players, rushing down the field to Evan. We won the game.
Out of the chaos, I was surprised to see him trying to catch my attention with a wave of his hand. He wanted me to join him on the field. There were so many people, I knew I’d get trampled. So instead, I waved and smiled, keeping my spot beside Kate. “He likes you,” Kate murmured softly. “I can see it in his eyes.”
“What is it with you all? Are you trying to play matchmaker?”
Kate giggled. “No, but it’s just so obvious. Have you not ever noticed him watching you from time to time? I think he’s been interested in you for a long while now.”
The players started running toward the sidelines, including Evan and Cooper. “Kate, I haven’t noticed much of anything until here recently. For the longest time, I felt invisible. Or, better yet, I wanted to be invisible.”
Kate squeezed my shoulder. “I know how you feel. But now people can see you. You just need to decide if you want to be seen.”
“Did you see that pass?” Cooper shouted excitedly.
Moving out of the way, I bumped into Evan as Cooper wrapped his sweaty arms around Kate. She scrunched her nose and froze in his arms. “I did, but now I have Cooper stink all over me.”
“That’s not what you thought last night when—”
“All right,” Evan groaned. “I don’t need to hear about that shit.”
Laughing, I elbowed him in the side. “Neither do I. But I think you
do
need to take a shower.”
“What? You mean you don’t want to be seen with me like this?” he asked, opening his arms wide. “No worries. You’ll just have to take one, too.”
In one quick movement, he slung one sweaty arm over my shoulders and the other under my legs, lifting me in his arms. He swung me around, laughing the entire time, while I held on for dear life, giggling. Cameras flashed and people cheered. I could only imagine what rumors would be spread after that display. By the time he set me down, I was dizzy and had to hold on to him.
“You better hope I don’t puke on you.”
He guffawed and leaned over, his breath hot against my ear. “You might want to suck it up because you’re about to be on the news.” By the time the world stopped spinning, we were surrounded by reporters and cameras, all wanting a word from the Cougars’ favorite players and their coach. Joel stood by Cooper’s side with a triumphant smile on his face as he spoke into the camera. I, on the other hand, felt like a complete idiot with my mouth hanging down to the ground. The last time I’d been in front of the camera was when I was chased down after Austin was murdered. Everyone wanted to get an inside scoop on what had happened, but I wasn’t ready. Every time I talked about it, the memories came flooding back.
What if these reporters find out who I am? Will I have to rehash it all?
I didn’t want to relive that horror again, to go into detail about how Austin was beaten to death in an illegal underground MMA ring. Not to mention, there were people who’d paid money to watch him be killed. The whole thing was fucked up. It took months for me to speak even to my sister about it. In order to avoid the press, I’d changed back to my maiden name and left Georgia. I didn’t want to be found.
The moment the lights on the cameras beamed our way, Evan put his arm around my waist, stopping my retreat. “Stay with me, sunshine,” he murmured in my ear. If he only knew how hard it was for me.
The humidity got ten times worse and I broke out in a massive sweat. I recognized the reporter as Mike Weller, the sports anchor for our local news station. Dressed in a Cougars jersey and jeans, he was showing support for his team. He smiled at me, but I breathed a sigh of relief when he held the microphone out to Evan. “Evan Townsend, how does it feel to bring your team to another victory?”
Evan chuckled and waved around at the other players. “It wasn’t just me who brought the win. The guys have worked really
Out of the chaos, I was surprised to see him trying to catch my attention with a wave of his hand. He wanted me to join him on the field. There were so many people, I knew I’d get trampled. So instead, I waved and smiled, keeping my spot beside Kate. “He likes you,” Kate murmured softly. “I can see it in his eyes.”
“What is it with you all? Are you trying to play matchmaker?”
Kate giggled. “No, but it’s just so obvious. Have you not ever noticed him watching you from time to time? I think he’s been interested in you for a long while now.”
The players started running toward the sidelines, including Evan and Cooper. “Kate, I haven’t noticed much of anything until here recently. For the longest time, I felt invisible. Or, better yet, I wanted to be invisible.”
Kate squeezed my shoulder. “I know how you feel. But now people can see you. You just need to decide if you want to be seen.”
“Did you see that pass?” Cooper shouted excitedly.
Moving out of the way, I bumped into Evan as Cooper wrapped his sweaty arms around Kate. She scrunched her nose and froze in his arms. “I did, but now I have Cooper stink all over me.”
“That’s not what you thought last night when—”
“All right,” Evan groaned. “I don’t need to hear about that shit.”
Laughing, I elbowed him in the side. “Neither do I. But I think you
do
need to take a shower.”
“What? You mean you don’t want to be seen with me like this?” he asked, opening his arms wide. “No worries. You’ll just have to take one, too.”
In one quick movement, he slung one sweaty arm over my shoulders and the other under my legs, lifting me in his arms. He swung me around, laughing the entire time, while I held on for dear life, giggling. Cameras flashed and people cheered. I could only imagine what rumors would be spread after that display. By the time he set me down, I was dizzy and had to hold on to him.
“You better hope I don’t puke on you.”
He guffawed and leaned over, his breath hot against my ear. “You might want to suck it up because you’re about to be on the news.” By the time the world stopped spinning, we were surrounded by reporters and cameras, all wanting a word from the Cougars’ favorite players and their coach. Joel stood by Cooper’s side with a triumphant smile on his face as he spoke into the camera. I, on the other hand, felt like a complete idiot with my mouth hanging down to the ground. The last time I’d been in front of the camera was when I was chased down after Austin was murdered. Everyone wanted to get an inside scoop on what had happened, but I wasn’t ready. Every time I talked about it, the memories came flooding back.
What if these reporters find out who I am? Will I have to rehash it all?
I didn’t want to relive that horror again, to go into detail about how Austin was beaten to death in an illegal underground MMA ring. Not to mention, there were people who’d paid money to watch him be killed. The whole thing was fucked up. It took months for me to speak even to my sister about it. In order to avoid the press, I’d changed back to my maiden name and left Georgia. I didn’t want to be found.
The moment the lights on the cameras beamed our way, Evan put his arm around my waist, stopping my retreat. “Stay with me, sunshine,” he murmured in my ear. If he only knew how hard it was for me.
The humidity got ten times worse and I broke out in a massive sweat. I recognized the reporter as Mike Weller, the sports anchor for our local news station. Dressed in a Cougars jersey and jeans, he was showing support for his team. He smiled at me, but I breathed a sigh of relief when he held the microphone out to Evan. “Evan Townsend, how does it feel to bring your team to another victory?”
Evan chuckled and waved around at the other players. “It wasn’t just me who brought the win. The guys have worked really
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