Page 143 of Saving the Halfback

“Guy was four times your size,” Ethan rebutted. I sighed, yeah, I hadn’t taken that into account in the moment.

“Don’t forget,” Chace said, and I found myself glancing back over at him, “you ran at a drugged out, crowbar-wielding lunatic and tackled him. Then you threw punches at him like you were Mike Tyson.”

“Too soon.” Ethan ran a hand down his face.

“It will be interesting to see what our firecracker does next,” Lachlan mused.

Chase’s eyes ran down my body, lingering where I held Lachlan’s hand, twirling one of his rings around his finger.

“So, are you all making it public? That you are all dating her?” Nolan asked, bringing my attention back to the conversation.You all, not including him. That was fine. He was still here, still my friend. The pulling me onto his lap was a little confusing, but no more confusing than I had been with him all this time. Platonic friends, and I was okay with that because he was still here.

Ethan and Lachlan glanced at one another, but Chase’s eyes remained on me.

“I wouldn’t,” Nolan said. “Speaking purely from a logical standpoint, they are already calling her names. Regardless ofwhether we care what they think, Bailey’s been through enough of the name calling. Maybe choose a public spokesperson.”

“Spokesperson?” Chase raised his eyebrow.

“It’s not a bad idea. One of us who will act as the boyfriend, so the rest of us look like close friends.” Lachlan thought it through. “So, who will it be?”

And then all eyes were on me. I shook my head. “Nope! Not it. I didn’t want to choose between you guys before, and I’m not doing it now. Figure it out for yourselves.”

They all laughed, except for Chase. He stood and walked over to me. “Can we talk?”

Lachlan’s hands tightened on my thighs, anchoring me to him. Chase didn’t miss the movement, a guarded smirk playing with his lips.

I didn’t want them to fight, and I did want to see what Chase wanted to talk about. “Of course,” I said, reaching up to his outstretched hand and putting my hand in his. “I’ll be back.”

Lachlan wasn’t happy, his eyes turning hard as he stared at the fire. Ethan’s lips were pressed tight. I was safe with Chase, so I didn’t understand their reactions. I knew I was safe with Chase.

“They think I forced myself on you, at the party. They’re afraid I’ll do it again,” Chase whispered, chuckling. Though I didn’t hear much humor in it, did he believe what they thought?

52

Bailey

“Where do you want to go?” I asked.

Chase shrugged. “Somewhere away from them.”

“Okay.” We walked together, a small gap between our shoulders. I led Chase around the back of the barn, the motion-detecting light turning on briefly until we were out of range. Though it was dark on this side of the barn, there was still a light on the other side that cast just enough to be able to see where we were going. I spotted one of the small barn cats curled up on a straw bale and reached over, scratching the back of his head.

Chase walked up to the fence and leaned his chest against it, folding his arms on the top slat, and looking into the field. I followed him, stepping up on the first slat, so we were at head level. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked.

“You should choose Ethan for spokesperson.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. And then, suddenly, it made sense. The look in his eyes, the self-doubt. I had known Chase my whole life. How had I not seen it until now? I looked out toward the field. “What about Lachlan?”

Chase shook his head. “It’s hard enough watching him get high. Watching him get high off you is just intoxicating.”

“Does it bother you? To share a girlfriend?” I asked.

The mischievous glint sparked in Chase’s eyes. “No. I quite like watching him touch you, just preferably not in public.” He slipped in behind me and placed his hands on either side of mine. Even though I was standing a foot off the ground, I could feel his chest against my back. Chase slid one hand along my neck, sending goose bumps down my arm as he brushed my hair to one side. “Did you think it bothered me?” His breath caressed the sensitive skin just behind my ear, causing me to shiver. I could practically hear the grin on his face from my reaction.

“What if I chose you?” I whispered, afraid the full volume of my voice would break this moment.

“You don’t want to choose.”

I slowly shook my head.

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