Page 56 of First Down Promise

I shrug, and Dane speaks up. “I’ve been keeping her company.” Josh’s eyes narrow at him. “At least a Wilson made it. Right, champ?” Dane adds and pats Josh’s shoulder.

A broad-shouldered guy around their age waves at Josh, and he curses under his breath. “I need to go say hi,” Josh mumbles.

“Okay,” I say.

As Josh walks away, I can’t stop the frown, and Dane gently shakes his head. His eyes move from Josh back to me, and something shifts in his expression.

“I hope Josh didn’t really do this to his best friend,” he murmurs to me as he brushes by. Heat rushes up my neck, but I keep my mouth shut.

I keep watching Josh interact with the crowd. The rest of the evening blurs into one long stretch of boredom until the party finally winds down. I just sip my watered-down cocktail as the partygoers get messier by the minute.

Some players from other teams say hi, knowing I’m Pete’s sister, but I don’t know them. Not like I know the ones. The quarterback from Dallas, who has the audacity to be here in the first place, lingers a beat too long, though I barely catch half of what he says before Dane appears beside me. Apparently, six-foot-six of glaring offensive tackle is enough to send him on his way.

My eyelids grow heavier as the hours tick by, but I’m far from drunk when my phone finally buzzes in my bag.

Josh: We have to leave separately. Come by my house after?

“You need a ride, don’t you?” Dane’s deep voice says from behind me.

“A ride would be great,” I answer. Josh drove us here, and I planned on catching an Uber afterward.

“Josh thought you’d need one.”

“You talked to Josh about me?” I ask.

“Yeah, he wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

I tuck my phone back into my bag, trying not to smile at how very Josh that is. Just then, a ruckus grabs both our attention. Josh walks by with a group following him. We make eye contact briefly in passing, and that signature boyish smile plays on his lips. But the group is recording him and taking photos, quickly distracting him again. I hope one of them caught that smile with his eyes on me. Anyone familiar with his post-bash tradition will be waiting to see who goes home with him, and as far as they’ll know, no one will. Will anyone notice?

“Let’s go,” I tell Dane, and he nods.

I follow him out to the parking lot to his sleek SUV, and he opens the passenger door for me. As I get in, a flash flares in the corner of my eye. One of the people waiting outside to catch players leaving has their phone pointed directly at us.

“Delete that. Just getting her home safe,” Dane snaps, closing my door. He walks around the front and takes the driver’s seat.

“You didn’t drink too much, did you?” I ask.

He cocks his eyebrow at me. “Seriously? No, just a couple of beers.”

He starts the engine, and I breathe in the fresh scent of his impeccably clean SUV. Dane drives in silence, and it’s not surprising given what he revealed and what he possibly figured out tonight.

Dane turns onto Josh’s street as a shortcut to Pete’s house, and I clear my throat because I never told him to drop me off at Josh’s instead.

“Can you stop at Josh’s?” I ask.

“You won’t like what you see. I’m sure he brought someone home,” Dane argues. “It’s his thing.” I shake my head and push my phone into my handbag.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Don’t be delusional,” he mutters.

“I’m not, Dane!” I snap. “Look, I’m sorry. He texted me at the party to come by after.”

“Holy shit, it’s true,” he mumbles. “Fucking Josh didn’t think this through. Having me drive you and all.”

“Which sounds like him,” I add as Dane pulls into Josh’s long driveway. He puts the car in park and rubs a hand over his five o’clock shadow. I rest my head against the headrest and turn my neck to look into Dane’s eyes. “Are you going to tell Pete or anyone else?”

He sighs, glancing toward Josh’s truck in the driveway. “Not my style,” he finally answers. “But this is going to get ugly. Fast.”