3. Callum

I slid nervouslyinto the cool interior of Addison”s brand-new Range.

He grinned at me as soon as I was in the seat and my nerves doubled.

“Looking good,” he said, winking.

“Thanks, you too.”

And he did. Good enough in a plain but nicely fitted blue shirt and jeans to make me second guess myself again.

I”d put way too much effort into looking presentable tonight. I”d shaved and spent forever trying to make my hair cooperate until deciding to put it into a low ponytail. Then, of course, had spent way too long making sure the way it sat looked good.

I”d worn three different outfits before finally picking one and then decided to look up the place we were going to and realized I was very overdressed for it.

In the end, I went with a red T-shirt, black pants and a new pair of sneakers and called it a day.

After all that, I felt like I looked pretty much the same as usual, but for all I knew, that was still an upgrade from sweating on the field every day, so maybe he meant the compliment.

I dried my hands on my thighs and tried to relax now that we were on the way.

“You been out here yet?” he asked. “You just moved to Austin, right?”

“Yeah, I did,” I said. “And no, I haven”t done anything but train.”

“Really?” he asked. “I”ll show you around. All play and no outside life is a big no-no.”

“Well, my mom insists I call her every day. That”s all the socializing I can handle,” I joked.

He chuckled.

“Moms. So cute.”

“Where is yours?” I asked.

“Here,” he said. “Lucky me, this is my hometown. Getting to move back here to play was pretty much the best thing to ever happen to me. I get to train during the week and then go home for my mom”s home-cooked dinner sometimes, or a barbeque on the weekend.”

“That would be pretty great.”

“Yup. Dad”s the champion griller around here. He hasn”t entered any competitions that I know of, but he keeps saying it, so it must be true.”

I smiled.

Despite myself, some of the tension eased from my shoulders. I had to admit, Addison was pretty friendly. Somehow, he was putting me at ease.

Hopefully, he wouldn”t mind me leaving after only a few drinks. If he and Cooper had meant what they’d said about buying me a drink, then I would stay for three but that was it. I couldn”t justify spending money on alcohol when I probably had to buy a new car this week.

The thought of it was crushing. I would have to miss bills to make it happen. I didn”t want anyone blowing up my mom and dad”s phone looking for money when I”d promised to take care of it.

“You okay?”

At Addison”s question, I realized that my fists were clenched on my lap.

“I”m just thinking about my car,” I said, feeling awkward because he kept looking at me, throwing me glances while he drove.

“Ah,” he mused. “Yeah, it’s always a shame saying goodbye to a long-time vehicle.”

I nodded and forced the frown off my face because we were already driving into the lively craft brewery district. I watched the people drinking and eating on patios until we passed.

“Where is this place?” I asked.

“Past the stadium,” Addison said. “Oak Hill area. It kind of became our default since we can always grab drinks there after practice.”

The traffic was unbearable in Austin but Addison seemed to be used to it, not even complaining as we moved at a snail’s pace until finally pulling up in front of the place.

“Why Hand Wing Brewing?” I asked, reading the odd name.

“Didn’t you know that Austin is famous for its bat population?” Addison asked.

I frowned up at the logo and shook my head. You learned something new every day.

As soon as we entered, I spotted four of the guys, Wyatt, Rye, Cooper and Ash, already sitting at a table in the back. It was hard to miss a group of football players. They pretty much always filled a room. At six-two, I was on the small side, but the QBs typically were.

Addison put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the table.

When they saw us approaching, everyone burst into a series of oooohs until we reached them.

“Cal finally wasn’t too busy to make it!” Ash said, cheerfully.

I felt my cheeks heating.

“I dragged him here so he wouldn”t be able to get away,” Addison said tightening the arm he had around my shoulders so that I was in a brief headlock. Before I could react, he released me and pushed me toward the table.

Cooper moved over to make room.

“Glad to see you,” Rye said. “The newbs need to stick close to the team.”

I chuckled, cheeks heating under the blond’s scrutiny.

“Yeah, honestly, I made it through training. Who saw that coming.”

Cooper laughed.

“Cheers to that! We all did it.”

He lifted his drink, saw that I didn”t have one and paused.

“One sec,” I said, laughing.

I turned to stand and go to the bar, but Addison was already sliding a pint across the table toward me.

“Bold of you to guess what kind of beer I wanted,” I said automatically, and everyone laughed, including Addison.

“Not that bold,” he argued. “Everyone likes 1664.”

Across the table, Wyatt booed.

“No! Nothing beats Heineken!”

The group broke into an argument over everyone”s favorite beers.

Addison leaned closer to me while everyone argued.

“So, which is your favorite?

“1664,” I admitted with a groan.

Addison cheered.

“Yes!” he shouted. “I knew it! I know everything.”

“You shouldn”t have admitted that,” Ash, one of the team’s tackles, groaned. “Now it”s going to go straight to his head. Just like the time he won at the penny slots in Vegas.”

“Poor winner, that one,” Wyatt agreed, pointing at Addison.

Addison rolled his eyes.

“We deserve to celebrate our wins,” he argued, and I couldn’t help laughing because everyone groaned at his words even though I”d seen them all freaking out on the field after a win. In my opinion, Addison was right. It was normal to want to cheer for yourself.

We all fell into easy camaraderie. I was surprised by how much I felt like I knew these guys already.

Apparently, weeks of being in each other”s hair, sweating on the field and chatting in the locker room, didn”t happen without getting to know each other at least a little bit.

And the main thing I”d been worried about—having to bounce early because I didn”t have the funds to be draining down the toilet—didn”t happen. Every time I even moved in the direction of the bar, Addison beat me.

I was finishing my fifth pint when this time, I noticed that he wasn”t at our table anymore.

My eyes sought him out automatically, and I saw him standing at the bar, chatting with Wyatt. Without thinking, I stood and marched over to them, pushing between them to lean on the counter.

“Oops,” I muttered because I”d shoved Wyatt over without meaning to. “Sorry.”

He laughed.

“All good. Maybe it”s time for you to switch to water.”

I frowned.

“I”m fine,” I argued. “I”m just trying to talk to Addison.”

He raised his brows, flashed a white smile, and gave Addison a look over my head.

“He”s all yours,” he said, winking as he walked away.

“Yes, and I”m buying us a round this time,” I said firmly.

He tried to stop me, but I placed the order with the bartender before looking at his amused smile.

“I”m driving, remember?” he asked.

I paused.

“Ah.”

He chuckled.

“Enjoy your two drinks,” he laughed.

I couldn”t help laughing until the bartender handed me my drinks and swiftly walked away to tend to the next person.

I stared after him, affronted.

“Why didn”t he take my money?”

Addison laughed a little harder.

“Because I already have a tab.”

I gave him a look.

“You mean to tell me that even when I try to buy my own beers, you’re still buying them?”

He put his arm around my shoulder, grinning.

“Yup,” he said into my ear. “I said tonight was on me, didn”t I?”

I was pretty sure he”d said he was going to buy me a drink.Not the whole bar.

Oh well, I wasn”t going to argue. I could use the help unwinding. Getting closer to my new teammates was just what I needed.

And getting closer to Addison wasn”t so bad either.

I should have done this sooner. Maybe then, I wouldn”t have resented him so much.

Then again, I had been right about him.

He really was perfect in every way.