Page 27 of Personal Foul (The San Diego Storm #3)

Carson

W e sat around Lennox’s pool Monday afternoon, enjoying the sun and steaks he’d grilled. It was just what we needed after the clusterfuck in the parking lot.

Of course, the guys were curious, and Colin decided to let them in on the investigation. What I didn’t expect was for him to be so open about the other part of their relationship.

“Do you have a contract with him?” Hudson asked. The governor had been listening intently to the conversation. “Because you have a lot of recourse. If you were here in the States, it could get very nasty.”

Evan leaned over to Colin. “He’s also an attorney.”

Colin nodded. “Yes, sir. George, Carson’s father, is looking into everything. This is just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately. He doesn’t know that we’ve discovered his impropriety.”

I bumped my knee against his simply because I needed to touch him.

The governor smiled kindly at Colin. “Call me Hudson. I’m not on duty while I’m here. I am, but not officially. If you need something while you’re here, my staff can assist until January.”

“Official enough for Thomas to be here,” Evan added, then motioned to the governor’s personal bodyguard sitting across the pool.

Mason’s eyes kept drifting that way, but no one said anything.

I just happened to notice, because I’d spent so much time avoiding eye contact with Colin, and knew that look.

“Why until January?” Colin asked Hudson.

“My term will be up.”

He told us about his plans to move his family to San Diego until Lennox returned with a bucket of cold beer and changed the subject.

“God, I wish I’d seen St. James rip that fucker off you, Colin. Someone had to catch it on video.”

I flipped him the bird, forgetting there were kids around.

“Don’t worry, they’ve seen worse,” Hudson added. “Jack is almost sixteen, and I’m not oblivious to what kids know.”

Lennox chimed in. “I’m telling you right now that kid is going to be a hell of a quarterback one day. He reminds me of me.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “Oh hell, no. He’s got tight end written all over him. He’s gonna kick ass this season. You wait and see.”

“As long as he doesn’t get hurt, I’ll be fine with whatever position,” Hudson added. “I think.”

Dane put his hand on Hudson’s shoulder. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I swear he’ll be okay. When we played football in high school, I was a wide receiver and got knocked unconscious and had to go to the hospital,” Dane said.

Hudson’s eyes widened. “That’s not helping.”

We all laughed, but Dane continued. “I had a concussion, but obviously it didn’t impede me from following my dreams.”

He put his hand on Lennox’s leg. “But this guy went after the player who hit me and got himself kicked out of the game and suspended for the next two just so he could go to the hospital with me.”

Lennox looked at him. “I was furious, and going to the hospital was a bonus, if there was one.”

He smiled at Lennox. “And he slept on the floor in my room every night for a week in case I needed something. Helped me walk to the bathroom and stayed by my side the whole time.”

Lennox reached over and took his hand. “And I’d do it again today if it meant protecting you.”

Dane smiled softly at him. “Ditto.”

Everyone took in the gravity of that moment. None of us knew they had such an intense connection until training camp.

Colin blinked at me. “That sounds like something you’d do.”

I took his hand as our friends watched. We never displayed our affection for one another in the locker room or on the field. But here, among our friends, we could. And I didn’t want to hide him.

“I would. I just hope nothing happens on the field and I have to pull a Lennox Sanders.”

Everyone laughed at my joke.

“Let’s hope I don’t have to protect you. It’s no secret I’ve got quite a reputation for violence,” he joked.

“Rugby looks hard as hell,” Mason added. “It’s like controlled chaos with all that pushing and shoving, and no fucking equipment. I don’t get it.”

Colin let out a groan. “Don’t get me started on the fucking equipment.

While the sport is dangerous, the tackling is different.

We aim for the legs only, not the upper body.

If you aim low, you’re less likely to hurt someone.

And you don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to kick the ball when I got it in my hands. ”

My eyes widened. “Don’t you fucking dare. I don’t even know what kind of penalty that would draw, and I’d tackle you myself. And Coach would kill you.”

Colin grinned. “That would be entertaining, especially if we threw off our helmets and started kissing like fools.”

The guys laughed as I rolled my eyes at him.

“Don’t even talk about shit like that. I never know what you’re going to do.”

I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him over. But when I let him go, I kept my arm around his shoulders.

“Mason, if ya want to learn rugby, Carson and I could teach ya. You’d make a good tighthead with your size, but your natural position as a center is more like the hooker.”

Mason blushed. “What the hell does that mean?”

We laughed. “Okay. At the beginning of the game, both teams line up in three rows, facing each other. It’s called Scrum.

The guy in the middle of the front line, like you, the center, is the hooker.

His job is to hook the ball with his foot and kick or pull it out to the fly-half or scrum-half.

Those two function like the quarterback.

Just like you get the ball to Lennox when we play, it’s just a different delivery with your feet instead of your hands. ”

The guys seemed amused. “We could teach all of ya and play a game on the beach.”

“Another position for Len to be a ball hog,” Evan teased.

Lennox shot him the bird, then piped in. “So if I’m hearing you right, what you’re saying is it takes two people to do everything I do on the field.” His smug look was too much.

“Yes, and no,” Colin replied. “In rugby, you don’t have six big blokes protecting you from the opponent. Ya gotta fend for yourself and rely on your teammates to get the ball down the field.”

“We might have to wait till the offseason,” Mason added, “but I wouldn’t mind watching some games. Maybe you could teach us like that.”

Colin got that look in his eyes that worried me. “We can do it! Carson’s even got a big stick for pointing it out. It makes things happen when he…”

I slapped my hand over his mouth, knowing what he was talking about. If I wasn’t careful, he was going to make me hard right here.

The boys laughed. “There’s a story there,” Lennox crowed.

“And you’re not getting it,” I barked, removing my hand from his mouth. Colin laced his fingers with mine, like we’d been doing it forever.

“I’d have to be right pissed to tell it.”

Lennox popped up out of his chair. “I’ll get the beer!”

“Well, what about me?” Drew asked. “What would I be?”

“Either a center or a wing,” I answered. “As quick as you are, you’ll fly down the field.”

“More like a chicken wing if he doesn’t put more weight on,” Lennox called over his shoulder before entering the house.

Drew shot him the bird but smiled. He was Lennox’s other favorite target on the field after Evan.

Colin turned to Mason. “We’ll make a plan. You blokes come over and watch a match, then we can play on the sand. No actual tackling, just some basics.”

Mason nodded. “I’m in.”

He glanced over at the governor’s bodyguard, then looked away.

Colin leaned over and patted my thigh. “Seven on seven. We gotta find some work to do.”