Page 23 of Trapped and Tackled

I widen my stance, crossing my arms over my chest. I know I’m not for everyone, but this dude doesn’t even know me. To flat out ignore me is…fucking odd. I hold a hand out anyway, trying to take the higher road. “Talon.”

He stares at my hand for a beat before shaking it. Weak-ass grip. “Toby.”

“This is my boyfriend.” Marlowe bounces again. Definitely tipsy.

“Well, I’m looking forward to your party,” I tell her. “We’re going to grab a bite.”

“You should sit with us,” Marlowe continues, pointing to a back table where another guy is seated. This guy waves easily and Leni grins, waving back.

While the second dude seems cool, I’m not really interested in having a group dinner with strangers.

I want to get to know Leni, who is confounding me with each passing second.

Marlowe continues to gush, and Toby’s scowl deepens. I frown, trying to get a read on their dynamic. It’s fucking weird.

“Oh my God! Is this a date?” Marlowe asks, her gaze darting between Leni and me. I amend my earlier observation. She not tipsy; she’s drunk. That flat-out question can’t be part of girl code.

Deciding I don’t want to be part of this conversation a second longer, I reach for Leni’s hand. “Too early to tell, Marlowe. We’re going to grab a table but see you soon, yeah?”

“Oh yes. Of course!” She grabs Leni’s other arm and does some weird girl shriek and arm flapping. “Call me later, Leni.”

“I will,” Leni promises.

Toby says nothing. In fact, he sneers at Leni, almost like he’s mad that she’s here.

I flag down a server and we’re seated at the high-top table.

Leni reaches for a menu.

“What was that about?” I ask, flipping my chin in the direction of Toby.

“What?” Leni follows my line of sight. “Oh, that’s just Toby.”

“He’s kind of a douche.”

Her eyes widen and a snort of laughter erupts. “He is.” She nods. “He’s a huge douche.” She shakes her head. “But Marlowe’s my best friend so…”

“You play nice.”

“I try,” Leni admits. “Her cousin Keller, the other guy at the table, is much better at it than I am. Most of the time, it takes everything I have not to lose my shit on Toby. Mar deserves so much better. They’ve been together since high school though—there’s a lot of history there.”

“Right,” I say, reaching for a menu. But…there’s something else there too. Something I can’t put my finger on. And for the first time, I think Coach may be right. I can’t call it father’s intuition, but I wouldn’t want Leni spending solo time at a lake house with a guy like that either.

So, it’s a good thing I’m going.

Chapter 7

Leni

“What’s your favorite color?” I ask after taking a long pull of my Diet Coke. I ease back in my seat, smiling as Talon takes a swig of his Coke.

When he ordered it—and didn’t opt for a beer, the way Toby always does or a scotch, the way Craig always did—tension drained from my shoulders. Tension I didn’t realize I was carrying until that moment.

“Blue. You?”

“Green,” I admit.

“What’s your favorite band?” he wonders.

---