Page 13 of Not that Impressed (Houston Pumas #3)

ELLIE

The Pumas have a home game on Sunday, and Libby and I join my parents in their suite.

The film crew isn’t here. They get footage of us at the games from time to time, but it gets old if they rely on it too much through the season.

It will be a nice break. I’ve been so busy with photoshoots and a low-key event for Girls Play, in addition to my filming schedule.

I also did double-duty the last few days to make sure Janelle got some needed time off.

I haven’t had time to talk to my dad about Grayson Hollis.

Or even text Grayson much more than we did the other night.

I keep having to delay us getting together because of other obligations.

Grayson has been understanding, and it’s a point in his favor.

Most people don’t realize how busy my schedule is since they watch me go out to lunch or hang out at my parents’ on the show. The filming takes a lot of commitment.

Even without the show filming at the game, everyone with a phone will be capturing video of us to splash across social media.

There will be a ridiculous number of posts about my expressions during the game, and somehow it will only be when I scowl or glare that it goes viral.

There will be a discussion on how the number on the tank-top jersey I’m wearing doesn’t belong to anyone on the roster, and that must mean I’m feuding with all the players. And that I hate them.

It’s fine. It drives people to my social media accounts searching for my reactions to any of it and plenty of people end up following Girls Play or other organizations I’m working with. It’s exhausting, but in the end, worth it.

Isla

Come see me in Dad’s suite. Hollis is here.

Ellie

No cameras, babe.

Isla

How will I ever manage to spend time with you without cameras…

Ellie

Come over here. You know we have better food.

Isla

Hollis won’t. Says it would be awkward with your dad.

I glance back at my dad, who’s sipping a cocktail and talking with Jack Forester, the Puma’s general manager.

With Janelle being sick the last few days, I’ve only really seen my parents to film.

Even though the puking only lasted twenty-four hours, she still felt iffy the next couple of days, and it’s left her exhausted.

I ended up taking her to my parents Friday afternoon, when we knew the crew would be gone, and Mom switched right into nurse-mode.

She called Victoria and rescheduled all the filming for other stuff her and Dad had going on through the weekend, and I ended up at more random events to keep Victoria happy and away from Janelle.

Janelle is back at our apartment, still exhausted and lounging around while she watches the game, so I’m bored in the suite. Going over to where Isla is sitting with her dad and his friend, Travis Phillips, will be more exciting. I stand up, pulling my oversized sunglasses from my crossbody bag.

“Where are you going?” Libby looks up from her phone and the Snapchat selfies she’s been posting every few minutes.

“Over to Isla’s suite.”

“Can I come?”

I ruffle her hair, which she hates. “Sure. Don’t embarrass me, okay?” I wink at her.

“You make it so easy.” She smirks at me. “The challenge is you not embarrassing me.”

“I’m very cool, Libby,” I protest as we head down the hallway behind the suites. “Millions of people think so.”

“Old people.”

“I’m only twenty-seven. That’s hardly old.”

She scoffs.

Isla’s not the one that greets us when we reach the box. It’s Colin Hurst. He’s been bugging me since Isla’s launch to do a collab with him, like her. I keep putting him off, since he’s all about image and sexist as all get out, even though he fakes it on his page.

“Ellie!” he exclaims. He holds out his arms like he’s going to hug me. I shake my head and raise an eyebrow. I won’t start a feud between us on purpose, but I also wouldn’t be mad if someone snapped a picture of me shutting him down and he had to explain himself.

Grayson Hollis rescues me though, which is another point in his favor.

“Hey, good to see you again.” Grayson reaches for my hand and shakes it, and I smile at him gratefully.

“You too.”

Grayson nods to Libby, standing next to me and staring at him with stars in her eyes. I swear, if I had a dollar for every time she developed a crush on a football player that’s too old for her, I’d be richer than my dad.

“This must be your famous little sister? ”

She lets out a small eep , and I give her a look that I hope conveys which of us is being the embarrassing one.

“Yes,” I say to Grayson, both of us sharing knowing smiles. “This is Libby.”

“Nice to meet you.” He extends his hand to her.

