1. Lee

CHAPTER 1

LEE

The raucous noise of the busy diner faded into the background as the newest player for the Austin Troopers settled into the booth seat and focused on the young woman who'd shown him to his seat.

"Coffee?" the hostess asked, holding up the pot she'd snagged on the way.

"Please," Lee Matters said, flipping his mug over and watching as Katy—her nametag provided—filled it nearly to the brim before placing a menu on the table.

"Here ya go, hun. Someone will be over shortly to clear the extra place settings and take your order. Might be a minute or two. Can't believe how busy it is today."

"No worries. I'm not in any rush this morning." Lee smiled and, once she'd walked away, let his shoulders slump. After the last week of rookie training camp, he was ready to relax on what would be one of his last sort of free days in July before the real camp and season started.

"Great. Thank you. Sugar and creamers are there on the table for you." She made a quick sweep of the area, checking on guests and refilling coffee cups, before returning to the front.

He glanced at the menu even though he already knew what he wanted after having been before with his mom and aunt. Lee doctored his coffee and people watched until the waitress arrived, looking frazzled. He gave her an amiable smile and a slow blink; she swooned, tucked a non-existent hair behind her ear, and took a much-needed deep breath.

"Yes… um… Hi. My name's Amy. What can I get you?" As he rattled off his order, her eyes widened. "Are you expecting someone else to join you?"

Lee shook his head. "Football player."

"Ah. Okay. Makes sense." Her eyes narrowed. "Longhorns?"

"Troopers."

"Got it. I'll go put this in. Might be a bit. Can't believe how busy it is today."

Lee snickered under his breath at her verbatim comment as she headed off. Coming from Jersey, where diners were always busy, especially on the weekends, this crowd seemed like a drop in the bucket. He'd barely waited ten minutes before they seated him. Although the last time he'd been in, the restaurant had only been half-full, so maybe this was an odd occurrence.

It felt like ages, though only two months had passed since his mom and aunt had returned home after helping him set up his apartment. He shook his head slowly at how crazy his life had become since he'd entered the draft, attending the Combine in March. He'd put up respectable numbers while there and several teams had expressed interest and interviewed him.

His mom and aunt would have preferred him to have landed with an East Coast team, but being drafted in the third round by any team was a massive accomplishment. He'd seriously drooled over the number of zeros on his contract. Thank God his aunt, the family accountant and an all-around financial guru, had smacked him upside the head. Otherwise, he might have already bankrupted himself with all the things he wanted to buy them.

The hardest part of the move, though, was officially ending his on-again/off-again relationship. They had always said they were just friends with benefits, and now they were putting the friendship first. They still periodically texted, and Stu hadn't minded the expensive parting gifts either.

Following the draft, his little family flew to Austin and met with the team owner, management, and coaches. His defensive coach, Michael Carlson, handed him the playbook, and he'd spent all of May, June, and most of July learning everything about the team. He'd watched countless replays of the games, and it had paid off with a successful rookie training camp.

Plates clattered on the table. "Here ya go. Ketchup and condiments are there. I'll top off your coffee in just a second. Let me know if you need anything else."

Lee leaned out of the booth, grinning wildly at the crazed server as she hustled back to the kitchen. The embodiment of a Texas whirlwind, he supposed with a laugh. He was halfway through his meal, mindlessly enjoying watching Austin natives and the city's visitors stroll along the sidewalk outside by the time she returned with coffee.

The hostess topped him off again a few minutes later. "Whew. I can't remember the last time it was this busy. How was the food? Good, right?" Lee happily nodded along as Katy kept talking a mile a minute. "We have the best cook. He's been with us forever. Since I was little even. My parents own the place. Did you say you played for the Troopers?"

"I did."

"That's great! My dad's a fan of the pigskin. The rest of us not so much, but yeah, if you like us, let your teammates know."

"I will. Do you, uh, want me to get moving? Free up a table?"

"Nooo. You're good! I swear." The faint blush that had highlighted her cheeks darkened as she glanced away and then tucked a non-existent hair behind her ear, just as Amy had. Lee got it. Pretty boy. Pretty girl. "Take your time. When you're ready, Amy will get you your check." She left then, but not before flashing him one more bright smile.

Lee wrapped his fingers around the mug as he settled into the seat and gazed out the window. Just in time, too, because two handsome men were coming toward the diner. Walking was using the term loosely. They ambled in the Texas sun, knocking shoulders as they talked. The slightly shorter, dark-haired one, but-look-at-those-muscles, wore a frown. The slumped shoulders and hung head didn't allow Lee to get a great look at his face.

The slimmer, fair-haired, dirty blond, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to cheer his friend up. Boyfriend? When he wrapped his arm around the shorter man's waist and hugged him, Lee leant more weight to the relationship fantasy he had going in his head. The two would look amazing together in bed—if they invited him to watch. Oh, to be a fly on their wall.

Lee... Really? He laughed at his wayward thoughts. Now is not the time to be thinking about finding a boyfriend. Football needed to be his number-one priority if he wanted Head Coach Emilio Oliveira, a titan in the coaching world, to start him for the games. Plus, he wanted to prove to his defensive coach and the rest of the team management that they had made the right choice when they drafted him.

Still, as the two men paused below his tinted window, allowing him to stare at them without their knowledge, he could dream all he wanted.