Page 72 of Wild Card

“I don’t give a fuck if your subscribers know that you film here.”

“Then everyone will know you’re a secret nerd.” She makes a pretend gasp and covers her mouth.

“They already know exactly what my ass looks like from all angles, so what’s one more thing?” I grumble.

“Is that what the raised voices were about?”

“They were about my dad being… my dad actually. There is no word that properly encompasses how much of an asshole he is. So we’ll have to settle for that.”

“I see. Well, I’m sorry about that.”

“But then I saw this cake. Did you have this made?”

“I made it. From a 1950s cookbook, so I don’t know how good it’ll be, but I thought I could kill two birds with one stone. Make a cute cake and get some short-form content for socials.”

“Fair enough. Thank you though. I love it. Again with the little hints that your subscribers might put together. I’ve seen the comments. They’ve been sleuthing about where you are and what you’re up to these days.”

“I like to maintain an air of mystery.” She grins.

I slide my hands around her waist and pull her close, kissing her softly before she returns it in more pressing strokes of her tongue.

“I missed you. Was it a good first day otherwise?”

“Yeah. It was really great to be back in the locker room with the guys and on the field. I didn’t get to do a ton. A lot of just taking it easy and observing. A few catches here and there. But feels like I’m headed back to normal even if I’m not there yet.”

“Good. I’m happy for you.” She hugs me. “Now I’ve got to finish this shot, and then we can get dinner and have some cake?”

“Can I watch?”

“Watch what?”

“You film. You get to see me on the field. Or at least you did. I want to watch the making of the magic.”

“Um. I guess we could try it. I feel like I’ll be nervous with you in there, but I guess I won’t know until we try.”

“Up to you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, let’s do it. It’ll be fun, and I have to do a live anyway.” She smiles up at me, and I kiss her one last time.

I could get used to this. Having her working here in the library, filming for her job, and the two of us having dinner together after a long day. While I’m excited, fucking thrilled frankly, to be back on the field part-time, I know every day I’m closer to being one hundred percent is a day closer to when I won’t have an excuse to keep her here. I might be able to drag out the idea of her working in the library a while longer, but eventually, she won’t be stuck with me. She’ll have to want to see me, and that makes me nervous if I’ll be enough for her when the time comes.

THIRTY-NINE

Scarlett

When I wrapup the live, Tobias practically jumps out of his seat and grabs me, hauling me onto the library table before he shuts the laptop at our side. His mouth is on mine in fervent strokes and after a few moments, I have to press for air.

“That was hot as fuck to watch in person. Is this what it feels like when you watch me play football?”

“Funny.”

“I’m not fucking kidding. You’re fucking brilliant like that. This like super sexy nerd girl thing. Especially in this dress. I swear to god, Spitfire, I was trying to listen and not objectify you, I promise. I did so fucking well for most of it, but by the end, I started having ideas.”

“Yeah. Well, I need some food for stamina and fortitude.”

“Fuck. I totally forgot. Should have ordered something before you were done. How do you feel about cake?”

“Better than nothing. I hope I didn’t mess it up. I used the recipe from a historic cookbook. It called for tomato soup.”