Page 11 of Changing the Play

“Oh.” I glance over at the box balanced on my palm. “Don’t you wanna?” I nod toward his half-naked body.

His cheeks flush bright red. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I forget that walking around half-dressed isn’t the norm for most people. It’s pretty standard for the locker room.”

The way I don’t have a single complaint about that at all. But also, I’m like a millisecond away from drooling. “Hey, no worries. I was early.”

West grins. Then we just kind of stare awkwardly at each other. He blinks, the smile never leaving his face. I’m trying with all my might to keep my eyes in a respectable place, but I really need this man to let me in and go put some clothes on. West clears his throat, shaking himself a little. “Right. Well, come in. I’ll just… go get dressed.”

He gestures for me to come in. When I step in, he takes off in the direction of what I’m assuming is his bedroom. I set the pizza on the counter and look around. I’m nosy. Sue me.

I make my way over to the couch, stopping when I see a worn copy ofPride and Prejudicesitting on the arm. It’s clearly old, and well-loved, like it’s been read multiple times.

I pick it up and open the front page. There’s a handwritten note. I know I shouldn’t read it, but I’m so curious about West that I can’t help it.

Follow your dreams, West. You can do anything you set your mind to.

Mrs. Jackson

I trace the words with my fingers, smiling despite myself, before placing the book down where I found it.

“My high school English teacher gave it to me.” West’s voice startles me and I look up to find him standing behind the couch. For someone so large, he sure is light on his feet. “She inspired me a lot.”

I nod. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to snoop. Well, I was, actually, but I shouldn’t have been.”

He shrugs, an easy grin on his face. “I wouldn’t have left it out if I meant for it to be a secret.”

“That’s fair, but still.”

He comes around the couch, and I almost fall out on the floor. Gray sweats. Gray freaking sweatpants. First half-naked, and now this. I’ll never make it through his football lesson. “So. Pizza?” He’s got a boyish grin on his face and my stomach does a little swoop. Not good. Not good at all. I can’t find him attractive. I’m here to help him. That’s all.

“Yeah.” My voice sounds a little croaky, so I clear my throat. “Pizza. I got plain pepperoni. I hope that’s okay.”

West smiles, grabbing the pizza off the counter and setting it down on the table before plopping down on the couch. “Yeah, I’m totally fine with anything. I’m starving.”

He pats the spot next to him. Iwillhave to sit down beside him to do football lessons, so, yeah, I’ll just… I sit down, acutely aware of the heat of his body beside me. This couch is not big enough.

Parker is going to make fun of me when they find out I find West attractive. I’m so not ready for that. Not at all. “Are you okay?”

I turn to find West watching me, a piece of pizza in his hand. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

He takes a bite of his pizza, then licks the grease off his lower lip with a little groan. Haha. I’m being punished. This is a joke, right? I take a slice of pizza and inconspicuously scoot closer to the end of the couch to put some extra space between us.

We eat our pizza in mostly silence. I say mostly because while I’m quiet, West is not. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone take such joy in eating before, and it’s making things a littleuncomfortablefor me. His little groans shouldn’t be so distracting. That’s not even taking into account the little happy dance I can feel him doing every once in a while as he eats.

It’s a feat of my self-control to not look at him. It’s bad enough on its own without actually seeing him. When he’s finally done eating, he sits back. “Are you ready for a football education?”

I take a couple of deep breaths, then turn to him. “As ready as I’m going to be.”

He does that smile again and nods. “Great. I picked a game last night to show you. I figured we could watch it and I could explain things as they’re happening, and if you have any questions, you can ask.”

I nod. Mostly because I don’t trust my voice.

West gets his laptop set up on his lap. “You may have to come a little closer.”

Terrible idea. Awful, really, but I move a little closer anyway. He sinks into the couch, getting comfortable, spreading his legs just enough that his thigh brushes against mine. I have to fight to not jerk away from him. Get it together, Darce. This is not how you act if you don’t want the straight guy to find out you think he’s hot. Just be normal.

West doesn’t even seem to notice. He opens a web browser and hits play on the video. “So college and NFL have different rules, but this is an NFL game.”

Why do they have different rules? That seems so stupid and counterproductive. Players have to learn a whole new set of rules if they make it to the NFL? I genuinely don’t even know what to say to that,but I know I’m not going to be rude and rag on the thing West loves. “Okay. So, who are the teams?”

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