Page 49 of Mad Rivals (The Bradley Legacy #1)

Doesn’t Have to End with a Hookup

“I have an appearance tonight. Come with me,” Clay says at the end of workouts.

Clay has tried to get me to go out, but the mere thought of a hookup feels like something some past version of me might’ve participated in. Current me wants nothing to do with it. I only want her, but I’ve convinced myself that being with her is too dangerous for her.

I guess that whole Clay Mack and Mad Brad taking San Diego by storm is an idea of the past—at least off the field, anyway.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m out.”

“Out? Why? What happened to Mad Brad and Clay Mack taking over this town?” he asks, mirroring my thoughts. Maybe the two of us have grown closer than I’ve given us credit for in the short space of time we’ve gotten to know one another.

I huff out a chuckle. “I’m not in the same place.”

“What place? San Diego?”

I give him a pointed look, and he nods.

“Ohhhh,” he says, exaggeratedly drawing out the word. “The woman.” He nods knowingly.

“Yeah. The one who really fucked me up without my permission. ”

He laughs. “Don’t they all?”

I raise a brow without a comment.

“We’ve all got one.” He says it in a way that tells me he thinks everyone has skeletons in their past. “She’s moved on now, though. Married. Kid. The whole shot. And I’m here in San Diego playing like that was my plan all along.”

“So you’re saying you have regrets?”

“I don’t know about that. I’m in an okay place now, you know? Commitment isn’t for everybody.”

I press my lips together. “But it was for you once upon a time.”

“Yeah. I guess. I put my focus on football, and it ruined that relationship. But what am I still doing now?” He glances out at the practice field. “Not her.”

“Football,” I say flatly.

He nods.

“But how much longer?”

“I think I’ve got a few more years in me than you do,” he says, and I chuckle at the jab.

“I don’t know, man. I’ve seen your sprints. Could take a lesson or two from this old man.”

He laughs. “Come with me tonight. Some of the other guys will be there, too. Spencer, Tanner, Miller. Maybe a few of the other receivers.”

I think of the guys he just named. All three are in relationships, somehow figuring out how to balance personal and work life, and all three happen to be related, too.

Tanner is back at quarterback after a season-ending injury last year.

Miller, his twin brother, is our star running back, and I’m already growing closer to Spencer.

Going out tonight doesn’t have to end with a hookup. It can simply be friends getting together for drinks and then going home.

“Fine,” I finally say. “I’ll go. But to be clear, you’re not wing-manning for me tonight. ”

“Man, she must’ve really fucked you up. Do you want to talk about it? Or, you know…find a hookup to help you forget about it?”

I press my lips together. “It’s complicated.

Her father and mine are business rivals, and she was with me when I found out my dad’s been doing some shady shit for a few years.

If he comes under fire for that, I don’t want it to be her ass on the line because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. ”

“So let me guess…you’re being the hero by writing her off so she doesn’t get caught in the crossfire if something happens.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m writing her off,” I protest. Is that what I’m doing? I’m no hero. I’m just trying to protect her. That’s all.

What if there’s another way?

It’s not the first time the thought has entered my brain. What if there’s some other way to solve this problem? What if there’s another way where we can still be together and she won’t be fucked by something that doesn’t really involve her?

How do I protect myself in all this, too?

That’s a question I hadn’t really considered yet. I don’t want to get called in for questioning when I had nothing to do with my father’s choices.

And that leads me to one simple conclusion.

I need to cut my father and all his suspicious activities out of Bradley Group. He may have cut those three companies out, but that’s just because those were the ones I found.

I won’t work there another second if it’s risking my reputation or Kennedy’s.

“The wheels are turning,” Clay says, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah,” I grunt. And then I stand. “Thanks, man.” I slap him on the shoulder, and then I head out.

“Wait! What about tonight?” he asks.

“Text me where and when. I’ll be there.” And maybe after I call the Bradley Group lawyer, I’ll have some semblance of what comes next .

After speaking with my lawyer, as it turns out, I don’t. Not really. I have an idea, but it’s just the first glimmer of it. It needs work, but I don’t have a lot of time here.

But I do have a lot of decisions to make in a relatively short amount of time.

I handle what I can for today, and then I head to meet my teammates at the nightclub where they’re already waiting for me. I spot Tanner first, and he holds out a hand for a fist bump. “How’s it going, man?” he asks.

I shrug. “I’m at a paid appearance not getting paid if that tells you anything.”

He laughs. “That good, huh? I heard there’s a woman involved.”

“Clay has a big mouth.”

“Nah. I heard you in the weight room earlier.” He holds up his glass for a second, but I don’t have one to toast back with, so I nod at the bartender, who nods back that he’ll be right over.

“Look, for what it’s worth, I’ve been where you are.

If you want my advice, you do whatever it takes to get her back.

Clay may say something different since he’s single, but I’ve been with her, and I’ve been without her.

I know which side of that coin I want to end up on. ”

It’s good advice, I think. They’re words that will stick in my mind for a while, anyway.

After I order, I congratulate him on his upcoming wedding. He shares a few details, and his brother saunters over with a glass of his own to make a toast to his twin’s upcoming nuptials.

We take a few pictures, have a few drinks on the house, and put in our time before Clay finds some girl to leave with and the rest of us head our separate ways.

I head home to my empty house. It’s better this way. I don’t want some meaningless hookup.

I just want Kennedy.

And I’ve got a fire in my veins now to figure out how the hell I’m going to win her back.