Page 6 of Man to Man Coverage (Rangers Football: Hard-Hitting #6)

Devlin

H ow crazy was it to run in Rex today—at a game shop, of all places? Looks like we have more in common than I originally thought.

“Tell me about yourself, Rex?”

He looks up at me in surprise, popping the last of his sandwich into his mouth. “What do you want to know?”

Shrugging, I toss a fried pickle into my mouth. “I don’t know. I know you lost your mom a few years ago, but what about your dad? Do you have siblings? A girlfriend? What made you want to play for the Rangers?”

Rex wads up his napkin and throws it on his empty plate. I love a man that can eat, as I also love food.

“My dad skipped out on us when I was a kid, so I’m not sure where he is today. Actually, that’s not true. I’m pretty sure I know where he is, but I have no intentions of finding him.”

That one statement has an ominous tone to it, and I feel like it’s best to leave it alone for the moment.

He continues. “No brothers or sisters. Not a lot of family to speak of, honestly. I’m from a small town in Nebraska, so there wasn’t much there, and besides the Denver Mustangs, the Rangers are the closest thing to a home team.

Plus, I’ve been watching you guys build your offensive lineup over the last few years and deep down, I want to be a part of that. ”

I reach across the table and pat his hand. “You are.”

He blushes and I find it damn near irresistible, but I can’t help notice that he skipped the girlfriend question.

“What about you? I know your brother plays for Seattle and your dad was a wide receiver, too. Right?”

Rex leans back and grabs a clean napkin, shredding it into tiny pieces. I noticed he did that at the strip club in Nashville a few weeks ago, too.

“Yep. Eight seasons with Baltimore, four seasons with Atlanta, where he retired.” My father was also a wide receiver, mostly second-string, although he had several starts throughout his career and a few shortly held record-breaking stats.

“How does he feel about you blowing away all his records?” Rex asks tentatively.

I flash him a big smile. “My father loves it when Darren or I break any record, even his. He wants us to succeed. There’s no ego there.”

“Wow. He sounds amazing.”

“Yeah, he is.”

Gideon walks up at that moment with two to-go containers. “For your sweet tooth later.”

“Thanks,” I chuckle, already knowing what’s inside—three different cannolis. Rex’s eyes go wide and his mouth forms a perfect O when he takes a peek.

“Do you think you’ll be logging on tonight?” I ask.

“I’m going to try. I’ll have to download the expansion packs, and I haven’t checked on my characters in years. So, I might be starting from scratch.”

“Give me your number and I’ll text you my handles.

” I hold my cell in my hand, feeling smooth that I’m getting his number without straight up asking for it.

“Once you get yourself online, you can message me and we’ll meet up in the fantasy realm.

Worst case, I can help you level up your new characters quickly. ”

Rex rattles off his number, and I immediately send him a text.

“Well, I guess I better get home and see if my computer can handle the new expansion packs.” Rex stands up and stretches his arms over his head. The bottom of his T-shirt rides up enough to flash me a peek at his toned abs and a hint of red hair forming a treasure trail.

Diverting my eyes, I climb out of the bench seat. “I know a guy who can help you with that.”

“With what?” Rex reaches over and grabs both of our to-go containers, his wallet in his hand.

“I got it, man,” my wallet also in my hand.

“I can’t let you pay for lunch,” he argues.

I arch my brow. “I invited you, remember? You’ll get me another time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I like buying the first time. That way you’ll feel compelled to do this again.” I flash him a flirty smile, unable to stop myself.

Again, a light blush hits his cheeks and I love it. “I’d like that.”

After paying the check, Gideon offers me and Rex a hearty handshake and well wishes for a successful season, and then we’re driving back to the game shop.

“I might need to test drive a hard top someday,” Rex says casually, sliding his hand over the supple leather.

“Can I give my guy your number? He’ll call and schedule a test drive.” I grin when he looks my way with raised brows.

“You have a guy for everything, don’t you? What was the other guy you mentioned earlier?”

“That’s my computer guy. He hand-built both my tower and my laptop. He can look at your setup, tweak it with whatever parts are needed, or build you something from scratch.”

“I might need that. My gaming PC is six years old.”

For some reason, I want to prolong our afternoon together. This isn’t a date, even though I’d like it to be and I want more time with him. “Well, if you want, I can ask my guy to come tonight. I’ll bring him over myself.”

