Rookie Move (Playing for Keeps #1)(48)

“You ain’t kicking anyone’s ass with that bum leg,” I teased, grinning when he flipped me off, but then I sobered because obviously, I’d given some thought to our situation. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

“Just…you know. Watch yourself. Both of you. I don’t want either of you getting caught up in something that’s gonna eventually crash and burn. God, I can’t believe I’m even saying that to you.”

“Not necessary. We know what we’re doing.” Kinda counter to my previous statement, and definitely counter to my thoughts, but I said it confidently as I headed toward the shower.

Because what I did know was that I’d liked waking up next to Ramsey maybe a little too much.





At Rocky Mountain Children’s Hospital, we were corralled into a conference room and briefed by HR. A couple of the Rush’s PR guys were in attendance too, along with a small film crew.

I bumped Ramsey’s elbow. “Nothing says charity like a film crew there to capture every second, huh?”

Ramsey bumped mine back. “Don’t be a cynic. They take pics for the kids and give them the tapes. The kids love it. It’s one of my favorite things the team does, even though it breaks my damn heart.”

I could read it in his expression, an added brightness in his eyes, the set of his mouth. After the episode with his dad last night, it was good to see, softened something inside me that’d been tense.

After the briefing, we split into small groups, signing footballs and jerseys and taking pics with the kids. Their faces lit up, their laughter filled the rooms. Ramsey was right. It felt amazing to make them smile.

He glanced over at me in the hallway as we moved to the next room. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” I rubbed a hand over my chest. “Sick kids are…” I shook my head. I lived a privileged life, that was for damn sure. My biggest complaint walking in here had been that my ass was sore. “Fuck, that’s hard, thinking about them suffering.”

“What, you mean there’s a heart behind those giant pecs?” he teased, but his smile was sympathetic, and he reached out a hand, giving the back of my neck a quick squeeze before we ducked through a doorway. “That’s why it’s good to come here. Puts things in perspective, you know?”

A cute guy in scrubs was fiddling with the IV lines hooked to a kid who couldn’t have been more than ten. He wore a Rush hat, the brim way too big. I made a mental note to check the gear we had on hand for a smaller one.

The guy in scrubs looked up with a smile as we entered and poked the kid. “Look who’s here to see you. Guys, this is Jared.”

“Holy…” Jared’s eyes got huge, his grin even wider. “Freaking Warner Ramsey, Brandon Cross, and Garrett McRae.”

Ramsey stepped forward and plopped on the edge of the bed. I was too nervous I would fuck up something, so I just stood next to it. Cross seemed to share the same fear, but Ramsey seemed perfectly at home as he brandished a football and held it out to Jared. “We all signed this for you. Come spring, you’ll be out tossing it. I hear you’ve got a younger brother probably itching to do that with you, yeah?”

“Jude.” Jared wrinkled his nose a little even as he accepted the ball. “He’s only five. Not so great at the whole catching thing.”

Ramsey thumbed toward me. “McRae here has an older brother who used to play, and he turned out pretty good, wouldn’t you say?”

Jared looked me up and down assessingly. “Yeah, you’re pretty good, except that last game. Man, what even happened?”

Cross choked back a laugh, and I could tell Ramsey was trying to do the same. The guy in scrubs didn’t even try.

“Damn, harsh critic.” I scrubbed my hands over my face with a grin. I couldn’t even be mad about it now. “I’ll try to do better next time. Promise.”

“You will.” Jared nodded with all the certainty of someone twice his age. I felt like my mom was talking to me. “My dad says you’re just getting your legs under you.”

“Something like that.” I elbowed Cross, who was still snickering.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” The guy in scrubs approached while the camera crew snapped some pictures of Cross and Jared.

I looked him up and down. There was something familiar about the dark hair and eyes, but I couldn’t come up with a name. I gave him an apologetic smile and glanced at his badge: David. I hadn’t even paid attention to it before. “I’m sorry, I don’t. Don’t hold it against me.”

He laughed lightly. “It’s okay. It was a…umm…” He shot a glance toward Jared, then lowered his voice. “A short encounter, and I looked a little different. We…” He gestured vaguely, but enough for me to get the gist. Still no recollection of him, though. “While you were home on break one time. You were a junior, I think.”

My eyes went wide as the memory caught up with me. “Holy shit!” I said, way too loudly, and apologized quickly when everyone looked over at me. We’d traded blowjobs at someone’s holiday party. I couldn’t remember whose, but I remembered the action had been good. “You look completely different. Your hair used to be—”

“Platinum and spiky. That was back in my burgeoning emo-twink days. I was going through a phase.”