Page 33 of Tumbling the Cornerback

"I trust her. It's just she doesn't always get the ins and outs of our end of things. She was a college athlete, Division One basketball. But she never went pro, and she doesn't have a solid grasp of PR on a pro player's side of things. I mean, Ash—you remember him, right?" When I nodded, Lucas pressed on. "He's been helping out for a few years now and really busting his ass, but he's a retired player, so it's a lot fewer moving parts when it comes to contractual obligations and what he can and can't sign off on his own time."

"Do you think Liesel is going to mess this up?" I asked quietly. "Is that why you're so stressed about everything, Lucas?"

"It wasn't until just recently. I mean, she's been running this joint for several years now, but it's mushrooming, you know? And things are starting to happen that aren't in her scope. The board is doing its best, but I can't shake the feeling there's not enough support—wait, no, not enough of the right kind of support." He huffed, pushing to his feet to pace agitatedly. "And it's not like I can really do anything about it, you know? I'm a cheerleader and dance teacher with a bachelor's in nonprofit management, but that's not enough. I have zero real experience."

"That's what this is, isn't it? Getting experience."

He threw up his hands. "Yes! But if it all goes to shit, then I'm screwed. I have nothing to show for my work, the organization is boned, and with my name attached to any cockups, I'll be a laughingstock at any admissions office if I decide to get my MBA!"

"Lucas, breathe," I urged, getting to my feet. "One step at a time, yeah? My grandma always said don't go borrowing trouble, and that's exactly what you're doing." He let me pull him into my arms, his body still ramrod stiff. "Can I touch you?"

"You already are," he mumbled against my chest. "But... maybe more is okay?"

Tucking my chin atop his head, I stroked his back slowly, tracing my fingertips down his spine. Even through his t-shirt, I could feel the definition of his muscles, the strength hidden in his smaller frame. "One step at a time," I said again, softer.

His body relaxed in increments, first his shoulders and neck, then down his torso, until finally, he leaned almost fully against me, letting me hold his weight. Lucas slipped his arms around my neck again, and I moved my hands lower. On a whim, I lifted him under his ass until he was face to face with me. Wordlessly, though with a small, bemused smile, he wrapped his legs around my waist. "Okay?"

He nodded, resting his head on my shoulder. "Okay."

We swayed in silence, and then Lucas tipped his face back to look at me again. "One step at a time. First thing to do is those social media posts. I sent you some of the media pack from Queering Sports to your email the other day."

"I got it."

"Lemme down." He wiggled free, dropping lightly to his feet, and headed back to the sofa. "Enough whining," he sighed. "I need to get up at oh god o'clock and I know you do too so let's get this ball rolling, strike while the iron's hot, all that shit."

Was I disappointed we weren't going to get at least partially naked? Yeah, who wouldn't be? But the energy building as Lucas started walking me through what I needed to do was special—he was letting me see his world, beyond being a cheerleader. Letting me see his hopes and plans. And I felt honored, trusted.

"You're awful quiet," he noted after about half an hour. "Too much?"

I shook my head. "Just admiring how you've got this shit nailed down. If you decided to go into doing this full-time one day, I think you'd really ace it."

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Maybe. This is one thing, but I don't have the experience..." He trailed off, his smile turning inward. "Well. Enough of that spiral, right?"

When Lucas got down to business, it was impressive and a little bit terrifying. He'd give Caitlin a run for her money when it came to organization, his social media blitz planned with surgical precision. By the time we wrapped up just after midnight, I had three folders on the cloud with specific dates, even times, to post, talking points to memorize, and a list of names to expect calls from to set up interviews and appearances. "I'll talk to Liesel and get her to talk to Phil," he said, but I shook my head, cutting him off.

"I'll talk to Phil myself. I have a phone call with him tomorrow about a promo offer, so I'll work this in."

Lucas nodded cautiously. "Tell him to call me or Liesel if anything needs clearing up." He followed me to the door and, without hesitation, stretched up on his toes to kiss me. "Talk later?"

I kissed him back, maybe a little longer than I should have given the hour and how tired we both were, but I didn't regret it. "Definitely."

CHAPTER 11

LUCAS

The next few days were some of the best I'd had in years. The grind was still a thing, absolutely no changing that, but the texts and calls from Cooper were bursts of color in the world, like finding one of those stringy mystery weeds growing in the sidewalk crack was really a rose.It didn't go unnoticed by anyone, really. The squad commented on how cheerful I was. Lynda was suspicious and asked if I had a new man and if Renata knew I was slutting it up in her home. My students even noticed. Kyle figured out almost immediately that I 'had a thing' going on.

Renata swore I sounded lighter and made me swear to tell her all the details when she came back and wasn't surrounded by kids and burly Norwegian-Canadian hockey players. She sounded happier than I'd heard her in months, but I didn't want to point it out in case she remembered why she wasn't exactly kicking up her heels back here in Texas. "Mom wanted me to tell you to call her," I added before we hung up.

Renata made an annoyed, displeased sound. "She's trying to set me up with some guy from her church. It's been long enough, mija. Bas needs a solid father figure," she mimicked in a fair approximation of our mom's accent.

"Then I guess you don't want to hear that Dad's hired on a new nurse practitioner named Charles and was asking when your next day off was."

"Oh, god, it's spreading," she sighed. Bas made a happy, high-pitched sound in the background while someone—probably Renata's brother-in-law Soren—shouted in pain. Renata chuckled softly. "I gotta go, Lucas. The kid's discovered beards are fun to yank, and Soren's going to be bald-faced soon if I don't rescue him."

"Call me," I ordered. "Soon, okay? It's getting lonely being the only kid for the family to pick on. I need you here to use as a human shield."

"Ha fucking ha." She hesitated for just a few seconds—if Bas wasn't shrieking in the background, I'd have thought she'd hung up on me. Finally, she said in a low, hurried voice barely above a whisper, "You know, you don't have to see them, right? Or take their shit?"

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