Page 36 of Catching My Dreams

“Okay. Then who?”

Noah’s friend was meant to be spotting him, not interrogating him, but he found himself answering the question. “Who else? Montgomery.”

“Who’s Montgomery?” Brady asked. He was meant to be focusing on his bicep curls, not eavesdropping, but football players were clearly more interested in gossiping than getting in a proper workout.

“Ella,” Chris answered.

“The cheerleader?” Noah couldn’t see him, but Brady sounded surprised. “What’s your problem with her? She seems nice.”

Noah’s gut reaction was to scoff—it was what he would have done before he’d slept with her the first time—but he found himself silently agreeing with his teammate. Ella was nice. Just not when she was talking to him because that’s when her claws came out.

“Forget about nice,” Eric chimed in from where he was leaning against the squat rack. “That chick is fucking hot. I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s under that cheerleading uniform.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Noah snapped.

He was meant to do five more presses, but he put the bar back on the rack with Chris’s help and sat up. Lifting weights above his head while some asshole spoke about Ella like she was a piece of meat was a recipe for disaster.

“I thought you didn’t like her?” Eric asked, his smirk just begging to be punched off his face.

And wasn’t that the problem? If anything, Noah liked Ella too much. “Does it matter? She’s still a person.”

Eric scoffed. “Yeah, a person I want to fuck.”

Noah stood up, his hands curling into tight fists. “You need to shut your mouth.”

The room went silent as the rest of the team stopped what they were doing. Noah could feel their eyes on him, drilling into him with interest. He might have let his temper get the better of him in their last few practices, but he’d never let that temper bleed into the dynamic between him and his teammates when they were off the field.

“What’s wrong, Warner?” Eric taunted, stepping closer. “Do you have a thing for her or something?”

Noah’s hands curled tighter, and instead of responding with a weak lie they would all see through, he clenched his jaw, choosing to remain silent.

Eric’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, you do, don’t you?” He laughed as though it was hilarious. “Our QB has a little crush on the cheerleader,” he said in a patronizing singsong voice.

“Ella is Asher’s best friend,” Noah said through gritted teeth. All his teammates knew about Asher and what had happened to him, and he knew they’d respect that more than his ambivalent feelings for her. “She’s off-limits.”

“She’s not his girlfriend,” Eric argued. “I don’t see anything stopping me from parting those pretty little legs and having my way with her. I bet she’d be a good fu—”

His words were cut short by the fist Noah sent into his cheek.

Eric staggered back, but Noah fisted the front of his shirt and jerked him forward so his vision was filled by the man’s wide eyes and gaping mouth.

“If you even think about touching her, I’ll end you,” Noah growled.

“What the hell, man?” Eric spluttered, his shock shifting into anger. “Coach will have your head for this.”

Noah shook his head in disgust and shoved the man away. He’d never liked Eric, but the way he spoke about Ella was the last straw. He’d have to deal with the man while they were on the field, but off the field, he was anathema. “Go ahead and tell him. I’m sure he’ll be interested in hearing what you were saying before I punched you.”

“You think he’ll let you off because you were defending some girl?” Eric asked with a sneer. “Everyone here saw what happened. You’re done.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Brady said, his large, dark-skinned arms flexing as he crossed them. He was huge, even among the other players, and could be intimidating as hell when he wanted to be. “We all saw you trip. Noah wasn’t even near you. Right, boys?”

Grunts of agreement echoed through the space, and Noah couldn’t hold back his smile. Turned out his teammates were more loyal to him than he’d thought. Or maybe they just hated Eric as much as he did.

“That’s what I saw,” Chris said, taking his place beside Noah. “It’s not Noah’s fault that you’re clumsy.”

Eric’s face colored red with anger. “Are you serious?” he asked, searching the room for allies but finding none. “Fine,” he spat when it was clear he was on his own.

He grabbed his towel and moved to leave the weight room, but Noah stepped into his path.

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