Page 94 of Down & Dirty

I held out my hand to Sky and she took it like it was habit. Like this thing between us wasn’t fake or new. Like that was where it belonged. We’d slipped into a space in the last few days that I’d never known before. And it felt fucking amazing.

She jostled our hands, a sweet grin spreading across her face. “Itwasdelicious.”

The Ellis men had cooked for her all morning, bringing her refills on her drinks like a queen. She’d laughed every time one of us doted on her. Especially Mack. His scowl never lifted, but I could see the way he shook his head, as if he was holding it in. Why the guy couldn’t just let himself go was beyond me. But I’d stopped fighting that battle years ago.

“You already griping?” he asked, walking toward us from his truck. “Planting the seeds for why you’re going to play so bad.”

I balked. “We’re not even on the field yet and you’re giving me shit?” I shook my head. “We’re on the same team!”

Mack sniffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’ll trade your ass in a heartbeat if you wuss out on us.”

Spotting Grady across the field, I gave him a wave. He was standing beside his friend, Joey Jordan, a county sheriff, and Joey’s brother, Cash. The three of them had kicked our asses last time and I wasn’t in the mood to get another year of bullshit texts.

“Where’s Jesse?” I asked, feeling my competitive nature starting to kick in. I’d never cared about winning anything but motos for years, but when this tradition started up again after Grady got traded back to a nearby team, I’d enjoyed the chance to mix it up.

Mack looked at his watch. Jesse Montgomery was one of the guys on his construction crew that had become a good friend. He was rarely late.

“Right there,” Mack said, cracking an uncharacteristic smile as he pointed across the lot. Jesse was jogging toward us, his big goofy grin visible even from the distance.

It sucked that Beau wasn’t there. But he’d missed enough of these games over the years that Jesse was happy to fill in. Plus it gave Jesse’s brother Hank, and Suze, Hank’s daughter, some time to do their own thing.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Jesse said, breathing hard in the frigid air.

“Jesse, this is Skylar,” I said, my arm around her shoulders.

“Nice to meet you.” He offered her a warm smile. “If I’d known there was going to be a cheerleading squad I’d have asked my girlfriend Tara to come.” He laughed, and so did I.

I knew Tara Harris, and she was a hardcore athlete. Being called a cheerleader would have offended her as much as Sky, who stiffened against me.

“I think we both know they’d have taken over the game and kicked all our asses, before they’d have pulled out any pom poms.”

Jesse laughed harder, giving Sky a sheepish look. “Just kidding.”

“It’s okay,” she said, closing her arm around my waist as we started for the field.

Playing three on three wasn’t easy. It was man-to-man defense and unless your quarterback was fast on his feet, the ball never moved down the field. But Jesse was quick. And he had Mack to buy him time. Which left me to receive.

We’d gotten an early lead, but then Joey Jordan tossed a hail Mary pass the length of the field and Grady outran me to catch it. I stopped short, watching him sail into the end zone and sucking at the air.

“What’s wrong Drafty?” Grady asked, wearing a smug grin as he jogged casually back to me. “Can’t keep up?”

“I think you barely tying up the score would indicate otherwise.”

Grady barked out a laugh. “Yeah, but you look pretty winded there. Sure you have it in you to get the lead back?”

I straightened, enjoying the inch or two I had on him. “Don’t you worry about me, Hollywood. My stamina is just fine.”

He dipped his head, laughing under his breath. When he looked back up, his eyes drifted past me, to where Sky and my father were sitting on the sidelines with Joey’s wife, LeAnn.

“Should I ask her for confirmation on that?”

I followed his eye line, a smile cracking across my face the minute I saw Skylar. She was leaning over to look at something on LeAnn’s phone, her head nodding along like they hadn’t just met an hour ago.

“Not if you still want the use of both arms,” I replied, my eyes never leaving Sky.

“Come on, she seems like she could take a joke.”

“Drop it, Grady.”

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