Page 100 of Forever Defiant
“Yeah.” Dante took the seat at the end of the couch. “How come neither of you got media today?” he asked. “If they ask me to walk them through the game-winning drive one more time...” He shook his head. “I don’t know whether to record the answers, or tell them to go watch the fucking tape.”
I grinned. “Pressure getting to you, superstar?”
“Shut the fuck up,” he mumbled good-naturedly. “Hey, what did Coach want you for?”
Fuck, I forgot about Brittany. No wait. That wasn’t right. “I forgot her name,” I mumbled absently.
Dante looked at me. “Who?Hadley?”
“No.” I frowned. “It’s my turn for a shadow,” I grumbled. “Hadley’s stupid viral video of her chasing me—”
“I don’t think it’s Hadley’s,” Dante corrected me. “I’m sure she didn’t want it online any more than you did.”
“You know what I mean.” I got up and got a bottle of water after all. “The viral fucking video — well, apparently every woman who’s ever dated me had commented on it.” I saw Dante fail to hide his grin. “And apparently that means I’m bad for PR.”
“Ah, sothat’swhy you’re not on media,” he said with an understanding wince.
“I’m still waiting to find out who ‘her’ is.” Noah reminded me. “What do you mean by ‘shadow’?”
“Oh. Some social media girl from PR, she’s going to...” I looked at them both. “Do not fucking laugh, okay?” They exchanged a look, then both nodded. I watched them suspiciously. “She’s going to fix my public image.”
Dante was the first to laugh. Noah joined in. Iknewthey were both dicks. “Yeah, laugh it up, assholes. She’s watching thewholeteam.”
Dante sobered. “All of us?”
“Yeah. Going to focus on spring training and the rest of the semester.” I flopped back down on the couch. “I can’t remember her name.” My eyes narrowed. “Starts with aB. She’s goth-like. No.” I thought about it. “She’s not goth. She’s, like, weird looking.”
“And you wonder why your past hookups think you’re a dick,” Noah murmured with a sly grin.
“Her hair is this dark black but not black,” I explained. “It’s, like, purple. But not. And she’s really pale. I mean, she’sreallypale. And with the really dark hair, and her really big eyes...” They were both staring at me. “What?”
“How are you already on to the next one?” Noah asked me incredulously.
“What?” I looked at Dante, who was drinking his water. “I don’t want to bang her. Did you hear me? She’s creepy looking.”
“I heard you telling us about the shade of her hair in great detail,” Noah said dryly.
“It’s weird!” I protested loudly. “It’s dark, it’s purple, it’s neither, it was... interesting,” I added lamely. “I mean, she’s not ugly,” I conceded. “It’s just... you’ll understand when you see her.”
“It’s called hair dye,” Noah said patiently. “So she what? Does what Hadley was doing with Mike?”
I shrugged. “No idea. Dean Cole left us, and Coach stormed out—”
“Wait, why was the dean there?” Dante asked, suddenly interested in the conversation again.
“I think it’s his idea,” I admitted.
Dante pursed his lips. “He was there to approve Hadley,” he mused. “I heard Hembry tell one of the assistants that Dean Cole practically railroaded the head coach.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh. “Coach Sutherland got rid of Hadley, thanks to... well, you.”
“I resent that.”
“Resent it all you want, it’s true.”
Sometimes Dante’s delivery could use more finesse. “And now he’s putting... What’s her name?”
“I forgot it.” I racked my brain. I could describe every shade of purple in her hair, but I had no idea what her name was. That was the kind of self-awareness I would take to my grave. “Definitely starts with aB.”
“He’s going to say ‘babe,’” Noah said jokingly.
