Love on the Highlight Reel (Connecticut Kings Book 2) (10 page)

“Stupid,” I finished for her, then finished my wine again. “I was young, and stupid. That’s enough to explain the whole thing. I’m not as young anymore, and I
refuse
to be that stupid again, so there is
no
chance I’m having a do-over with Jordan Johnson. He is a walking cliché, through and through. Bad boy, playboy, superstar football player. He’ll wine and dine me, blow my mind in bed, and leave me used up, and embarrassed that he made a fool of me. Oh, and probably ruin my career in the process, because how could
anybody
take me seriously if I’m fucking one of my players? It’s not happening. We can let it go.”

Right on time, the oven began to chime, letting us know that the tart was ready. Naima busied herself with it, and Margo simply remained quiet, letting me bask in the awkwardness of my reaction. I’d become the “she” that doth protest too much.

“Here,” Naima finally said, as she placed a bowl in front of me, with vanilla ice cream melting over the peaches. “Your ass needs some comfort food, so you can relax.”

Instead of making a smart comment back, I simply inhaled the delicious aroma of the peaches before I dug in. Maybe the sweetness could keep my mind off of… everything else.

Seven.

I couldn’t wait to get on the field.

I almost felt guilty about it, knowing how long it had been since I felt that. I’d gotten out there and played, done my duty. But I hadn’t been
excited
about it since Trent left, and now that he was back  - and not just riding the bench, actually
back
… I was ready to fuck some shit up.

“Trent,” I called out, catching up to him just outside the locker room after practice. “Bruh, when I tell you we’re about to be a problem for these boys Monday night…”

He grinned, but in his typical fashion, brushed my comment off.  Trent had never been about a bunch of flashiness, and that hadn’t changed. Even after a practice where we’d easily fallen back into our former groove, he still had his same humble spirit. He wasn’t one to talk shit – he just got shit done.

“I’m glad to be getting back out there,” he said, shaking his head as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder. “It feels… I don’t even know to describe it.”

That was fine. I could see it all over him anyway, so he didn’t have to. Through training camp, pre-season, and the few games we’d played so far, I’d seen the disappointment weighing his shoulders down. Never defeat, but anybody who really knew the laid-back guy he’d been before could see that being benched, and being kept in limbo about it, was starting to wear on him.

It pissed me off.

I nodded. “I get it dude, don’t even worry about it. Ay, you ain’t walking around here nervous are you?”

He tipped his head, frowning a little like he was thinking about it. “I don’t know that I’d call it nerves, but I know I don’t have room to fuck this up. This is my
chance
, bruh. Show these people I haven’t lost it like they think I have. The coaches, the fans, Eli…
you.
”

I scoffed. “You can kill
that
noise. You’ve been at this shit harder than anybody else that’s gonna be on that field Monday. And you’ve got more heart than most of these niggas too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving me off again. “I know you’re on your motivational shit right now, but you ain’t gotta act like I didn’t mess up. I left you in a tough situation, J, and that’s my bad.”

I shook my head, but didn’t deny his words, because again – I didn’t bullshit with Trent, and he didn’t bullshit with me.

He
did
leave me in a tough spot. And for a while, yeah, I was pissed. Learning plays over again, trying to form a bond with a quarterback I wasn’t used to, adjusting to losing my homeboy on the field… I could admit that the shit wasn’t fun, or easy. Hell, I couldn’t even truthfully say I’d been successful. But I
could
say I wasn’t tripping over it anymore, and at this point, I was just glad to have some help on the field.

“Whatever man. Where you headed? You want to grab something to eat?”

Trent cringed. “Usually I would man, but I’ve got this drive back down to the house.”

“Drive back down to house?” I chuckled. “You’re not fooling nobody man, you’re trying to get back to that girl.”

Brushing his hand over his head, Trent grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about man.”

“The hell you don’t. Just make sure you don’t pull nothing. We need you healthy, head in the game, not neck-deep in pussy.”

I laughed as Trent gave me a shove. “I’ll pull my weight nigga, just make sure you’re pulling yours.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, trailing off as something over his shoulder got my attention. My full attention went to Nicki as she approached the little rookie running back, Sanchez, with a big smile. She was in olive-colored dress pants, tailored to make her ass look just right, and a cream button-up tucked in, showing off her slim waist. Sanchez’s eyes kept dipping down to the open buttons on her shirt, and she either hadn’t noticed, or didn’t mind.

I couldn’t tell from where I was, but I could imagine the enticing hint of cleavage he was being treated to, and it made me narrow my eyes. I bet she smelled good too – she always did – and this motherfu—

“Damn, JJ. And you’re concerned about
me
having
my
head in the game?” Trent was cracking up, and his laughter took some of my attention away from Nicki. “The way you’re scowling down there at Cole talking to ol’ boy, I might need to be worried about
you.
”

My head snapped back in his direction. “Wait, what?”

He laughed harder. “Man, you’ve got a vein throbbing upside your head, all frowned up. Chill before she looks down here and sees that shit.”

“I’m not tripping on that.”

Trent smacked his teeth. “You not tripping on her, just like I’m “not” headed to go see my girl. Who you think you’re fooling, like you didn’t get sloppy ass drunk and pour your damn heart out over “Nicki” your rookie year.”

