Page 35

THIRTY-FIVE

TRENT

I raked a hand through my hair, palms sweaty like I was gearing up to play football.

“You okay, man?” Frankie asked from the passenger seat.

He’d flown in the night before, and I’d stayed at my place to greet him. Not that I hadn’t blown off Frankie for a woman before, but he’d been gone for weeks.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I turned onto Kit’s street.

I was surprised she’d agreed to come. We hadn’t put a name to what we were, other than “not friends.” Her suggestion, not mine. And while I’d tried to be as calm as possible, the ask felt like a date. Or at least date-adjacent.

“You look nervous? Think Simmons is going to rip you a new one?”

I shook my head. “Nah. Other than the naked slide thing, I’ve been on my best behavior.”

Frankie chuckled, but, after the rally, my online presence dwindled down to nothing. Compared to last off season, I’d been a damn saint.

I pulled to a stop outside of Kit’s apartment. “I’ll be right back.”

“Hell no. I want to meet this girl.”Frankie bounded out of the car.

He met me at the front door of her apartment complex just as Kit pushed her way outside. She wore a dark grey linen sundress, a bright blue strap peeking out from under the fabric that hinted at the bathing suit underneath. A bathing suit I was eager to see. Maybe too eager.

“Hey,” she said with a shy wave before her eyes wandered to Frankie.

“Frances Vigil.” He extended a hand and gave her a lop-sided smile.

Her cheeks heated as she reached out, fingertips brushing over his palm before shaking his hand.“Kit. Nice to meet you.”

“So, you’re the woman who stole my best friend’s heart his summer?” He didn’t release her hand, instead keeping her captive. And for her part, Kit didn’t pull away. Hell, she looked flattered.

“The woman who convinced him to join a car rally. I’ve certainly had nothing to do with his heart.”

Frankie didn’t look convinced. “Well, I’m still very glad to meet you.”

I elbowed between the two of them, forcing Frankie to drop her hand before swiping a kiss over Kit’s cheek. “Hey.”

She blinked, tearing her eyes away from Frankie with a confused look. “Hey, yourself.”

I took her hand, feeling an unfamiliar swell of jealousy. “Ready to meet my other teammates?”

“If they’re anything like Frances, yes.” Her eyes slid over to him even as I pulled her down the staircase.

“My friends call me Frankie.” He opened the passenger side door, holding out a hand to help her inside. As he shut the door, he shot me a cocky wink that made my blood boil.

“Hands off, Vigil,” I warned him, but the smile didn’t slip from his face on the way into the backseat.

We drove out of the city and into the suburbs. Coach Simmons lived in the palatial hills overlooking the ocean. The views were amazing, but there was nothing on this side of Norwalk other than golf courses and early dinners. I preferred the buzz of the city, but after nearly burning his coaching career to the ground, I understood better why Coach Simmons preferred to keep his life quiet.

“So, Frankie, Trent tells me you spent the spring in Puerto Rico.”Kit adjusted her dress over her knees as she shifted to face Frankie in the backseat. I tried not to let the quick view of flesh distract me from driving but she caught my eye, giving me a guarded grin.

“With my family. It gave me a break from Trent.” He leaned forward, his head inserted between us.

“I can understand that,” she teased.

“He’s a little much, but easy to love.” Frankie squeezed my shoulder, his eyes fixed on Kit.

I pulled up to the valet, handing over my keys as I slid out the car. Kit’s gaze wandered up the widest staircase to the McMansion that Coach Simmons bought his second season as coach for the fledgling NFL team.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Not exactly the type of houses we grew up in, huh?” Frankie elbowed her side before taking her arm. She grinned, leaning into Frankie as he led her up the steps. Fucking asshole.

“How do you know what kind of house Kit grew up in?” I asked, bristling at the easy familiarity between the two after knowing each other for barely an hour.

“This definitely isn’t anywhere close to the type of house I grew up in.” Kit ignored me, focus entirely on my former best friend. “We lived in a rented duplex most of my childhood. We moved into an old two-story in town when I graduated middle school.”

“Our family of eight lived in a three-bedroom house my grandfather owned. It was…cozy.”

I bit my lip, waiting for the opportunity to slip into the conversation.

We walked through the entrance and out through the kitchen into the backyard. A line of grills sat on the far edge of the pool, chefs in white hats and jackets sweltering in the summer sun. Frankie pulled Kit toward the bar on the opposite end of the pool, past the staff, coaches and teammates I’d spend way too much time with in the coming months.

