Page 99 of Caught Stealing

P: Tempting. What are the stakes?

H: A trade. I’ll come to watch you play as long as you’re in MY jersey next season.

P: Awfully possessive of you. But I think those are agreeable terms.

I watch as Holden starts typing out his response, only to be distracted by Nashville rushing up the middle, the running back somehow sneaking through before barreling down the open field. The townhouse front door opens as the player sprints toward the end zone, but almost everyone here is too engrossed by the scene on the television to notice what’s happening in real life.

Not me, though. I’m thoroughly aware of who just walked through the door, and it has both my heart and stomach-dropping clear out of my ass.

“Kason, no!” Noah shouts, jumping to his feet before looking at my best friend in the doorway. “You need to turn around and leave, right now.”

Kason’s eyes widen as he slowly takes a step back. “Why?”

“Because Nashville just scored again on that rush,” Luca pipes in with a sigh. “And he seems to think Mercer, and now you, are putting bad juju on New England by being here.”

Confusion is written in Kason’s expression as he scans the room, only to get all the more confused when his eyes land on me. Anxiety wracks my nervous system, and I give him an awkward wave before pulling out my phone and texting Holden.

P: I thought you said he wasn’t coming?

H: He said he wasn’t! Can’t fault me for him changing his mind.

Not helpful, Holden.

I’m not so irrational to realize this isn’t his fault. He was telling the truth with the information he had at the time, and there was no way he could predict Kason changing his mind and showing up with only a quarter left in the game. But it doesn’t make the reality of it suck any less.

My phone buzzes in my palm when another text from Holden pops up on the screen.

H: You’re so tense, you’re giving me anxiety from all the way over there. Just relax. He’s not gonna know you’re here with me.

I glance up to where Holden is seated, only to find his eyes already locked on me. His brow gives a subtle arch, as if begging me to disagree with him, and I return it with a dubiousyou’re joking melook.

Blowing out a silent breath, I send him my reply.

P: He will if you keep watching me.

My phone buzzes in my palm again almost instantly, and I’m fully prepared for it to be Holden’s name on the screen. Only, it’s not him.

Theo: Does he know?

My eyes shift to my teammate sitting directly beside me, who quickly glances at me before looking back down at his phone.

Theo: Don’t act like you didn’t just enter full-blown panic mode when Kason walked through the door, Merce. I can read you better than that.

Me: Are you also reading my texts over my shoulder?

Theo: Oh, please. I don’t need to. You and Holden are as subtle as a hippo in a pet store. And you forget I share a floor with him in this house. It’s not hard to put the pieces together.

I blink a few times, wondering where the hell he’d ever heard that kind of saying before. But seeing as it’s not the important topic of discussion, I circle back to his question.

Me: No. He doesn’t, and we’re trying to keep it that way.

Theo: Keeping it a secret is only going to blow up in your face…

Me: I don’t know how to tell him. Not now.

I catch the subtle shake of his head beside me before his next text comes through.

Theo: I hope you know what you’re doing.

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