Page 6 of Siren's Game

Thankfully, she’s looking, no, staring at his friend, who stands like a statue, looking at Millie with a similar look in his eyes, the air between them cackling with electricity.

Holy shit, just what am I witnessing here?

"His name is Luca," I tell her, tilting my head as I subtly lift my phone to take a picture, because either this is going to be a monumental moment, or I can tease her with it somewhere down the line. "You know him. He played in that one movie you watched on the plane when we went to Paris. The one with all the guns and fights."

"You're right," she says contemplatively, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. "He looks really different." I swear I could hear her mutter a 'much better' under her breath.

"Come on, Mils," I say and softly nudge her with my elbow.

She shakes her head like she's waking up from a dream, her curls bouncing with every movement and looks at me with wide, glossy eyes and a red face.

"Alright, let's go."

Lila is standing next to an older guy with a mustache that covers half his face. Considering his gear and the clipboard in his hands, I'm assuming that this man is their coach. Poor guy. Having that many men with little to no football experience to train can't be an easy task.

"Hello, ladies," he greets us warmly and offers us his hand, which we shake. Damn, he has a strong grip. "I'm Rich. Lila here just told me that you're our halftime show entertainment."

"Yes, we are. It’s good to meet you," I reply with a chuckle. Millie is unusually quiet next to me, so I'm taking over the talking for both of us now.

I can't help but notice that the loud chatter and sound of balls being thrown around and caught has subsided. From the corner of my eyes, I can see that the guys have stopped playing and instead eye Millie and me curiously.

"And I assume you're the guy responsible for the rest of the entertainment of the day?"

He bursts into booming laughter, gathering the attention of all the players. “Well, yes, I’m the coach. Come on, let me introduce you.”

With one quick shout from him, all the men gather around, not even trying to hide their curious and flirty stares. God, this is what hell must be like.

"Alright, gentlemen," he announces in a booming voice that startles me. "I don't think these two need any introduction."

I roll my eyes. Way to make us sound so rude. Plus, it seems pretty arrogant to make others introduce themselves while assuming that they know our names.

"We're going to do one anyways," I interrupt him with a tight smile and take a deep breath, hoping it will calm me down and help me school my face. I have a bad case of resting bitch face that I’m trying to fix. "Hi, I'm Kayla. This is Millie," I say and point at my friend, who is half-hiding behind me, looking anywhere but in Asher's and Luca's direction.

How cute, she's shy.

"Hi, guys," she greets the players softly and gives them a small wave with her fingers.

"And we're the pop duo 'Sirens,'" I jump in again, feeling her relax in relief. "It's good to meet you." I shoot Asher a glare. "Well, most of you." My eyes widen slightly. Oops. I didnotmean to say that out loud.

Millie nudges my shoulder, and I can see her hide a grin and trying to stifle laughter.

A curious murmur goes through the teams after I stop speaking and I bite my lip to keep from laughing as well.

Rich, oblivious to it, continues to speak for us and my smile quickly slides off my face. He probably means well, but it's really fucking annoying when men are under the impression that it's okay to speak for Millie and me. First impressions are important, though, so I swallow down my complaints and smile instead.

He explains to the guys that we're the act booked for the halftime show and as such will be having our rehearsals here at the stadium as well. I don't quite know why exactly we have to be here instead of any other dance studio, but one thing you learn in the business is to not question all the decision your manager makes for you. Because there's usually a reason, even if they don’t volunteer it.

Sometimes it’s a bad reason, granted. But for now, I’m giving Naroa the benefit of the doubt.

"You might run into each other in the hallways," Rich points out. "Just a heads up."

"I sure hope so!" My head shoots up when one of the men heckles, the hair on my neck standing up and my blood running cold.

He might mean it harmlessly; in fact, I assume he does. But I’m not trying to find out if there’s a hidden, threatening meaning to this statement.

"And that's our cue to go," I murmur and take Millie's hand. Without any words of goodbye, we leave. "This could have gone so well," I mutter under my breath as we stomp over the field, Lila nowhere in sight. I hadn't even realized she left, but I'm most certainly not complaining about it.

"It really could have," Millie sighs and rolls her shoulders. “But that did not sound right at all.”

---