Page 31 of Striking Heat

“Sure, sure,” I tell him.

“I mean it,” he says, attempting to be sterner with me.

“I know you do.” I pat him on the shoulder and walk away. No one appears to want my signature, and I can’t blame them. I put away a nice one, but the Red Stars won.

I’m making my way into the locker room when I hear someone call, “Hey, Mac Attack.”

I look up to find Danny. He’s actually wearing a yellow TampaBay Blaze T-shirt with black joggers. He looks effortlessly sexy. I have to stop myself from looking at him because the thoughts that are going through my head are anything but pure.

“Hi,” I reply. I think my voice probably sounds dreamy when I respond to him.

“Tough loss.” He leaves August and makes his way to the edge of the rail, leaning over it so that I can get close to him. “I was sorry to see it didn’t go your way. You had a couple of close calls in the second half, and I thought we’d be lucky enough to get another Dixon goal.” My last name sounds weird coming off his tongue, for some reason.

“We tried our best.” Tears spring to my eyes. I don’t know why—it’s just a league game. It’s certainly not our first loss, and from the looks of some of these teams, it won’t be our last.

“You okay?” He leans over and strokes the edge of my chin. “Need anything?”

His kindness is weird. I expected some teasing or telling me to haul ass. So, I call him on it. “Why are you being so nice to me? Where’s your cold and calculated description of my performance?”

Danny sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “I thought you might have had a rough enough game. And August said you would be worried about Hendrix, so I was trying to cut you some slack.”

“Don’t do that,” I reply.

“Yes, ma’am.” He salutes me and heads back to August.

The two make their way up the stadium steps to go do god knows what, while I make my way to the locker room and attempt to get warm.

Chapter Fourteen

~MAC~

The night air is thick with humidity as I make my way into the bar. I adjust my Blaze T-shirt over the daisy duke shorts I chose for this event. I want to look nice and still a bit wholesome while also trying to get good tips from the crowd. The blue shirt makes my eyes pop.

Thankfully, the bar isn’t far from my place, so I could walk. I pause at the entrance and allow a group to make their way into the bar first.

Tonight, I braided my hair, so it won’t get in the way. I look no different than I might on game day. I’ve worn the long blonde braid down my back before. Back west, it was my typical style. However, here in the Tampa heat, sometimes I wear it as a braided bun. It needs to be all the way off my neck, or I’m a sweaty mess before we’re at the half. I make my way to the side of the bar where I can see Cassidy and Amelia smiling away and waving frantically at me.

“This is going to be fun!” Amelia says, rocking on her ballet flats. “I’ve never been a bartender before—always a server. I really wanted to, but my manager wouldn’t have it.”

I smile brightly at her. Her long blonde hair is down and pinstraight. She looks so much more dolled up than I do, even though we’re basically wearing the same outfit. “Here’s your chance. And it’s for charity, so yay for that.”

I try to sound more excited about this than I am, but Danny will be here. My scan of the bar hasn’t uncovered him yet. Maybe he’s hiding away like a snake and will eventually come slithering out from the gutter to insult me some more.

“You okay?” Cass puts her hand on my shoulder, staring intently at me like she’s trying to figure me out.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Danny is supposed to be here. You know, for the article.”

“Ah.” She nods. “Is that why you wanted to walk? Trying to clear your head so that you can keep your cool?”

“It wasn’t that far from the apartment. Two, maybe three, blocks away. I didn’t see the need for driving.”

Cass and Amelia came over in Cass’s car. I thought they were going to toss me into the trunk when I protested their offered ride. The walk did me good.

“Trying to blow off some steam?” Amelia teases me.

I shake my head and sigh. “Stop it.”

“What? He’s hot! And it’s not like you have anything else happening,” she reminds me.