Page 10 of Flag On The Play (Gridiron Warriors #5)

FINLAY

I haven’t seen Nova since the night I asked her to come to this damn party.

Two games have come and gone since, and both of them were absolute shit.

I want to blame her.

God, do I want to blame her.

But deep down, I know it’s not just Nova.

It’s me.

Ever since I got that call about my dad, it’s like something inside me cracked and never quite sealed again.

I’ve tried to bury it, tried to push through with film, drills, practice, the weight room, but the distraction’s always there.

Nipping at the edge of my focus. Clawing into my chest when I least expect it.

It’s not good for me or the team.

So tonight?

Tonight, I’m letting go. Letting loose. Having a goddamn drink and pretending, just for a few hours, that everything isn’t falling apart inside my head.

“Hey, any word from Nova?” Jace asks, tossing a football up and down in the air as we wait for people to start showing.

We’re at his place. His massive, party-perfect house with the open kitchen, decked-out sound system, heated pool, full bar, and enough room in the backyard for a game or a small festival.

He’s thrown some epic parties here.

“Nah,” I say, cracking open a beer. “She’s probably working anyway.”

What I don’t say is that I check Heaven’s social feed every night she performs. What I don’t say is that I still think about the way she felt pressed against me during that lap dance or the way her voice cracked just slightly when I walked away from her last week.

I really thought we had a chance to figure something out.

But she’s so damn bitter. So convinced I’m the villain in her story.

I’ve spent weeks trying to prove I’m not that high school prick anymore.

But maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I shouldn’t have to prove anything.

I’m not the same guy, and she refuses to see it.

“Roxy and Delaney are coming,” Jace says, tossing the football one last time and catching it with a smirk. “You gonna be cool with that?”

I laugh, taking a swig of beer. “Considering I’m a grown-ass man, yeah. I think I’ll manage.”

Music thumps from the speakers, people are filtering in, and the energy’s climbing fast. There’s already a crowd in the pool, girls dancing near the bar, and the grill is smoking up some steaks. It’s the kind of night I usually live for.

I’m leaning back against the bar, mid-sip, when I hear someone say, “Damn, that one’s trouble.”

I look up.

Roxy and Delaney are walking in, and they look like they came straight out of a photoshoot. They’re confident, gorgeous, and dressed to destroy egos. Theo whistles, already moving toward Delaney like he’s been waiting all night.

But they’re not alone.

Behind them, a step slower is Nova.

My body reacts before I can even think. My back straightens, jaw clenches, beer forgotten in my hand.

She’s wearing a short, strappy black dress that fits her like it was painted on. Her hair’s curled and wild, her lips blood red, and her heels are just high enough to make her legs look like something out of a wet dream.

And fuck, she sees me.

Those piercing blue eyes hit mine, and there’s a flicker of something there. Uncertainty, challenge, or maybe it’s the alcohol already warming my blood and making me imagine shit.

She turns back to say something to Roxy, who laughs and loops an arm through hers. Delaney waves to Theo, and they start weaving through the crowd.

I can’t stop staring. Can’t even pretend to.

Jace sidles up next to me, tracking where I’m looking. “Huh,” he says. “Guess she’s not working after all.”

“Nope,” I mutter, unable to stop the slow, stunned smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Guess not.”

I take another drink, eyes never leaving her.

Well, well, Nova Wilde.

Guess this game’s not over after all.

Nova and Roxy weave through the party, turning heads, and for a second, I forget how to breathe. Nova’s eyes scan the crowd until they land on the bar and back on me.

She and Roxy step up beside me like this isn’t a minefield, like we aren’t two steps away from sparking a forest fire with a single word.

So I don’t speak.

Not yet.

I want to see what she does.

Roxy flags down the bartender and orders two shots of tequila.

Nova downs hers like a champ, then glances over at me out of the corner of her eye. “Hey.”

I keep my face neutral, sipping my beer. “Oh, I’m sorry, are you talking to me?”

She blinks, scoffs, and shakes her head as she turns to walk away.

Fuck. Idiot.

“Shit.” I grab her hand to stop her. “Nova. Wait. I’m sorry, alright? Don’t go.”

She looks at me, debating if I’m worth it.

“If I’m staying,” she finally says, “I’m gonna need another shot of tequila. Maybe two.”

I nod to the bartender. “You heard the lady.”

The second shot disappears just as fast as the first, and she lets out a small sigh, like she didn’t realize she needed that.

