Page 38 of Cross Check

“Three thousand,” Ethan says casually, and I nearly choke.

“Holy shit,” I say. “Are you serious?”

“Yup.”

“But, like, what do you do?” Riley shoves his glasses up his nose. “You said it’s intimate. Do you strip?”

“Nah. My clothes stay on. It’s all about the teasing,” Ethan tells us. “I wear a motorcycle helmet too. They have no clue who I am.”

“I’m going to puke.” I gag and hit my best friend in the face with a pillow. “If you ever film yourself in my apartment, I will never speak to you again.”

“How do you know I haven’t already?” He laughs when I lob another pillow at him in disgust. The whole place might be contaminated. “Don’t damage my pretty face!”

“On that note, I’m leaving.” Hudson stands. “I need to get home to the dogs.”

“I’ll go with you.” Connor yawns. “I’m meeting with my agent tomorrow about a sponsorship deal, and I don’t want him to think I’m dragging my ass while he’s making me money.”

“Wait for me. I’ll tell you about the best camera angles in case you all want to start filming yourselves.” Ethan pops to his feet. “Thanks for the food, G.”

“You coming, Mitchy?” Hudson asks.

“You all go ahead. I’m going to help Grant clean up,” he says, waving to our friends. “See you tomorrow.”

The door closes, and Riley and I grab the beer bottles and empty pizza boxes we went through. It was fun to hang out before we get back to the grind, and I toss everything in the trash.

“Back to drinking smoothies and hitting my protein goal.” I wash my hands and grab a paper towel. “You didn’t need to stay. That took six seconds.”

“I’m a liar. I have an ulterior motive for sticking around.” He leans against the counter. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course you can.”

“This is awkward.” Riley lets out a nervous laugh and crosses his arms. “I didn’t think this through.”

“Hey.” I hold up my palms. “No judgment.”

“I wanted to ask if you have feelings for anyone who works for the team,” he blurts.

“Someone who works for the team? Do you mean Piper?” I frown, but then understanding dawns. “Oh. Shit. Lexi.”

“You two talked a lot last season, and sometimes you tried to get her attention. If there’s something there, I want to make sure I give you the space to⁠—”

“You’re way too nice, Mitchy.” I laugh. “I had a crush on her for a while, but I don’t anymore. I’m kind of…” I trail off and shake my head. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

“No way. You don’t get to let me be emotionally vulnerable while you shut down.”

“There’s, ah, someone else.” I rub my hand over my chest. It’s the closest I’ve come to telling any of the guys about Amelia. “This other person told me I’m just a friend. There’s zero hope of ever being something more with her, which I totally respect. But there’s this annoying voice in the back of my head that whispers what if? whenever she’s around.”

Two years of knowing Amelia, and the crush hasn’t just lingered.

It’s become goddamn unavoidable.

My feelings show up when we talk online for an hour or two at a time, but they’re even more obnoxious when we go a week without talking. I find myself wondering what she’s doing. If she’s having a good day and getting enough sleep.

And, fuck.

I miss seeing her in person.

I have a handle on it. I’m not going to do something stupid like stand outside her building with a boombox over my head. I’m keeping my distance and respecting her boundaries, but one thing is true.