Page 94 of On Her Team
Gage
Irip open the packaging for a new pair of socks. Not the socks my asshole teammates sent me. Those were not my brand. I’m very specific about my socks.
“Whoa. What’s with the new socks?” Nolan asks.
“In case you missed it, I need socks to wear in my cleats. Blisters are a bitch.”
Tanner plops down on the bench next to me. “But you don’t wear new socks until the season begins.”
“Season hasn’t started yet,” Brock grumbles.
I roll my eyes. “Duh. I think I’d know if the season began.”
“And yet you’re wearing new socks,” Corbin says.
“Why is everyone interested in my socks? Worry about your own lives.”
Tanner shrugs. “I don’t have anything to worry about.”
Nolan sighs. “Doing a PR stunt doesn’t mean your worries are over.”
Tanner growls. “Alaia is not a PR stunt.”
“What is she?” I ask.
He wags a finger at me. “Nuh uh. We aren’t finished discussing why you’re nervous.”
“Nervous? I’m not nervous.”
Except my foot is bouncing up and down. I stop it but not before the rest of my teammates notice.
“I have the information you asked for,” Corbin says. “I sent it to your phone.”
“Thanks.”
Tanner glances from Corbin to me. “What are we talking about?”
“Addy needs a lawyer to help her negotiate the deal with Juliet Ash.”
I’m so fucking proud of her. One of the biggest names in music wants to record her song. If I were her, I’d probably climb onto a rooftop and tell everyone in Smuggler’s Hideaway who would listen about my big deal.
Not my Addy. She’s told her friends but no one else. She hasn’t even posted on social media. She seriously needs to use my PR agent. This is the perfect opportunity to sell herself and get her songwriting business going.
Nolan sighs. “Whoever thought our little Gage would have a pop star girlfriend?”
I glare at him. “I’m not little.”
Brock snorts. “Dude.”
“Not being humongous the way you are doesn’t mean I’m little.”
“I could carry you around in my pocket.”
A whistle blows. “Listen up,” Coach Knox shouts.
“This isn’t over,” Tanner whispers to me. I give him the finger since – unlike him – I know better than to talk when Coach is speaking.
“Listen up! We’ve got fans in the stands today. That means no missed assignments, no lazy routes, and absolutely no arguing with me in front of the children. Smile if you want. But if you blow a coverage because you’re trying to look cool? I’ll personally make you run until next Tuesday. And if you see your mama in the crowd? Good. She deserves to know she raised someone who can block.”
