Page 4 of Gossip Game

Noah Hudson slammed his eyes shut, trying his damnedest to keep his cool. The last thing he needed was another viral video, this one of him going off at a bunch of PTA moms.

It’ll be a boost for your image, his agent insisted.

Everyone on the team needs to pull their weight with community relations, the Blaze GM had declared.

All you have to do is show up and smile, his coach told him.

They were all fucking morons. This evening had been nothing but a humiliating shit-show since he’d taken the stage.

And that was before she opened her mouth.

But, Christ, she had the most spectacular mouth. Full, soft lips that were meant to be kissed. And, oh, the things she could do with that sassy tongue of hers.

He wrenched his eyes open, trying to focus on the fracas in front of him. Anything was safer than thinking about Charlotte Davis. Especially because his reaction to the woman was about to become quite noticeable with him on the stage and everyone else practically at eye level with his crotch.

“This concludes the evening,” the auctioneer was saying, raising his voice to be heard over the din growing within the large room. “Thank you all for coming.”

“Can she do that?” one woman demanded.

“Yeah. What’s the sense of donating something for the kids when you are going to just buy it out from under us?” another woman shouted.

The principal wrenched the microphone away from the auctioneer. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said in her sternest teacher's voice. “Please go ahead to the lobby to pay for your silent auction items. We will announce the final tally from tonight’s event on Monday. Good night.” She spun on her heel and glared at Noah. “You. Come with me.”

Christ. Was he really being commanded to the principal’s office?

Since she appeared to be heading in the opposite direction from the parents, Noah decided it behooved him to follow. She led him backstage and down a deserted hallway until they ended up outside the front office. When she punched at the numbers on a keypad, the glass door clicked, and the principal ushered him inside. With a resigned sigh, she plopped down onto one of the leather sofas in the reception area.

“No one has access to this part of the building at this time of night. You’re safe here.”

Noah bit back a laugh at her comment. He faced down three-hundred-pound linemen every week. No way was he scared of a bunch of over-sexed soccer moms with too much disposable income on their hands. Besides, his reputation couldn’t get any lower in this town.

He was counting the days—nine—until the season started. Then he would show the sports media, Blaze fans, and the football world that he had what it takes to lead the team to the championship. No amount of smack talk was going to force Noah to pack up his helmet and go home. Not even a thirst trap video that asshole Bucky Kincaid invaded Noah’s privacy to score.

“Allow me to apologize for the parents tonight,” she continued. “I tell them every year to dial it back on the alcohol, but do they listen?” She held up a finger. “Although we’ll be able to replace most of the staff’s laptops now. I guess we have you to thank for that. Provided Princess Charlotte comes through, that is.”

“She will.”

The words slipped out of his mouth with the same force and cadence he used when he was calling for the football to be hiked. The principal slowly lifted her eyebrows. Noah could practically see the wheels turning in her mind as she jumped to all the wrong conclusions about him and Charlotte Davis. His defense of her was simply a knee-jerk reaction, that’s all. There was nothing between them. A woman like her only toyed with guys like him. She’d made that point crystal clear three years ago.

Time to move this conversation along.

“I’m still willing to host the bowling party.” No one in the Blaze front office could say he wasn’t doing his part for the team’s community relations. “Maybe we can tie it to a charitable campaign? Food banks always need cereal. How ‘bout the class that brings in the most boxes in a designated week goes bowling with me?”

The principal tilted her head as she carefully appraised him. Most people assumed, because he was quiet, he was just another dumb jock and the only thing he knew how to do was throw a football. That because he chose his words carefully before he spoke, he was slow. Or, because he was a “hick” from a southern small town with small-town values, he lacked the aptitude to understand the team’s playbook.

None of it was true. Not that he really cared what people thought of him. As long as they gave him the football, life was good.

“My mom is an educator,” he offered as an explanation.

“Aw,” she said with a knowing smile. “I wasn’t aware of that. You’re a bit of an enigma off the field. I know your dad is a high school football coach, but not much else.”

If she was expecting him to give her the lowdown on his life story, she was out of luck. Noah had a hard and fast rule when it came to maintaining his private life: It wouldn’t be private if the entire world knew every detail.

The silence stretched until she heaved herself up off the sofa with a sigh. “You followed instructions and parked in the staff lot, I hope?”

He nodded.

After retrieving her bag from her desk, she led him out one of the side doors to the staff parking lot. Her yellow beetle was parked two spots away from Noah’s Bronco.

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