Page 52 of Out of Bounds

"What position are we talking about?" Zariah asked, amused.

"I’m drawing the girls," I explained, shading in a leg. "It’s good practice."

"Kassie?"

At the door, Cleo stood, tapping the watch on her wrist. More things to check off, why was I expecting anything different? I pushed from the chair and said a quick goodbye to Zariah and the girlfriends. It was time to clock in.

"Leave all your stuff behind. We only need you for a few minutes," Cleo told me and we walked down the hallway together.

"What’s good?"

"There’s cameras up ahead—oh, Ryan!" Cleo and I spotted him together, Ryan, dressed in a nice suit.

Oh.

I’d kind of been picturing that Ryan was going to walk around in his full gear. I didn’t think he’d get all decked out. A dark gray suit, no tie, and a black dress shirt underneath, all perfectly pressed, showing off his broad shoulders. Lookingfine.

"Why the hell am I in a jersey?" I mumbled to myself.

"I can trust both of you to be professional, correct?" Cleo crossed her arms over her chest as Ryan came close. "You both understand what I want you to do?"

I yawned. "Have fun and be ourselves?"

"No."

"We understand," Ryan assured her and Cleo gave him a long look.

"Approachable,Ryan."

"Understood."

"You can’t ignore the cameras."

He nodded and when Cleo walked away, we were the only two people in the hallway.

"We have photographers down the hall," Ryan explained, his voice low. "Everybody will be coming out in ten minutes but we’ll be going first. I have to get back to the coaches, but I’ll be walking out and you’ll come up to meet me. Then we’ll walk together."

My eyebrows furrowed. "That’s it?"

"Yes."

There was no way that’s what Cleo wanted. And I’d already sat through a number of her lectures about this. I wasn’t keen on another one.

"So, I walk up to you, and then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like…" I couldn’t help the smile of disbelief. "I just…walk up to you? Like a dog?"

"You could give me a respectful hug."

For a long moment, I stared at the golden boy of Marrs University and I tried desperately to be as serious as he was. It didn’t work. A giggle burst out of me and I clamped my mouth shut, trying my damndest to keep it together, because I knew Ryan was being a thousand percent serious.

The football player was unamused.

"Ryan?" I sucked in a deep breath, trying not to laugh again. "What thehellis a respectful hug?"

"Goddammit," he muttered.

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