Page 27 of Delay of Game (Norwalk Breakers #4)

TWENTY-SEVEN

GRACIE

I kicked my feet in the pool, cooling off in the mid-day sun while Mila splashed on a lineman’s back, playing chicken against a man at least ten times her size.

The afternoon hadn’t gone to plan. Hell, the entire week hadn’t gone to plan. Despite texting me half a dozen times a day, Rob stayed strictly friendly. No flirting and definitely no phone sex. Once again, two steps forward, one step back.

At least I’d prepared myself this time. The disappointment was only a faint thud, grouped in with Aunt Mercy not recognizing me and getting bitten by a student. All told, a bad week, but not catastrophic.

“Hey.”

I shielded my eyes from the sun, craning my neck up at the unfamiliar voice. He was a football player, that much was for sure. Red hair, green eyes, and a baby face on a six-foot frame and at least one hundred pounds of muscle.

“Hi. Have we met?” I asked, unsure whether or not we had. I’d met at least twenty players and a bunch of family besides. Cassie had facilitated the introductions at first after Rob left to talk to his coach. But now she lounged by the pool with Diego.

“Um, no. Not yet.” He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes dipping down. The tips of his ears burned pink, and the effect was an “aw shucks” type of cute that belied his size. “I’m Ethan Fieste. I play middle linebacker. Back up, mostly. You’re Rob’s friend, right?”

“Yeah.” I held out a hand, and he enveloped it like an oven mitt. “Nice to meet you. I’m Gracie Evans.”

“Do you mind if I sit down?” he asked, eyeing the empty piece of cement beside me as he let go of my hand.

“Sure.” I picked up the margarita sitting beside me and patted the ground. “I’d love some company. So, you’re Rob’s backup? How long have you been on the team?”

He swung down, dipping his legs into the water with surprising grace. “This is my first year.”

“Oh, are you a draft pick?”

“Nope.” He winced. “I practiced with the team and got my spot that way.”

“Sorry.” I sipped my drink. “Should I not have asked? I’m new to this football thing. I don’t know what’s polite to ask and what isn’t.”

“It’s fine.” He waved off the apparent slight with a grin. “I did get drafted and turned down the team.”

“You can do that?”

“You shouldn’t. But I wanted to learn from the best.” His cheerful mask slipped for a second. “I mean, it’s not really working out that way, but what are you gonna do? I shouldn’t complain. Even a backup linebacker for the NFL makes more than a school teacher.”

I blinked, pulling back slightly at the brusque comparison.

His laugh fell away. “I would have made a shitty teacher, anyway.”

“Wait, you went to college to be a teacher?” He nodded. The admission took me by surprise. “NFL players go to school to be teachers?”

“Some.”

“I’m a teacher. Kindergarten.”

His eyes popped. “Seriously? I didn’t know. Shit, I sounded like an asshole there, didn’t I?”

“You wouldn’t be the first to tell me I don’t get paid enough.” I laughed. “I’m just shocked. How did you manage student-teacher rotations on the football team?”

“Spring rotations and lots of missed sleep.” He ducked his head and lowered his voice. “I wasn’t a half bad teacher. I ended up substitute teaching for another semester because I loved it so much.”

“And yet you still put yourself in the draft,” I chided.

“Like I said, teachers don’t get paid. I figured I should get that paycheck if I could.” He shrugged. “Besides, most professional football players have a short shelf life. It’s nice to have a back-up plan I would actually enjoy after my football career is over.”

“But you are enjoying yourself, just a little, right?”

He stared out over the pool for a moment, sipping his beer to empty. “Yeah. Sometimes. If I ever get a shot on the field, I’d like it a lot more.”

Rob broke away from his teammate on the other side of the pool. His eyes met mine, lips drawing down in a frown before breaking his gaze to flag down Mila.

“You’ve got some strong competition standing in your way.”

“Don’t I know it.” Ethan shook his head and picked up the empty bottle beside him. “But I’m not worried about that right now. For now, how about I get you another drink?”

Ethan proved a surprising distraction. Fresh out of college at twenty-three, he had all the exuberance of a frat member on Spring Break and the conversational skills of a seasoned newscaster.

Three margaritas later, we were laughing loud enough to garner some attention.

And more than a few hard stares from Rob.