I’m surprised she’s not a puddle on the floor. She takes it and holds on to it so long he has to gently extract his hand with an awkward smile. I turn to her with wide eyes. Chill , I mouth.

She shrugs and mouths back, What?

Isla joins us, her eyes laughing as she glances between me and Libby, and then she hugs me.

“What is Colin doing here?” I whisper.

“Stop it,” she whispers back. “He’s not that bad, and he got me like a hundred thousand followers just for coming to my launch.”

I can’t point out that I’d gladly help her get twice that without having to kiss up to Colin since she’s pulled away and he’s still hovering uncomfortably close.

“Want something to eat?” Grayson asks, tilting his head toward a table filled with food.

I give Isla a look since there’s something to her inviting Grayson to her box and then telling me to come hang out, but even though we’re good friends, we don’t have the same kind of silent communication skills as me and Janelle.

She stares back blankly. Oh well, I’ll talk to her about it later.

Yes, I want to get to know him better, but I don’t need her to matchmake.

“Thank you,” I say under my breath as I follow Grayson toward the food table.

“He’s weird,” Grayson replies, widening his eyes, and I laugh.

It doesn’t take hanging out with Colin very long to come to this conclusion.

He even looks fake, with his hair always meticulously combed and never a hair out of place, and his beard and mustache so precise that I swear he must trim them twice a day.

Then there’s the fact that he never stops talking about his mentor, Kathy Burgess, who’s big in the fitness world, but his hero worship of her borders on inappropriate.

Libby follows as we grab some sandwiches and move toward the front of the box where we can see the game (and avoid Colin). She sits on my other side and, thankfully, calms down, though she looks over at Grayson every few seconds.

The Pumas are on defense. I ignore the spark of awareness when I pick out Will right off, crouched behind the defensive line as the Rays offense gets in formation.

Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen him around Charlie, and both of them are big guys, well over six foot and easily two-hundred and fifty pounds, that it only now strikes me how huge he looks down on the field.

The Rays center snaps, and Will darts in between the offensive line so fast even I’m surprised at how quickly he gets to Eli Dash, the Rays quarterback. Dash is down before half the offensive line has even realized Will got through.

I watch him as he marches away. He doesn’t do the celebratory crouch walk that a lot of guys do after good plays. He slaps his chest with one hand and shakes his head at Charlie, who’s jumping around him and hitting him on the helmet.

“Does that hurt?” I ask without thinking. “When guys slap you on the helmet like that?” Grayson cringes and I realize who I’m talking to. “Oh, sorry. I bet it’s frustrating to be up here when you should be down there,” I add on.

“It’s fine. I’m here putting myself through the torture, right?” He forces a smile.

“And why are you putting yourself through the torture?”

“I love football.” He shrugs, his expression saying I can’t help myself .

I reach over and squeeze his arm, still feeling bad for him. He’s right. He came to the game. He’s gotta expect people to talk about it around him, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

“You’re being so obvious,” Libby leans over and whispers.

“Me?” I whisper back. “ I’m being obvious? ”

She rolls her eyes and mouths, Wow .

“It’s not that bad. Getting hit on the helmet,” Grayson says. “Usually you’re pretty hyped anyway. You don’t notice.”

Libby pops up out of her chair, startling both me and Grayson.

“Kat says that Logan Knox is here. She can see her in a box with Gabriella Duncan. Logan is totally dating Rory Beckham.” She bounces in her excitement.

Rory is a tight end on the Pumas and there are rumors swirling that he’s dating pop star Logan Knox.

“Leave Logan Knox alone,” I warn.

“Oh my gosh. Like I would be that embarrassing.” She shakes her head at me and hurries from the suite.

“Sorry,” I say to Grayson, but he’s laughing.

“You guys seem close.”

“We are. Kind of. I’m ten years older, and sometimes it’s hard to stop myself from trying to be another mom to her.”

He leans back in his chair. “So do you know Will Pemberton and Charlie Baldwin pretty well?”

I think about the way Will and I stood in Charlie’s dark living room a few nights ago and something in me warms. It was nothing, just him making sure his friend was okay and then doing me a favor.