“Oh I’m definitely tripping on
her
,” I chuckled, stealing one last glance at Nicki before I turned back to Trent. “I’m saying I’m not worried about Sanchez. Me and Nicki is a foregone conclusion.”

“You’re confident about that huh?”

I nodded. “Yessir. Just like I’m confident we’re gonna whoop Tampa’s ass in this game.”

“Well I ain’t mad at that,” Trent said, holding up his hand.

I slapped palms with him, and we said our goodbyes.

Instead of following him out of the practice facility, I turned around, looking for Nicki. I bit back a little surge of jealousy for the bright, easy smile she gave Sanchez as they parted ways, and even tilted my chin at him in greeting as he passed.

Nicki didn’t look my way, just kept her ass swaying side to side as she kept on down the hall, looking at her phone. I followed, wondering what was going on in her mind. It was Saturday now – damn near a week since that kiss, and I hadn’t seen or talked to her since then.

“Yo, Nicki!” I called, but her footsteps didn’t even falter – her heels just kept up their rhythm as she headed down the hall. Hell… she may have even started moving a little faster. “Nicki!”

She stopped, looking away from her phone to glance over her shoulder. “Are you trying to get someone’s attention Jordan?” she asked, in a clipped, formal tone.

I suppressed the urge to grin. “Uh, yeah,” I said, hiking my shoulders. “Yours.”

She shook her head, sending the soft layers of her hair fluttering around her face. “You know, when I’m approaching someone, I usually get the best results from calling them by their chosen name.”

I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my sweats as my eyes swept over her face. She was still so damn
fine
. Not the innocent, baby-faced pretty she’d been back in college when we met, but grown ass woman fine. “Aiight then.
Cole.
”

She tossed her hair again, then propped her hands on her hips. “Yes?”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to ask you what was up with the name change. You didn’t mind being called Nicki when I met you.”

“I was a teenager when you met me. Remember?”

I grinned. “With those perky titties and cute little booty you had on you? How could I forget?”

“Jordan…” she warned, glancing around the empty hall.

“What?” I asked, stepping closer. “You
know
you used to wear those itty bitty shorts, and your Blakewood hoodie, trying to look innocent when you showed up at my campus apartment to “study”.”

“Jordan…”

“Hmm?”

I moved closer, and she took a step away, pressing her back to the wall. “What are you doing?”

“Reminiscing.” I closed the space between us, not missing the way her chest heaved as she stared up at me, lips parted. “We had some good times. And you know it.”

“I do. What does that have to do with now?”

The desire in her eyes made her flippant tone roll right off, and I shrugged as I lifted a hand to brush her cheek. “Nothing,” I said. “Just making sure
you
remember.”

The sound of footsteps down the hall made me step back, putting a respectable distance between us. No one rounded the corner to where we were, but I decided to quit while I was ahead.

“I’ll see you later Nick—Cole. Nicole. I’ll see you later, Nicole.”

“Just Cole,” she said, stepping away from the wall to smooth a hand over her shirt. “I…” she sighed. “It helps with not being treated a certain way because I’m a woman in this industry. There was a study, about more masculine names being taken more seriously, so… if you could just call me by that, I’d be grateful.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Okay. Cole it is.”

She did a double-take. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. See you later, Cole.”

I felt light on my feet as I headed out of the practice facility, but then suddenly remembered why I’d stopped her to talk in the first place. I turned around, surprised to find that she hadn’t moved from the spot.  Her eyes went wide, like she was embarrassed to still be standing there.

“Was there something else?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Not defiantly – protectively.

I ran my tongue over my lips. “Uh, yeah. I wanted to let you know that I talked to Chloe, and to Margo, earlier this week. But I’m sure you already heard.”

“Yes.” She shifted a little in her heels. “I had.”

“I figured. But um… I’m signing contracts with both of them. That’s my new team. Chloe on publicity, Margo on management.”

She smiled then, a big bright, gorgeous smile that made me a
little
bit lightheaded. “That’s excellent, Jordan. Chloe and Margo are among the best of the best, and they work well together. This is a very,
very
good look for you.”

“Well, they were your recommendations, so I would hope so. Hope you aren’t just putting me in position to get bent over with no lube by the Kings.”

She frowned, and took a step toward me. “What? Jordan, I would never do you like that. Yes, I work for this team, but my job is to see you succeed, and I take that seriously. There was no bias in my recommendations of Chloe or Margo. Only your best interests.”

“I know that shit, Nicki. Chill.” Her shoulders sank in relief, and she didn’t even seem to notice that I’d slipped and called her Nicki again. “Hey,” I said, bringing her gaze back to me. “Is it
just
the job that has you working in my interests?”

Her eyes went wide. “Yes, of course. It’s just the job.”

Too bad the vibe I was picking up from her said different.

I had to stick my hands back in my pockets to make sure I kept them to myself when she pulled her top lip between her teeth, damn near scraping off her lipstick before she took a tentative step down the hall, still facing me.

“I, um… have to go. Good luck on Monday, okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

I turned away from her before I smiled, knowing just from that exchange that something had definitely shifted between us. Before, thinking about getting back together wasn’t even on my radar. Now… it seemed possible.