leans closer across the table, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. “Yeah. For now. What happens if Rob and Evie’s secret marriage gets out? I’m one of only two other people who know about it. I’m not a rocket scientist, but I’m not stupid either. The press will figure out the timeline, and then they’ll hound me and Alex about it. Alex is a wild card as it is. My teammates already got the wrong idea about Evie attending some of my games last season. What are they going to think if she’s not here this year? I’m about to start training camp. I can’t afford that kind of gossip interfering with my sophomore season. I promise to behave myself, but I can’t control anyone else.”
“Hmm.” Those are all valid points. Considering the gossip sites David often uses to research his marketing plans, professional players are judged by way more than just their stats on gameday. These potential scenarios could all very well end up being the wrong kind of publicity to elevate Mike to the level the team wants him to be in this year. “We need some sort of distraction in case any of this stuff pops up. Something that will make the press and fans focus on you instead of the people close to you.”
“If you think adopting a cat will do the trick, then let’s do it.” Mike gazes at me evenly. “I trust you, Peaches.”
Suddenly, there’s a lot more resting on my shoulders. I can’t afford to make mistakes that won’t only affect me. Like that last time.
“So, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
Uh-oh. Peaches doesn’t usually interrupt me while I’m working, so this must be big. I lower the leg press back into position slowly. “What’s up?”
“You got some news for me, too, baby?” Templeman leers at Tori from the machine beside me.
The guy has turned out to be all right in spite of acting like an ass sometimes. He’s one of the few teammates I sort of consider a friend after an entire year of getting to know the other Wolves, but my prediction has come true. He’s like dealing with another Alex. If Templeman isn’t talking about football, then he’s blabbing about his latest conquest. I have no idea how he has the energy to perform at a professional level with all the energy he’s expending between the sheets. Or in the back of an Uber. Or in the champagne room at the exclusive strip club my teammates are always trying to drag me to.
“Shut up and finish your reps,” I snap at him. “You know damn well she’s one of the people who make us look good in the media, so she’s off-limits. She deserves a little respect unless you want her to leak a story about your secret love for unicorns.”
Templeman shakes his head. “No shame in my game. Just because I haven’t found the perfect unicorn yet don’t mean I’m gonna quit trying.”
“Why can’t I just have normal friends?” I mutter.
He grins.
Tori clears her throat to get my attention. Her face is redder than her hair, which I didn’t think was possible. “Mr. Mitchell, follow me, please.”
She turns on the ball of her foot and storms out of the weight room, not even waiting for me to follow.
Templeman whistles. “Shit, man. She must have really bad news. I’ve never seen her look that mad.”
I have. The morning after she got shit-faced in a hotel room and stripped for me. She wasn’t mad at me so much as herself. I guess that’s changed.
“Text me if you need help,” Templeman says in all seriousness. “I got your back, bro.”
I might take him up on that depending on what the good news is. Already, worst-case scenarios of my hotel room being bugged with a nanny cam are popping up in my mind.
The hallway is empty when I exit the weight room, so on a wild guess, I find the nearest conference room.
Sure enough, Tori’s waiting for me, tapping her foot against the linoleum with her arms crossed over her chest while she does her best to glare a hole through me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Remember that little conversation we had about being supportive instead of trying to fix everything?”
Fuck. I called it. “Someone has a video of the hotel room incident, don’t they?”
“What?” She cocks her head back in obvious confusion. “No! I mean back there with Templeman! You should have let me handle it.”
I can breathe again.