guppies, right? Bryce throws his annual black and white party in a few weeks. We’ll go, and I guarantee C.K. will be begging to take you out on a date by the end of the night.”
Skepticism etched into every part of her face.
“Why do you want to help me?”
Her questioning brown eyes watched him closely as he ran his hand over the fresh fade of his haircut. He shrugged.
“It’s the off-season. I have the time, and you need the help. Come on, what do you have to lose?”
Her eyes seemed to take in every bit of his face as she weighed the sincerity of his offer. For the first time since he’d met her, her gaze didn’t unnerve him. He knew there was no ulterior motive behind his suggestion. He was simply a good guy trying to do a good deed. Still, he didn’t exhale until she spoke.
“You can’t breathe a word about this to anyone. Not Quentin—and especially not Caleb.”
“You have my word.”
THREE
Kenadi
IF SOMEONE WOULD have told her twenty-four hours ago that she’d spend a Saturday night setting up dating app profiles with Cash Latham, she would have laughed in their face. But here she was, sitting on her couch in her baggy sweatpants and a tank top, with Cash beside her eating his body weight in slices of extra cheese pizza.
“How about this one?”
She tossed her phone in his lap as she lifted her half empty bottle of beer to her lips. She’d barely gotten a taste before he was shaking his head.
“You want a date, Kenadi. Not a job. Try again.”
“Seriously? You’ve literally hated every picture I’ve suggested.”
“Because you keep suggesting the wrong ones. Here…”
Cash leaned forward, pulled the hairband from her haphazard bun, causing her braids to fall over her nearly bare shoulder, then removed her glasses, setting them aside gently.
“This is it. No manufactured posing. No filters. Just you.”
She started to argue her case for a little face-tuning assistance, but stopped as he held up the phone.
“Just trust me.”
And for some reason, she did.
He was different outside of the parties and away from media clips. Tonight, she saw a softness she hadn’t expected from someone who literally made a career out of smashing into guys when needed.
His jaw flexed under the reddish-brown hair of his beard as he swallowed the rest of his beer. Shifting his weight forward to place the bottle on the coaster she’d insisted he use, his large hand landed on her thigh.
His thumb twitched against her leg, hitting a switch in her brain. Insecurities buzzed in the back of her mind, and she found herself wondering if he was thinking about the softness of her thighs compared to the ones he was used to.
She straightened her legs, pulling them out from under his touch.
He ran a hand carelessly through the longer top section of his hair, letting it fall over his forehead as he leaned back into her couch and looked over at her.
“Did you always know you wanted to play football?”
“For the most part. I don’t think my father would have taken it very well if I wanted to be a gym teacher.”
“Is that what you would’ve chosen for yourself—teaching kids?”
“Maybe. I like kids, and I got my degree, but college was just a formality. My heart belonged to football, so it was the league or bust. Was it the same for Quentin?”
Kenadi shook her head. “No. Quentin only started playing in middle school. Then it pretty much exploded into this crazy life.”
“And you? What is it that you do?”
She laughed easily. “I’m a software developer. All those apps on your phone were made by people like me. My dream is to create my own game, but I’ve got to pay the bills, so I develop and maintain code on a couple app teams.”
He stared at her blankly.
“Geeky, I know. But being a tech nerd is the only place in my life where I’m confident in myself.”
“Geeky? You can make your own video game! You have like the coolest job in the history of jobs!”
Startled by his enthusiasm, Kenadi could only blink as he took hold of her shoulders and shook her. She wondered if he had suddenly forgotten he was paid millions of dollars to play football.
“Oh, can I be in your game?”
“I can’t afford you.”
Cash released her. “We’re friends now. I can give you a discount.”
He leaned forward and grabbed the last slice of pizza from the box. Right before he took a bite, he looked over and