Page 32 of Trapped and Tackled

Avery chuckles and takes the stool next to mine.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

He shrugs, taps his pint against mine, and takes a swig. “Honestly? I had to get out of my house.”

I sigh. “Same.”

Avery lifts an eyebrow. “I think I have a fucking stalker.”

“What?” I snort, shaking my head as the beer I was about to swallow burns the back of my nose. “A stalker?”

“Fuck, bro,” Avery groans.

“Is it the Sports Illustrated MILF?” I wonder, recalling an older woman Avery was hooking up with.

“No. This is even worse. She’s one of Raia’s teammate’s sisters.” He takes a swig of his beer, frowning. “Older sister, too.”

“Huh?”

Avery shakes his head, looking confused. “She’s gotta be twenty-six. Twenty-seven.”

“Are you worried? Is she…threatening?”

“No, nothing like that.” He waves a hand. “She came to a few of the open practices and…shit, I don’t know. She must have gotten my address from her sister and…she’s been fucking everywhere. Today, I’m certain I saw her in the lobby of my building. And then, again tonight, at the coffee shop on the corner by my place.”

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange is she doesn’t give off enamored, I-have-a-crush-on-an-athlete vibes. It’s more like she’s…curious. Or, conducting research or something.”

“What do you mean?” I frown. I’ve never heard of a stalker like this.

“I feel like she’s watching me, or interested, but it’s…clinical somehow. I don’t get the feeling that she’s trying to hook-up or anything like that.”

“Huh.” I take a swig of my beer, speechless.

He shakes his head. “It’s the weirdest thing. But she seems like a cool woman. I mean, she’s harmless. The whole thing is just…different.”

“Right.”

“I just wanted out of my place.” He tips his beer toward me. “What’s your excuse?”

I shrug. “Just gotta get out of my head.”

“What are you caught up on?”

“Leni Strauss,” I admit.

Avery rears back, his expression morphing from one of nonchalance to downright concern. “Are you fucking kidding?” he hisses. “Coach’s daughter!”

“It’s not like that,” I backpedal, mentally swearing at myself for being so goddamn careless. But she is at the forefront of my mind and…I don’t understand why. I don’t get what the hell is transpiring between us. “Coach asked me to look out for her.”

Avery’s eyebrows pull together. “He did?”

“Yeah. And…she’s a cool woman too, you know?”

“Yeah, I fucking know that.” Avery watches me closely, as if he’s reading between the lines. But there’s nothing to read. I’m grappling, spilling my thoughts, as they pop into my mind.

I shrug. “She’s a friend.”

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