Page 73 of Trapped and Tackled

“It means my dad’s anger…” She trails off, blowing out a breath. “I don’t want you to bear the brunt of his frustration. It’s not fair to you.”

I shake my head ruefully at her concern. I’ve never had anyone look out for me like this before. I like it, but I don’t want her worrying about that shit. “Don’t stress it, Leni. I can take it.”

Relief filters through her blue eyes. “Thank you, Talon.”

“Whatever you need,” I remind her.

We drive the rest of the way in comfortable silence, listening to music and chatting. She tells me more about Marlowe and her concerns for her friend. She explains how much she misses her sister and is going to call Lincoln. She admits how much she loved this weekend.

I listen eagerly, wanting her every thought. I’m still riding the natural high of last night. And then again, this morning.

Getting lost in Leni is easy and for the first time, I understand what Cohen and West went through last season. The way their entire worlds flipped overnight.

It’s something you can’t understand until it happens to you. Until those feelings hit you straight on and change everything. The weird thing is, you crave it more than you fear it. And then, you know it’s the real deal.

Leni is the real fucking deal. So much so, I’m going to man up and tell Coach Strauss about us. I would never do that—risk my relationship with him and the team—if I wasn’t one-hundred percent certain Leni is it for me.

But I’ve been on my own a long time. The fact that this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way is more than telling. It’s everything and I won’t risk my pride or position on the team for what could very well be my once-in-a-lifetime. I’ve watched teammates make that mistake too many times.

While I didn’t fully understand what was at stake at the time, I do now. I’m not risking a real shot, a real future, with Leni when it’s staring me straight in the face.

When we arrive at Leni’s house, I pull in the driveway and kill the engine.

She takes a deep breath. “You sure about this?”

“Positive.”

She turns to me. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re jeopardizing your career or position with the team for…this.” She gestures between us. “It’s new and?—”

“I know how I feel about you, Len.” I need her to trust my instincts the same way I do. “And I admire your dad too much to sneak around. He’s the type of man I want to grow into. What would he do?” I quirk an eyebrow, already knowing the answer.

Leni sighs. “The same as you. He had to fight for my mom’s hand in marriage. He was a German immigrant, and she was from old Southern money. There were different expectations set for her.”

“And?” I press, wanting to know how the story unfolded.

“He didn’t back down and eventually, my granddaddy respected him for it.”

I smirk. “You just proved my point.”

“But it wasn’t easy, Talon. For years, my mom’s parents didn’t accept Dad. They gave him—both of them—a hard time.”

“Nothing has ever come easy to me, Len. To be honest, if it did, I wouldn’t want it. Wouldn’t trust it.”

“Okay,” she breathes out, looking worried.

For a moment, nerves rattle through me. “This is what you want, right?” Shit, am I reading this wrong? Am I moving too fast, expecting things from Leni that she’s not ready to commit to? It’s easy to want something in the heat of a moment. It’s something different to admit to it the following day.

Her eyes widen and panic flickers over her expression. “More than anything,” she breathes out. “I guess it’s just, more than I expected. You’re more than I ever hoped for.”

I shake my head, cupping her cheek affectionately. More than anything, I want to lean over the console and kiss her. But first, I want to man up and come clean with Coach.

As much as I want his blessing, want to earn his respect, I’m not willing to walk away from Leni regardless of what he says. It’s a scary realization.

For years, I lived and died by the unspoken rules of my football team. Now, I’ll break them all to take my shot with Leni.

She gives me that sunny smile I love, and we exit the SUV.

Rolling back my shoulders, I walk to her parents’ front door and wait for her to let us inside.

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