AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Keeping one eye on the pair, he mutters at me, “What now?”
I scratch the back of my neck. “Think of easing as edging, only we let her come as much as we can.”
“So, basically, edging for us.” Ronan hisses the words like he’s angry, but starts unbuttoning his shirt. His free hand pulls out his phone. “I’ll text Declan. Tell him not to come back here until I give him the all-clear. The last thing we need is his hostile ass walking into the middle of this. You get in there. We can’t leave them alone.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
chapter
twenty-six
“Howard!”
My name rings over the locker room bustle. The kink between my right arm and my shoulder blade twinges.
Coach Henshaw doesn’t wait for me to reply before he tacks on, “My office!”
Our rookie kicker, DeLuca, sighs next to me. I don’t blame him. He missed a field goal during his first game in the League. Though, to be fair, this was a hell of a first game.
The other team was favored to win by a slight margin. No surprise, given my shitty stats last year. Unfortunately, a lot of us used that chip on our shoulder as an excuse not to take them as a serious threat. And the fact that Theo essentially saved our asses is looming over all our heads.
Practice is going to suck tomorrow.
I clap the rookie on the back while I hoist my duffle bag up onto my good shoulder. “You’ll hit them all next week,” I tell him. “The first time is always the hardest.”
Theo would make a virginity joke right about now, but the spot on my other side is noticeably empty. My three packmates bailed as quickly as humanly possible after the final play, leaving me to—once again—do all of the schmoozing and take all the hits from the press.
I can already hear the comments they’ll make on ESPN all week. The turnovers I almost caused. My sloppy footwork on a few drives. How I released the ball too quickly.
They’ll all lay odds on whether I’ll ever get back to the level I used to play at. The quarterback I was before?—
“Howard! Now.”
Ronan would lose his shit if he knew how often this bastard barks at me. Sometimes, I consider telling him, but what good would that do? I’m already the reason we’re this clusterfuck. I shouldn’t complain when there are consequences.
While I stomp out of the locker room, my phone dings. Reception in our stadium is usually fine, but the showers are at the lowest level, underground. Most of the time, it takes walking into the hallway for my phone to come to life.
There are a few messages from other NFL players and friends—the ones I know well are polite and encouraging… the ones I know really well are already talking shit. Most days, their comments would roll right off. Hell, I might even get a kick out of some.
But right now my pack is off courting their mate without me.
My coach is pissed.
And my shoulder hurts.
While I trudge up the corridor, I start to think I might be going about this all wrong. Maybe I should be home with my family. Trying my best. Wrestling my issues down to give this girl at least half a chance.
My phone vibrates again. A message from Ronan.
Telling me not to come home.
And now I think maybe I’m too late. They’ve all made their choice—they’ve chosen each other. And I’m about to lose a lot more than a stupid fucking game.
chapter
twenty-seven
The alpha has too many clothes on.
