Page 6 of Not that Impressed (Houston Pumas #3)

Every time someone believed that stupid rumor about me last year, it made me want to send messages and make more posts and try to convince people it wasn’t true.

I’ve even had to remind myself the last couple days that they’re joking around and bite my tongue to keep from insisting to them that I didn’t sleep with Coach’s wife.

It’s crazy, because no matter how many times I defend myself, then or now, it doesn’t help.

Those memories of how helpless I felt make me want to prove to Ellie that I regret trusting a rumor about her, even if I’m just one person.

One person can mean a lot when there are thousands of people willing to believe the worst of you. Ellie gets that as well as I do.

I keep my mouth shut the rest of the time we’re volunteering, limiting my responses to short phrases when Janelle asks me questions to make sure I don’t accidentally say the wrong things, like I did with Ellie.

Ellie doesn’t work at our table with Janelle, which is kind of a relief, but I can’t help that my eyes are drawn to her.

Like when she first walked into Charlie’s house, I reluctantly notice how beautiful she is.

It’s not something I can ignore. She’s wearing a pair of wide-leg pants and an oversized sweatshirt, but she somehow still looks put together.

I think it’s more her self-assured vibe than her perfect makeup or the way her hair is styled.

I keep telling myself not to stare at her like some kid with a crush on a movie star, but it’s hard.

Her beauty is probably why she gets away with tearing people down like she did with me.

I hate to admit it, but her smile is devastating.

She has bright green eyes, and they light up with genuine happiness every time she smiles at someone.

She buzzes around from table to table, and after a few times, I can tell it’s to pull people back on task who are spending a lot of their time chatting.

But the way she does it isn’t bossy. She’s so friendly, moving in and leading by example when she packs up the backpacks quickly and efficiently.

The volunteers don’t even notice what she’s done.

And of course she catches me watching her more than once. It’s clearly not flattering, though, since she glares at me and always looks away.

It’s one of those times, after she catches me watching her, that I turn to find a camera operator standing right next to me, filming the way I was staring at her. Great.

“Get lost,” I say tightly.

The guy lowers the camera enough that I can see his face. He gives me an irritated look. “You signed a?—”

“I signed a waiver saying you could be in the same room as me. Not that you could follow me around.” I’m basically growling by the end of the sentence.

“Will…” Charlie warns in a low voice.

“That waiver says I can film you wherever you are in this room,” he insists, but his voice holds enough hesitation that I can tell I intimidate him.

I lean toward him. I dwarf him by almost a foot, and I probably weigh twice as much as him too. He swallows and takes a step back. “Film up in my face like this again and find out what happens,” I say in a low voice.

He doesn’t say anything else, just glares and backs up.

“Wow, bro…” Charlie says. He’s looking down at the backpack he’s packing instead of at me.

“Dude was basically in my back pocket,” I protest. I glance over at Janelle. She’s studying me, but she looks away when our eyes meet.

This was a bad idea.

“Sorry,” I mutter. Charlie shakes his head.

Thankfully, the drive is wrapping up. I have to get out of here. Once we finish the backpacks at our table, I say deliberately in front of Janelle, “Hey, Charlie, I’ve gotta get going.”

He eyes me, confused, not following my attempt to help him spend more time with Janelle without me having to spend more time with Ellie. “I was going to help Janelle clean up,” he says.

“Oh! I can give you a ride home,” she offers, and I force myself not to react in triumph that one of my plans actually worked.

Charlie is not so subtle. He grins. “Okay, sounds good. See you later, Pemberton.”

“Later.” I make a beeline for the door. I catch Ellie’s eye as I leave. Her expression is smug, and I narrow my eyes. Has she decided I’m off to take a woman twenty years older than me on a hot date?

I stride out of the gym without looking back again.

I need to get a workout in and clear my head.

Stop obsessing about Ellie Bennet thinking I’m a troll and get back to my real goals, like winning another championship and being one of the few linebackers to be named a championship MVP.

I’ve been hustling my whole life for football, and just because I made it pro doesn’t mean I intend to stop.

Getting a workout in will have the nice side effect of not thinking about Ellie Bennet.

I’ve spent way too much time doing that lately for someone I don’t even like.

Isla.is.GLOWING

Hanging out with @Ellie.Bennet.IRL and @janellejbennet today and spreading some love. Check out who I found! @Mr.Colin!