdered. Everyone wanted to get an inside scoop on what had happened, but I wasn’t ready. Every time I talked about it, the memories came flooding back. What if these reporters find out who I am? Will I have to rehash it all? I didn’t want to relive that horror again, to go into detail about how Austin was beaten to death in an illegal underground MMA ring. Not to mention, there were people who’d paid money to watch him be killed. The whole thing was f*cked up. It took months for me to speak even to my sister about it. In order to avoid the press, I’d changed back to my maiden name and left Georgia. I didn’t want to be found.