We knock back another. She licks a bit of lime juice off her thumb, and I swear my brain short-circuits for a second.

We start slow. Quiet comments. Shared looks. Snide remarks that feel more like foreplay than conversation.

“You throw a party like you play football,” she says, eyeing the crowd. “Loud, sweaty, and full of guys who think they’re God’s gift.”

I smirk. “And yet here you are, surrounded by it.”

She rolls her eyes. “Roxy and Delaney wanted to come.”

“But you didn’t say no.”

She tips her head, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Well, I didn’t say yes either. They just handed me a dress and a shot and said get in the damn car.”

“Good friends.”

“The best.”

Another drink.

“You still throw footballs better than you apologize,” she mutters.

“And you still argue better than you listen.”

“I listen fine. I just don’t have the patience to decipher your cryptic bullshit.”

“It’s not cryptic. I told you I wanted to see you. I told you I’m not the guy I used to be.”

She tilts her head. “Right, because one football party and some heavy thoughts make you a changed man?”

“No,” I say, smirking. “But you came. So either you believe me a little or you just missed the view.”

“Please,” she laughs. “If I needed to see some six-pack abs and an overinflated ego, I could’ve stayed home and watched ESPN.”

“But then you wouldn’t get my charm.”

“You think you’re charming?”

“I know I am.”

She rolls her eyes but bites her lip, trying not to smile.

“That’s your move, huh? Be a pain in the ass until I cave?”

“I don’t need you to cave, Nova. I just want to see you smile at me without flipping me off after.”

“That’s asking a lot.”

“Yet here we are,” I say, watching her eyes soften just slightly.

She shifts closer, arms folded. “What do you want from me, Finlay?”

It’s a fair question. One I’ve asked myself a thousand times.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’m tired of pretending I don’t want anything at all.”

Her eyebrows lift, clearly not expecting that answer.

“Is this your new play? Emotional quarterback confession to get in my pants?”

I laugh, and for the first time tonight, she does too. Really laughs. It shakes the tension just enough.

“No,” I say, smiling. “That move was last season. This season I’m trying honesty. It’s terrifying, by the way. Zero stars. Do not recommend.”

She snorts. “God, you’re such an idiot.”

“But you’re talking to me again. That’s progress.”

She shakes her head, her smile betraying her resolve. “It’s tequila. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Sure, Lux.”

“Don’t call me that outside the club.”

“Why not? It fits. Lux is fire. Untouchable. Dangerous.”

“You forgot ‘pissed off’.”

“Oh, I didn’t forget. I live in fear of your wrath, daily.”

She laughs again, and this time, there’s no sarcasm. No venom.

“That may be true, but Lux stays in Heaven. Nova is who you get out of there.”

I can feel the shift. It’s slow, but it’s happening. Her shoulders drop. Her eyes soften. And then we’re not talking about shots anymore. We’re circling each other. Verbal jabs turn into teasing touches. Her hand brushes my arm, mine grazing her waist.

“Still think I’m that high school jackass?” I ask, tipping my beer to my lips.

She shrugs, stepping closer. “Still think I’m just some angry stripper with a grudge?”

“I never said just.”

She laughs, and it cuts through the tension and adds something else in its place. Heat. Hunger.

“God, you’re annoying,” she says.

“I know.” I lean in closer. “You like it.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but she doesn’t.

And then it happens.

It’s not a decision. It’s gravity. It’s inevitable.

Her lips crash into mine, and everything else falls away. The music. The people. The noise. All of it fades into static.

She kisses like she argues. Hard, relentless, and completely in control.

I respond instantly, my hand sliding into her hair as her body presses against mine. Her lips are warm and urgent, and when I nip her bottom lip, she moans into my mouth and fuck me if I don’t almost lose it right there.

I pull away just enough to breathe. “Upstairs,” I mutter, voice rough.

She hesitates, but just for a second.

Then she grabs my hand.

We cut through the house, ducking through the crowd and up the stairs, slipping into the first empty bedroom I can find.

As soon as the door shuts, she turns, breathing hard.

“I’m not making any promises this is going anywhere. I don’t even like you all that much,” she says, voice low but firm.

“I didn’t ask for any promises,” I reply. I pull her to me and kiss a path to her ear. “And you like me, Nova. Maybe a little more than you’d like to admit.”

Right now, I don’t want her promises.

I just want her.