Page 14 of Forever Defiant
Dante, however, wasn’t done stating the obvious this morning. He rolled his neck and shot me a sideways look — the kind that meant he’d already decided how this would end and was just making sure that I also knew the outcome.
“She saw you leave, you know.”
My jaw should not have clenched. It did anyway. I bent down, tightened my laces, and pretended the act required deep concentration. “I know.” I didn’t look up. “It’s not a big deal.”
Dante loosened his shoulders. “We do not need this to get messy. Messier.”
I straightened — slow and controlled, the way you stand at the end of a hard exercise routine, in the cool-down session, where your back rolls. “Dante, I got it.”
Dante was doing that thing where he didn’t say what he was thinking and waited to see if the person would fill the silence themselves.
I didn’t play that way. And he knew it.
“Dante.” My voice was firmer. He needed to loosen his jockstrap. “It was a hookup. I kissed her, she kissed me back. I asked if she wanted to split, she said no. I left.” I watched Noah and his defense run the sleds down the field. “I went back to the bar for another chance. Noah knew who she was, and we bailed. There is nothing for you to worry about here. I dodged a bullet.” I leaned in closer. “And seriously, man, what the fuck do you think I’m gonna do? Spill all the shit we’ve learned to some rando who I just met?”
His look turned mocking. “The samerandoyou were going to screw without knowing her name?”
I huffed out a loud sigh. “I’d have learned her name on the walk back. This is why they invented the words ‘baby,’ ‘darling,’ and ‘sweetheart.’ You don’t need to know their names.”
“You’re a dog.”
I grinned at him. “Nah, I’m a wolf.”
Wolves didn’t chase. They picked their angle, waited, and moved when the moment was right.Thatwas the difference.
He finally relaxed as he laughed. “Seriously, apredatoris what you’re going with?”
“Hey, man, just because you got leashed, doesn’t mean we all have to be.”
“Leashed?” He squinted at me, but I saw his lips twitch.
“Yes. You’ve beentamed. It’s fine, it happens to some guys.” I put my hand over my heart. “Your single days are behind you, I’m in mourning. But you know, it means there’s more for me.”
Dante barked out a laugh. “You’re an idiot,” he told me fondly. “Pretty sure you already think campus is an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
Bouncing on my toes, I grinned at him. “And I’m hungry.”
Dante pushed me away from him, laughing, the tension easing as we messed around like we usually did. Me speaking crap, and him shaking his head at my typical trash talk.
Coach Sutherland’s whistle blasted across the field. We both turned, and he was glaring our way. “Fuck,” I muttered, and I jogged over to the bench and grabbed my helmet, letting the familiar weight settle into my hands.
“So sorry to interrupt your gossiping,” he snarked as I ran back to the center of the field.
“Not at all, Coach,” I shouted, loud enough for him to hear me. “I’m focused.” And I was.
Focus.
Breathe.
Lock in.
The world made sense when I was in motion. When everything focused on timing, force, and execution. Football didn’t need anything else — just commitment and trust in yourself and your teammates. I spent every day of my life dedicated to the goal of playing and playing well.
Hadley Peterson was the opposite of that. She was the kind of risk you couldn’t calculate in advance. I didn’t like that kind of risk.
Dante knew that. Why Dante was giving me side-eyes over this was starting to piss me off. It was Dante who liked risk; I preferred known outcomes.
The music from the speakers was bass heavy this morning, and I’d already seen Coach Hemby glare at them more than once.