“Uh, kind of? I guess.” I shrug. I lower my voice. “Charlie is my parents’ neighbor. We’ve hung out with them a few times.” I try to keep any thoughts on Will out of my voice. I think my opinion is changing about him, but it’s still early.

Grayson smiles, but his jaw is tight. “Charlie is awesome.”

I arch a brow at the obvious way he only said something about Charlie.

“And Will?” Can you blame me for being curious about him?

That moment between us at Charlie’s was just about the darkness and the soft lighting and the threat of sickness.

Not because there’s some kind of spark I feel around Will.

I saw more of his personality during dinner, but being into guys that are broody but also first-class jerks is toxic and not my thing.

I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions about Will either.

We’ve had so few interactions, and with anyone else, I would have given them the benefit of the doubt.

He just got on my bad side so quickly. Will and Charlie are best friends, and Charlie is awesome.

Should I judge Will less harshly than I am because of that? Cut him some slack?

Grayson looks around. Isla and Colin are over by the food table with Isla’s dad. Colin is probably kissing up to him. No one else is sitting in the seats in the front like us.

“Well,” Grayson says in a low voice. “He basically got me cut from the Pumas, so we’re not besties or anything.”

I gasp. “What?” Will getting someone fired doesn’t feel right, but why would Grayson just say that? Sure, Will’s one of the best players in the league, but I don’t think he has the power to get someone cut.

Grayson looks down at his hands. “Yeah, I was dating this friend of his in the front office and he didn’t like it.

He spread a bunch of lies about me and got me cut.

And the kind of stuff he said about me?” He looks up and eyes me pointedly.

“It’s the kind of stuff that means no one else will pick me up either. ”

I stare at Grayson. I don’t like Will, sure, but I don’t want to believe he’d do something like that.

But … didn’t he repeat stuff about me to Kara that wasn’t true?

And I’m just some girl to him. If he didn’t like Grayson, it would be easy for him to trash-talk him.

They played together for a couple years before Grayson got cut last season.

He could probably spin truths the same way he did when he was talking about me—using real things that happened, ignoring the context and twisting everything around.

“Grayson. That’s awful.” I don’t have any other words for this. “Have you talked to anyone? Surely Will can’t tell lies and have everyone believe him.”

Grayson shrugs. “That’s just it. Everyone does. They don’t know Will like I do. He’s the stand-up guy to everyone else.” He grunts in disgust.

My stomach is boiling. The other night …

ugh! I started to like him a little. The way he brought Janelle’s favorite cookies an d how he stayed to make sure we didn’t need anything.

The way he didn’t automatically push back when I argued that he curates his story as much as anyone else.

Is that some kind of act to get me to believe it all too since his friend wants to date my sister?

I assume he approves of Janelle, since he’d probably make something up to tell Charlie and break them up if he didn’t.

And judging by the lengths Will went to with Grayson, just breaking up Charlie and Janelle would be the best-case scenario…

I shake my head and turn back to the game, not even enjoying the fact that the Pumas defense has the Rays backed up to third and twenty-five now.

Not when Will Pemberton is the leader of the defense, and he’s actually the worst.

I put my hand on Grayson’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

He gives me a sad smile and shrugs. “Thanks. It means a lot to have someone believe me.”

I swallow so I don’t throw up. Maybe I could talk to my dad about this. Will might be football’s golden boy right now, but he can’t get away with this.

Ellie.Bennet.IRL Direct Messages:

@Mr.Colin

Let’s set something up for a collab! The fans are dying to see us together, Ellie. It’s in the stars. Kathy has told me she thinks it’s inevitable for us to rule the fitness space together and I absolutely agree.

@Ellie.Bennet.IRL

Sorry! I can’t. I’ve got a few things already in the mix right now. Thanks for thinking of me.

@Mr.Colin

Playing hard to get. Yeah, you probably have to turn everyone down at first. It’s all about the visual right. Let’s plan on something next month.

@Ellie.Bennet.IRL

My schedule is full. Best wishes!

@Mr.Colin

I’m not worried. We’ll get this worked out soon!