“Another drink?” Ethan asked, palm upturned for my glass.

I shook my head. “I’m a lightweight, and I’m sure Rob wants to take off soon.”

Ethan swished his bottle of beer, lips drawing in as his eyes locked on mine. “Can I tell you something?”

I reclined back on my elbows, tilting my head toward the sun, and shrugged. “Sure.”

“And you won’t be mad?”

Laughter bubbled in my throat but died again when his face stayed serious. “Um, probably not. What’s going on?”

“I just…really like you.”

The words echoed Rob’s after he spent the night at my house. I sat up. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“And I wouldn’t want you to find out anything that’d make you think this,” he thrust his bottle back and forth between us, “wasn’t sincere.”

“I haven’t had any reason to think that so far.”

He ripped his eyes from mine, tracking Rob as he walked to the pool, lifting Mila out with one arm. “I sort of pissed Rob off during pre-season.”

“Seems like an easy enough thing to do.”

He nodded. “He’s been thawing since then. I took all the vets out to dinner, and he asked if I would…”

Ethan’s already pink skin turned bright red.

“You would what?” I prodded.

“He asked if I might introduce myself. Take you out.” He ducked his head. “Which I would have done anyway, now that I met you.”

A knot formed in my stomach, and I struggled to keep my face impassive.

Ethan read it like a book. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t think he was asking for you.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, inhaling and forcing my shoulders down.

“I mean, from what I know about Rob, he doesn’t like many people. And he doesn’t know what to do when he does like someone.” Ethan metered out his words carefully. “I also think, based on how hard he’s glaring at us, he regrets asking me to talk to you.”

I kicked my feet in the sapphire blue water. A cloud covered the sun and cooled down the afternoon. “Does that mean you’re going to back off?”

He picked up his beer and took a swig, his lips puckering into a pout as he stared out over the pool. He shook his head. “Nah. I think we could both use a friend.”

“You want to be my friend?” I asked, oddly touched.

“Yeah. I’ve only been here for a couple of months, and I don’t have any. I left them all back in Alabama.”

“That’s a long way.” My heart tugged. “I’d really like that. I can tell you all the things you’re missing out on by playing in the NFL.”

“The mouthy kids and the lack of discipline?” he teased.

“The ridiculously small paychecks and the standardized tests.”

“I thought kindergarten teachers avoided tests.”

I shook my head. “Don’t I wish.”

“Hey, Astrid,” Rob called to me from the other side of the pool, Mila in one arm, a bag in the other. “We’re getting ready to head out.”

I licked my lips, not quite ready to go.

“Don’t worry, Captain!” Ethan boomed. “I’ll get her home.”

Rob’s face shuttered into a glare.

“He doesn’t look happy about that,” I said under my breath.

Ethan shrugged. “Give him a reason to miss you.”

Rob’s neck tensed, his body turning rigid. Mila straightened in his arms, surveying her dad with a frown.

“Let me just grab my bag out of your car,” I said, pushing myself off the ground and swiping Ethan’s empty beer on the way up. “I’ll grab us another round on the way back.”

I followed Rob around the house and back to the cars. He buckled Mila into her car seat while I grabbed my bag out of the passenger seat.

“You sure you don’t want a ride home?” he asked after shutting Mila’s door. He folded his arms over his chest, leaning on the driver’s side door while I waved goodbye to Mila.

“Yeah, my place is out of your way, anyway.”

“Barely,” he grumbled. “Should I come by later tonight? We need to do something about that back door, the one in the kitchen.”

My chest fluttered and I bit back a reflexive, “yes.” Despite asking to come over, he brought me to the barbecue intending to pawn me off on Ethan.

“No, not tonight.” I forced a laugh. “I’ll look for a key. Maybe Aunt Mercy just stashed hers somewhere and forgot.”

He pursed his lips. I took a step away from the door and gave him a half-hearted wave. “Maybe you could come by tomorrow instead?”

He opened the car door. “I have practice in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon, if I’m not busy. You sure I can’t come over tonight?” His eyes slid back toward the house, and he shook his head. “Never mind. Have fun and call me if you need anything.”

“Sure thing.”

He climbed into the car. I stood by the driveway, wondering if I shouldn’t have let him come over as he pulled out onto the street.