“Trent! What the hell have you been up to?” Diego Salazar stopped me, his voice booming.

I turned to find him splayed out on a beach chair. My eyes traveled over our star quarterback to the woman in a black bikini beside him.

“Hey, Cas.” I smiled brightly, the heat of Diego’s glare easing some of the anxiety Frankie had caused. “I heard you and Cas traveled through Asia during the break. How was it?”

Cassandra sat up, eyes bright and body pitching over Diegotowardme. “So much fun. We had a blast. I was hurt you didn’t want to come joinus though.”

Her pink lips puffed out in a pout meant to needle Diego. And judging by the frown, it was working wonders. I rounded his chair to sit beside Cassandra. “Diego didn’t pass that offer along. Had I known, I might have blown off hanging around Norwalk.”

She gave me a good-natured shove. “Sure. Don’t act like you ‘hung around Norwalk’ all off season. I saw your other social media account. You went on a car rally with a cutie!”

My eyes darted back to the line for the bar. “She’s here, and she’d be super uncomfortable if she heard you calling her that.”

Cas’s brown eyes widened, searching the crowd. “Seriously? She’s here? It’s been a month and she’s still around?”

“She’s just a friend.”

Alright, a hell of a lot more than a friend, but I didn’t need to tell Cassandra and Diego that. They’d seen the parade of models and influencers I’d bought extra tickets for during the season. None of them lasting more than a couple of weeks.

“Is she?” Cas bit her bottom lip, exchanging a look with Diego that spelled trouble. “So, are we going to meet her?”

“I’d love to introduce you, but currently Frankie is hanging all over her.” He had a hand at the small of her back as they ordered drinks at the bar, and I pushed back an impulse to stand up and swat it away.

“Oh.” Cassandra sat up from the chair, eyes on the bar. “Frankie! Over here!”

She waved wildly, throwing her voice over the kids yelling in the pool and the general conversation.

Frankie nodded, whispering to Kit before guiding him toward us.

“Diego!” Frankie pulled our quarterback into a hug that expanded to include Cas. “Cassandra! Long time, no see.”

“How was your off season?” Cas asked Frankie. “And introduce me to your friend.”

“ My friend,” I clarified, catching Kit’s bemused smile. “This is Kit. Kit, this is Diego and Cassandra.”

Frankie pulled up another chair while the three exchanged greetings. I tugged Kit down into the seat beside me, forcing Cas to sit by Diego and leaving Frankie on his own.

“So, Kit, how did you con Trent into a car rally? I never really took him as a car guy.”

“He’s not. He didn’t even know how to drive stick. I didn’t have much of a choice. He incapacitated my rally partner.”

“Trent!” Cas smacked my leg in mock outrage. “If you wanted to ask the girl out, you could have just done that. You didn’t need to hurt someone.”

“I didn’t hurt anyone,” I argued as Kit snorted.

“He didn’t want to ask me out. He wanted to steal my best friend.”

“You were that lonely without me?” Frankie asked, giving me a good-natured punch in the arm. “You’re stealing friends?”

“He might have been a little desperate.” Kit grinned, leaning into me in a familiar way that eased my nerves. “He kept trying to befriend me even after I made it incredibly clear I wasn’t interested.”

“And it worked,” I said with a smug grin.

Kit wiped it right off my face. “Only after we were forced to sit in a car together for five days.”

“Honestly, that would have pushed me in the opposite direction,” Diego muttered, shaking his head.

“That’s so fun, though.” Cas ribbed his side. “An adventure. What a fun way to get to know each other. So, since you’re here together, does that mean I get a new friend to watch games with?”

“Probably not,” Kit said, almost apologetically. She didn’t offer any other explanation and Cas frowned.

“You could come to a game if you wanted.” I nudged her shoulder, offering a smile. The wan smile she gave me in return didn’t fill me with confidence. “Or not.”

“I think you’ve all got the wrong idea.” She scrunched her nose. Her shoulders worked their way up nearly to her ears. “We’re just friends. There’s nothing else going on. Obviously.”

The “obviously” hit me in the gut like a punch. She downed the last of her drink in a nervous gulp.

“Should we grab another drink?” Kit nodded. I surveyed the group. “Anyone else?”

“I could use another beer.” Diego held out an empty bottle.

“Red wine?” Cas asked.

I nodded, taking Kit’s elbow. Once we moved far enough away from my friends, I dipped my head to her ear. “Are you okay?”