24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Carissa

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I will take down that website once and for all."

I raise an eyebrow at Wyatt. "When have you ever said that?" Before he can answer, I run my hands along his calf muscle and grin when he lets out a squeal and nearly kicks me with the foot that's resting on my shoulder as I loosen a knot in his leg. "And what happened to stretching before practice, Mr. ‘I promise to stretch'?"

Lying on his belly, Wyatt presses his face into his arms and moans. "I was stretching! Just not—" he hisses as I dig my fingers into his muscle again "—today. Geez, Rizzo, are you trying to make me lame?"

"You do that all on your own, Bean." I work through the knot in his calf a few more times, then step back, letting his leg fall. "I'm pretty sure you need more potassium in your diet or something, because that was ridiculous." At the rate these men are needing my services, I'm going to have to get certified as a massage therapist before long.

Wyatt gingerly stands, testing his legs by bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Thanks," he says humbly. "I promise I was doing better, but this morning French Roast found that article, so we've all been kind of tense."

After a weekend spent eating junk food and reading non-spicy books with Cole, I was determined to get back to the practice field and try to focus on work again, but all evening the guys have been acting like the Hot Scoop article has condemned me to death.

"It's really not that bad," I say for the umpteenth time. "But I appreciate you looking out for me."

"I swear, that website is getting worse and worse," Wyatt says, running a hand through his hair. "Of course none of us know you and Cole are dating. It's because you're not dating!"

"Yep," I confirm right as Cole steps into the doorway of the training room, sending my heart skittering at the sight of him. "Not dating."

Unfortunately.

Over the weekend, he finished two of the books I gave him and started a third, apparently eager to read the whole series when the first one was better than he expected. And there is nothing sexier than a man reading romance.

Except maybe that man wearing a form-fitting white t-shirt and leaning against a door frame with folded arms. Does he have any idea how many boxes he's checking just by standing like that?

"Still talking about that stupid article?" Cole asks with a roll of his eyes.

Wyatt snorts a laugh. "As if Rizzo would date a guy like you, Evanson."

No one has called him Rihanna all day, which is an improvement after last week. They also haven't used his first name, but I don't think Cole minds. Most of the team actually listened to him when he suggested today's drills, so I think something shifted at the bar on Friday.

"As if," Cole repeats, winking at me when Wyatt bends to pick up his shoes.

My face heating, I glare back at him. While he dutifully kept to his chair over the weekend, he spent a decent amount of time sending me flirty texts instead of reading, and I have a feeling he's going to push any lines he can find as we wait for the timing to be better.

I don't know how long I'll actually be able to wait.

"By the way," Cole says, sounding so casual, "I had an idea for a play that will only work with a strong wing."

Wyatt lets out a sound somewhere between a scoff and a laugh as he heads for the door. "Great."

Cole grabs his arm. "Want to try it out tomorrow? I don't think anyone could pull it off except you."

Wyatt's eyebrows shoot up, and he glances at me as if trying to figure out if I heard the same thing he did. "Oh. Really? Yeah, okay." But then he deflates. "But if Coach shows up, he'll—"

"Let me deal with Coach." Cole's eyes dance as he smiles. "The guy put me in as captain, and I kind of want to make him regret it."

"How?" I ask, and I'm pretty sure Wyatt is wondering the same thing.

Cole grins at me, hitting me with the full force of his magnificent smile, but he says his reply to Wyatt. "Coach wants me to take charge. I want to give the team a chance to be what they want to be. I'm not the smartest guy here, not by a longshot, and I think Coach has spent too long underestimating his team."

Though Wyatt doesn't say anything, he gives Cole an examining look and a smile before heading to the locker room.

Cole doesn't leave his spot in the doorway, which is a good thing because his gaze heats as soon as we're alone. "Any word from Mel?" he asks, eyes trailing over me in a slow movement .

It's not easy, but I try to ignore the fire that runs through me under his gaze. "She said Moxie is out of surgery and everything went well. She'll be here tomorrow."

"Great."

"That was good of you." I nod toward the corridor behind him. "I think Wyatt is too used to being underestimated." I feel like I'm baking beneath Cole's stare, so I start cleaning up the room and pretending I can't still feel his eyes on me. "Are you worried what Coach will do if he finds out you're empowering the guys?"

Cole huffs a laugh. "One, that can only make the team better. And two, the coach happens to think I'm something special because I used to be a pro quarterback, and I don't think he would risk the publicity of turning against me. I don't know if you know this, but I happen to be pretty famous."

He sounds so smug, but when I look up at him, his smile is nothing but playful and amused.

"You're famous?" I ask in mock surprise. "Do I know who you are? Are you that fancy movie star that everyone likes to hang posters of on their walls?"

That breaks Cole's smile, replacing it with fear that almost looks real. "Please don't tell me you have a Derek Riley poster on your wall."

I laugh. "No, I've never had Derek on my wall. Liam, on the other hand…"

After a quick glance into the hallway behind him, Cole rushes forward, grabbing me and lifting me onto the table so he can pin me on my back with his giant arms, leaving me breathless. "You take that back," he growls, a spark flickering in his eyes as he fights a smile.

I try to look innocent as I start singing Liam's most popular love song under my breath. I'm tempted to tell him that while I don't have a Liam poster on my wall back home, I do own records of all three of Liam's albums, including the newest one. I even spent the extra money to get a signed copy. But maybe I should take it easy on the poor guy, so I finish the chorus and grin up at him.

Cole growls again and steps back, setting me free. "You're really a fan, huh?"

I laugh and sit up. "How could I not be? His music is amazing."

"So I shouldn't tell you that he's playing in Portland the night after we play the Pathfinders and he sent me two VIP tickets to his show?"

I scream, clapping a hand over my mouth after it's too late to hold it in. "Are you serious?" I whisper right as a few sets of footsteps pound down the hall.

Sharkie, Tink, and French Roast stumble through the door with ready fists, but all three of them look extra confused when they see me sitting on the table with Cole standing several feet away.

"Uh." French Roast—Grayson—furrows his brow. "Everything okay, Rizzo?"

I grin. "Cole saw a spider and got spooked."

"That…" Tink—Noah—cocks his head at Cole. "That was you who screamed?"

Cole's jaw is so tight that it looks like he might snap a muscle. He'll obviously deny my claim, but it's fun to see him squirm. But then, to my utter shock, he says, "Yep. Hate the things."

The guys snicker, muttering to each other, and then Sharkie—Loren—says, "Anything we can do for you, Miss Carissa?"

Goodness, I thought they were attentive before I caught Hot Scoop's attention. I smile and shake my head. "No, but thank you, boys. Actually, Cole and Wyatt were just talking about new plays, and Cole was wondering if anyone else had any ideas to try out in practice this week before we slaughter the Pathfinders."

That seems to catch them off guard, but it only takes a second for Grayson to perk up and say something about how to fix their lineout issue. That's when they throw the ball from the sideline and catch it high in the air—I'm learning—but I never would have guessed they had an issue.

Cole listens attentively as Grayson offers his ideas, suggesting they try it out at practice tomorrow. The other guys apparently have ideas too, and as the four of them start talking strategies, Cole looks over at me and offers the warmest smile I've ever seen. It practically melts me from the inside out, leaving me a puddle of goo on the table as I watch this man finally find his place on his team.

And hopefully he can find a place with me too. I know we're waiting on the right timing, but…

I've never been known for my patience.