Page 27 of The Linebacker

“What’s going on?” Amil asked.

“Emma is right,” Dante commented. “Callahan’s girlfriend’s brother is a tool. He’s always got his camera out, always trying to get footage to post on his socials. And he’s a sleaze when it comes to women. Especially Morgan, since she’s famous. Luckily, Morgan usually has bodyguards who won’t let him get near to her, but our cheerleaders aren’t so lucky. The guy has propositioned a few of them more than once. And he didn’t learn what the word no meant when he was a toddler, apparently.”

Amil could sense Dante’s disapproving glare even behind his sunglasses.

“Is Callahan aware? Why doesn’t he tell the guy not to come around?” Amil asked.

“He’s aware. And he’s tried, but the guy is also a dick to his own sister, basically uses her to get into games, to have access to the suites. Every time Callahan points out his bad behavior to the sister, she gets upset and says she had no choice but to bring him along. The whole thing is a mess, which, unfortunately, is par for the course with Callahan. The guy’s never had a normal relationship in his adult life.”

“I got this,” Emma said. She stalked past them, right up to the brother in question. Held out her hand, palm up.

They must have exchanged words, because after a brief moment, the guy placed his phone in her palm. She fiddled with it for a minute and then handed it back.

A sly grin spread from cheek to cheek as she rejoined Amil and the group.

“Girl, what did you do?” Diana asked, laughter in her voice.

Emma shrugged. “Changed his settings so that his pictures automatically delete after an hour.”

“And he just let you do that?”

Emma chuckled. “Hell no. I told him I was a professional photographer and could make his pictures even sharper, more crystal clear. I told him I follow him on social media and I really like what he posts, but it could be better. He was more than eager to let me fondle his phone after that.”

A laugh burst out of Diana, the sound shooting straight to Amil’s groin. He took a quick drink and forced himself to think about baseball.

The ploy wasn’t working. This crazy level of attraction he had for the woman was not going away anytime soon.

If ever.

Which was annoying as hell.

Amil moved from conversation to conversation, joining in and then edging over to the next group of people. Like an active member of the group.

Were his thoughts cheesy? Yeah. Did he care?

Nope.

He kept tabs on Diana but did not make any attempt to speak to her. She hovered nearby but also did not seem inclined to chat him up. It was for the best, he knew. Jalen seemed to be in a buoyant mood, which helped keep the event chill.

It was chill probably because everyone was in a good mood, but for Amil, he was far more aware of Jalen and Diana than anyone else.

Eventually, someone introduced him to the woman with the toddler. Her name was Summer, and she told him the grinning, drooling toddler was her daughter, Evie.

Summer, he noticed, did not wear a wedding ring. Nor did she mention a husband or a significant other. She was polite although standoffish, as if she, too, did not feel she belonged.

They might have bonded over their mutual sensations, except Broderick pulled him away so Amil could listen to a goofy dad joke, and the next time he saw Summer, she was handing the baby off to Jalen, who looked so uncomfortable, Amil chuckled under his breath.

As the tailgate wore on, Amil couldn’t help but notice that most of the players were paired up with significant others. In fact, it sort of felt like he and Jalen were the odd men out, which, yeah, was weird. Other than both lusting after Diana, he’d not expected him and Jalen to have a damn thing in common.

When it was time to head into the stadium, they were led to seats on the fifty-yard line, in a section blocked off specifically for the team. There was extra security standing around, ensuring fans didn’t bother them while they enjoyed the game.

Somehow, Amil and Jalen ended up seated next to each other. He had no idea where Diana was, other than it wasn’t anywhere near him and Jalen.

“Well, this is awkward,” Amil noted once they were all seated.

Jalen snorted without looking at him.

It was better than snapping at him, he supposed.