Page 74 of Chasing the Rush
Nate looks at me knowingly, and I quickly look at Chelsea for help, feeling cornered and trapped. Immediately, it’s clear Chelsea’s not going to be able to save me. That, in fact, she’s feeling every bit as cornered as me.
“Please, don’t tell anyone what you’ve figured out,” she gasps out, shocking the hell out of me. “Please, Nate.”
“So, you two are …?”
“Yes, but it’s got to remain a secret. Dad would one thousand percent cut Luca if he found out.”
I shudder. “Don’t remind me.”
Nate looks at me sympathetically. “I won’t tell a soul. I promise.” He narrows his eyes. “Unless, of course, you do something to my sister that makes me regret my silence, and then all bets are off.”
“I won’t. You’ve got my word on that. Thank you.”
Nate nods with satisfaction. “I’ve seen film from your last two games, Maguire. Keep playing like that and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again during the regular season.”
“Man, I sure hope so.”
I’m reeling. Feeling downright giddy. Now that one of Chelsea’s family members knows about us and the sky isn’t falling, hopefully that will embolden her that much more to return the declaration of love I’m planning for tomorrow.
“Hey, a good buddy of mine is your new teammate,” I say. “Calhoun. Take good care of him for me, would you? He’s a great guy.”
“Yeah, he is,” Nate agrees. “Everyone loves him. And he’s been doing great, so—” His blue eyes light up at something happening behind me. “Jacob!” Nate bellows. And sure enough, when I turn to look, it’s Moriarty who’s coming to a stop on the other side of Chelsea.
I breathe deeply as the two linebackers embrace and back-slap each other like old friends, not knowing if I should stay or go.
“Congrats on resetting the market, man,” Nate says to Moriarty with a laugh.
“Hey, a rising tide lifts all boats. The holdout was brutal, though. I was dying to get to camp.”
“Oh, I bet.”
Moriarty grins down at Chelsea, who suddenly looks the approximate size of a garden gnome standing among the three of us linebackers. “Lucky for me, they assigned Parkette to whip my rusty ass back into shape when I finally got to camp.”
“Parkette?” Nate says with a chuckle as I’m thinking the exact same thing. Except without the chuckle. On the contrary, the word sends my blood instantly boiling.
“He keeps calling me that,” Chelsea murmurs. “Even though I keep telling him I don’t like it.”
“Parkette suits you, though,” Moriarty retorts. “You’re a small, female Parker.”
As Chelsea shakes her head, I clench my fists so I won’t murder my future team’s star player, thereby ending not only my own dreams, but Chelsea’s, too.
Suddenly, I feel like the odd man out, so I silently stalk away to continue my warm-up.
“Luca, hang on!” Chelsea shouts at my back. “I’ve got some last-minute scouting on their two rookie QBs for you!”
“Let him go,” Moriarty commands. “I need your help with my warm-up.”
“I’ll be right back, Jacob.”
“No, Chelsea, let him go. You’re assigned to me now, remember?” His dark eyes flicker. “That means you’re all mine.”
CHAPTER 28
Luca
WE’RE MINUTES AWAYfrom the end of the first quarter in our preseason game against the Raptors, and my defensive coordinator still hasn’t put me in. I knew Moriarty would get some reps right out of the gate, but I certainly didn’t expect him to play for an entire quarter. I’m going crazy. Surely, they’ll put me in at the first opportunity during the second quarter. If they don’t—if they put in the other guy still vying for the same spot as me—I’ll lose my damned mind.
Unfortunately for me, the sloppiness Moriarty exhibited when he first showed up at training camp isn’t apparent now. On the contrary, Moriarty looks pretty damned close to locked in out there, thanks in part to Chelsea, and he’ll undoubtedly tighten up even more by next week’s regular season opener.Fuck my life.