“You want to come to my place?” Rex stares at me, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Am I overstepping and making him uncomfortable?

I shrug. “I mean, I don’t have to.”

“No, I’d like you to come over.” He bites his lip and chews on his cheek. “I need an hour or two to clean, though.”

Chuckling, I pull into the parking spot next to his red truck. “I can give you that. Let me call Chris and see if he’s available. How’s six o’clock sound to you?”

“Sounds like we’re having dinner.”

C hris couldn’t make it, but he sold me a robust laptop similar to the one I upgraded to months ago.

I’m going to gift it to Rex, whether or not he wants me to.

The simple fact is, even if he is straight and we can be nothing more than friends—which is where my brain should be even though it keeps drifting into relationship territory—he’s a nice guy and would benefit from forming more friendships on the team.

It would be good for his reputation to put some distance between him and Jepson, that’s for sure.

Plus, I don’t have any other players to game with.

The two-car garage on his house is open.

He texted and told me to roll right in, which I do.

I grab all the computing gear—both his and mine—and look up in time to find Rex opening the door to his house.

He’s a vision in joggers and a tight T-shirt stretched over his broad chest with a black apron tied around his trim waist.

“Are you cooking?” I ask at the same time a rich, buttery aroma wafts out of the kitchen.

“Yeah.” He runs his fingers through his thick reddish-blond hair. “I like to tinker and rarely have an excuse to do so. Hopefully, you like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“Do you need help?” He tilts his chin to the pile in my arms.

“Nope.” Walking into his house, I’m instantly intrigued by the understated decor and mid-demolition/remodel state of a few walls.

He lives well below his means—the lowest-paid running back still makes more than half a million a year—which is most likely a testament to his near-poverty upbringing.

I could tell by the little he’s told me about his mom and hometown, he didn’t grow up with much.

On the other hand, I’m second generation professional football and one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league at just over twenty-eight million a year, and that doesn’t include sponsorships or endorsement deals.

Still, I like his style. His place feels less clinical than mine—comfortable and lived in.

As if he’s reading my mind, he clears his throat and motions to the living room. “It’s a work in progress.”

“I like it.” I set the equipment down on one of two leather recliners facing two giant flat screens. “It seems like you’re already set up for gaming.”

“Jepson and Jaxson have a similar setup at their place. We play Call of Duty and GTA a lot over XBox.”

“Well, now you have options with me.” Unable to stop myself, I wink as I hand him the cardboard box.

“This is for you. As I told you earlier, Chris has a parent-teacher conference tonight, so I had him build you a gaming laptop. It’s almost identical to mine, and he already pre-installed WoW.

All you have to do is login and configure your account. ”

“How much do I owe him?” Rex sets the box down and opens it, running his big hand almost lovingly over the matte black and neon green case.

“It’s on me.” I pull my laptop out of my bag, the two pieces of equipment are nearly identical except mine is matte black and electric blue. Rex says nothing, which causes me to bring my eyes up.

“I can’t let you do that.” He shakes his head again.

“Why not? Consider it a welcome-to-the-team gift. Besides, I’ve been dying to have someone on the team to raid with.” I pull cables out of my bag, not taking no for an answer. “Do you have to man whatever’s cooking, or can you set up your gear and configure your account?”

“It has to bake for another fifteen minutes.”

“Enough time to power up, log in, and let the servers do their thing.”

Rex sits down on the loveseat between the two recliners and I take a seat next to him. He gives me his Wi-Fi password and then we’re sitting in comfortable silence while he logs in and configures his account and I run HDMI cables to the big TV screens.

“Man, this computer is fast,” Rex mumbles reverently under his breath.

“Yeah, Chris is a gamer and knows how to build good equipment.”

“I’m glad he didn’t get a look at my old tower. He would’ve laughed his ass right out of here.”

“Awww, I wouldn’t have let him do that to you.” I elbow him at the same time a timer rings in the kitchen.

Rex sets his laptop down and stands. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m always hungry.” I also put my laptop down on the table and stand.

He stares at me for a second, a coy smile on his lips. “This way.”

Pointing to a table with two place settings, he tells me to take a seat. There’s another wall missing sections in his makeshift dining room and plastic drop cloths taped haphazardly over the openings, which leads me to believe he’s expanding the kitchen. “Do you have a background in construction?”

He comes back with two plates and frowns. “No.”