Page 23 of Falling for the Bombshell (Falling for #1)

Terms and Conditions

The Plex was already buzzing when Blaine pulled into the lot, Linnie beside him in leggings and a cropped Celtics hoodie that had become her favorite throw-on lately—his number stitched in small white thread near the hem.

As soon as they walked in together, side by side, hand in hand, the vibe shifted.

People noticed. Cleo spotted them first and elbowed Sadie so hard she almost dropped her protein bar.

Coach Karter, halfway through leading the football team in stretching, gave Blaine a smirk and a thumbs up.

Jade winked at Linnie from across the gym floor. And then the whispers started.

“ Wait, they ’ re actually together?”

“ Are we just not pretending anymore?”

“ Bro, she ’ s got his number on her hoodie.”

“ Didn ’ t he say it wasn ’ t serious?”

“ Man ’ s already gone full golden retriever.”

Linnie held her head high and Blaine? He just grinned. He didn ’ t care who saw now. He wanted people to know. But they hadn ’ t even made it through warmups before the call came.

“ Blaine. Linnie. Coaches ’ office. Now.”

Their eyes met.

“ Guess this is the ‘ real relationship rules ’ talk,” Linnie muttered under her breath as they made their way down the hallway.

Inside the office sat Coach Summer and Coach Ben each looking about as comfortable as someone stepping into a family dinner with a live grenade. A woman with a sleek ponytail and a laptop open sat across from them, her badge clipped to a legal-size folder:

Team Legal Counsel.

“ Have a seat,” Coach Ben said, not unkindly. “ We just want to get ahead of this.”

Linnie raised an eyebrow. “ You ’ re not… suspending us, right?”

Coach Summer snorted. “ No, but this is still a business. We have contracts. Boundaries.”

The legal counsel tapped her keyboard. “ Since your relationship is now public knowledge, we ’ re drafting a disclosure agreement.

You ’ ll both sign acknowledging that any behavior on team property remains professional and that your relationship will not interfere with game-day responsibilities or team performance. ”

Blaine reached for the pen first. “ Easy.”

Linnie scanned it a little slower, then scribbled her name next to Blaine ’ s. It all felt surreal. Like this was some celebrity couple moment and not just two people falling headfirst for each other in the middle of a Montana summer.

“ Just keep it clean during practices, don ’ t distract the team, and keep any drama off the field,” Coach Summer said. “ We ’ re not the relationship police, but we are building a program with expectations. ”

They both nodded.

“ And for the love of all things holy,” Coach Ben added, eyes flicking toward Blaine, “ no sneaking off behind the weight room.”

Linnie choked on a laugh and Blaine just grinned, a little too guilty.

Back out on the floor, it was official in more ways than one—and the teams knew it. But this time, instead of judgment, it came with claps on the back, fake-gagging noises from teammates, and someone (probably Cleo) sneaking a “ Mr. & Mrs. #15” sign onto the locker.

They were together. Like really together.

And now… there was no hiding it.

Linnie sprawled out across Sadie ’ s bed, a cooling face mask sliding dangerously close to one eyebrow, her phone buzzing

somewhere in a sea of Target bags and Chick-fil-A wrappers.

The girls had called for a reset after practice—somewhere between retail therapy and deep couch convos—and Linnie couldn ’ t have needed it more.

Jade was painting her toenails electric purple, Sadie was making another Instagram about “ hot girl hydration,” and Cleo?

Cleo was deep in the closet, rummaging for an old curling wand like it held the secrets to the universe.

“ I still can ’ t believe you two actually signed paperwork to be together,” Jade said, balancing the polish brush between two fingers like a tiny sword. “ That ’ s... peak athlete romance.”

“ It ’ s like a workplace relationship disclosure,” Linnie mumbled through the mask. “ Except instead of HR, we have Coach Ben, Mom and a woman named Karen who uses phrases like ‘ optics ’ and ‘ liability.’”

Sadie laughed, falling sideways onto the bed. “ You do realize this makes you and Blaine, like, the main character couple now? You ’ ve fully entered power duo territory.”

Linnie peeked out from under the mask. “ That ’ s what I ’ m afraid of.”

Cleo finally emerged from the closet triumphantly, wand in hand. “ Afraid of what? Being happy? Being kissed stupid by the hottest wide receiver this side of the Rockies?”

“ I mean…” Linnie chewed her lip. “ It ’ s a lot. Like, I ’ m still processing that he wants me—like really wants me. I ’ ve never felt this seen before. He doesn ’ t just say the right things… he shows up. Fully.”

Jade gave her a soft look, grabbing a makeup wipe. “ You deserve someone who makes you feel like that.”

JJ never did,” Cleo said sharply, not missing a beat. “ He saw you as an accessory. Blaine? He looks at you like you built the stars.”

Linnie ’ s heart caught in her throat. “ He told me I was his first kiss. Can you believe that?”

Three sets of eyes locked onto her like she ’ d just dropped the juiciest secret of the year.

“ You ’ re joking.”

“ Wait—what?”

“ Shut up.”

“ I ’ m dead serious,” Linnie laughed, blushing all over again. “ I thought it was just good —but he said it was his first ever. And you guys... it felt like magic. Not awkward. Not fumbling. Just... right. ”

The girls erupted into chaotic noise—pillows thrown, feet kicking, Cleo literally yelling into a blanket.

Jade wiped a tear. “ This is better than The Bachelor .”

Sadie grinned. “ Okay, okay—but how are you doing, though? Like underneath the butterflies and the locker room stares.”

Linnie took a beat. “ I feel... full. Like I ’ ve been holding my breath for years and I can finally exhale. But I ’ m also scared. He ’ s got dreams, and people breathing down his neck about his future. I don ’ t want to become another pressure point.”

“ You won ’ t,” Cleo said with confidence. “ Because you ’ re not a distraction. You ’ re his peace.” And just like that, something in Linnie settled. She wasn ’ t just part of his world now—she was choosing to be.

Blaine flopped onto the couch, his legs hanging off one side, Snickers snoring on his chest. Bria was across the room scrolling on her iPad, curled up in a hoodie three sizes too big and fuzzy socks that probably belonged to their mom.

“ You ’ ve been smiling like an idiot for three days,” Bria said without looking up. “ Is that what being whipped looks like?”

Blaine groaned dramatically. “ I am not whipped.”

“ You literally just changed your lock screen to a picture of Linnie wearing your number.”

“ Okay, first of all —she looked cute, alright? The glitter on her cheeks, her curls, the pom-poms—”

“ Whiiiiiipped,” she singsonged, smirking behind her screen.

Blaine tossed a throw pillow at her. She caught it one-handed like a true younger sibling menace.

He pulled out his phone, still warm from being glued to his hand all day, and opened up the group chat.

“ Everything good?” Bria asked, peeking over her iPad.

He nodded, setting the phone down. “ Yeah. Just... I don ’ t know. Everything ’ s changing, but for the first time, it feels like it ’ s changing in the right direction.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled. “ Ew, you ’ re in love.”

Blaine didn ’ t respond—just sat there, fingers absently scratching Snickers behind the ears.

A little grin crept onto his face as he thought about Linnie , that look she gave him when no one else was watching, like she saw him—not just the player, not just the guy staying behind for a leap year, but the whole him.

Maybe Bria was right.

And maybe that didn ’ t scare him anymore.