Page 21 of Sportsball is for Lovers

I roll my eyes. “Well, I’m hardly about to jump him. He’s married.”

My assistant grins. “Oh, is that the only reason why? We’re sharing a room. How do I know you don’t have a secret crush on me?”

Jared chokes.

“You know I’d like the power dynamic reversed, honey,” I tease.

After spending the day making a thousand decisions, the last thing I want is to take the lead on yet another project. And frankly, sometimes that’s what sex feels like: work, a project. Sometimes, I just want to lie there and let someone else do the hard work for a little while so I can mentally recuperate.

Not that I’m an uninterested starfish. I’m just not directing. I like handing over the reins for a bit.

But only when I can trust them. If there’s no trust, there’s no way they’re getting close to me.

“Go get dressed,” I tell him fondly. “Then you can taunt me a second time.”

As I turn, I realize Jared is still close to me. He backs up quickly, crossing to the bed he’s identified as Yoni’s.

My bracelet and earrings are on the dresser, and as I put them on, I look Jared over again.

There’s definitely a family resemblance. The same deeply tanned skin, dark hair and eyes, and the sharp angle of his nose look just like his younger brother. How did I not notice before this?

“You’re older than Yoni?” I ask, squinting at him.

Jared nods. “Four years. I’m thirty-one.”

Yoni and I are both twenty-seven; our birthdays are actually a week apart, which is kind of cool.

We actually have a lot in common: same age and friend group, similar upbringings, similar belief systems. Where he’s Sephardic, I’m Ashkenazi, but at the end of the day, we’re both Jewish, and that commonality does make our working relationship stronger.

“He’s awesome. I love him.” Flicking my hair over my shoulder, I fasten my earrings. “I’m so glad to have met him.”

“You’ve been friends for a while.” Jared narrows his eyes. “Do you prefer Sylvie or Sadie?”

I shrug. “Both. Either. This weekend, I’m Sylvie, but back home, I’m Sadie.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Sylvie is just an amped-up version of Sadie. More confident, more badass. The kind of person I wish Sadie could be if it wasn’t so exhausting.”

He tilts his head, studying me. “How is it exhausting?”

“Well, you’re a reporter, right?”

Jared nods slowly.

“Are you the same person on air as you are in real life?”

Yoni’s mentioned that his brother is an on-air correspondent for the Denver hockey team. He’s always traveling, always on the go.

Understanding dawns in his eyes. “No. It’s just a more…” He shakes his head. “You’re right. It’s a more exaggerated version of myself.”

“We all compartmentalize. I just happen to name the two parts of myself.” I grin. “I swear I don’t actually have multiple personalities. They’ve checked.”

He frowns.

Okay, so strike one: he doesn’t get my sense of humor.

That’s okay. I can roll with the punches. I can still make this work. We can totally fuck this weekend and nobody has to know.