Page 14 of Red Zone

“Yeah, we’re going out Friday night.”

I dumped the glass in the trash. “Was that before or after you two got busy?”

“Jesus, Skye.”

I laughed at his discomfort before deciding to go easy on him. “I’m glad things are going well for you.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Joe glanced at me as he scribbled something in his notebook. “How’s tutoring?”

“It’s fine,” I said too quickly.

His head snapped up, eyebrows raising in curiosity. “Fine, huh?” He leaned back, crossing his arms.

“I was asked to add an athlete to my schedule. Liam Cartwright.”

“Really?” Joe’s smile fell away. “I saw the two of you at the stadium last night. You’ve been spending time with Cartwright.”

My stomach tightened, but I forced a casual shrug. “I’m tutoring him, Joe. It’s part of my job.”

He frowned, his expression shifting from curiosity to something more serious. “I know guys like Liam. They take what they want and leave the rest in pieces. Be careful, Skye.”

“Ah, nothing’s going on with Liam. I’m just tutoring him.”

“Still, I know how he is with women and relationships. I’m just saying this because you set me up with Megan, who won’t ditch when fame hits.”

“As I said, nothing’s going on between us.” I couldn’t keep the chill from my voice if I tried.

He ducked his head, seemingly chastised.

“How’s your research on foxglove going?” I eyed his notes. It was one of two separate studies he’d been burning the midnight oil on this past summer and semester.

“Really good.” A genuine smile curved his face.

“Do you need a hand with that?” He waved to my abandoned work.

“No. I’m good. I’m too preoccupied to focus. I need to get out of here anyway.”

Aunt Eileen was picking Lily up from daycare, feeding her dinner, and getting her to bed, which gave me the flexibility to spend the evening with the team. I’d planned to film some of the players walking through campus for a short day-in-the-lifepost after candid practice shots to hype the next game. It wasn’t my favorite part of the job, but it was important for building engagement. In addition, I needed to work on the players’ stats for the once-a-week posts I’d started doing to get everyone who liked that sort of thing hyped for the upcoming games. Mostly guys, but some girls followed that data religiously as well.

“Sure.” His response was distracted as he refocused on his experiment, already absorbed in his work.

As I bent to tuck the dustpan back under the counter on my way out, the lab door creaked open.

Megan stepped back in, her gaze bouncing between Joe and me. She carried an air of curiosity that didn’t feel entirely innocent. “Hey, Skye,” she said, her tone casual. “I saw you at the game last weekend. You’ve been spending a lot of time with the team lately.”

I nodded, brushing my hands on my jeans. “I’m their social media manager. Most of what I do is behind the camera, but I’m also taking on some athletic tutoring.”

Megan’s eyes sharpened slightly. “Must be interesting, being around them all the time. I bet they’re under a ton of pressure.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot, but the coaches keep them focused,” I said, my tone measured.

“Do you ever hear about, you know, the pressure they’re under?” She tilted her head, feigning casual interest. “I mean, with scouts watching them, the combine coming up, and all those insane stats you post, it’s got to be intense trying to measure up.”

“Probably,” I said cautiously.

Megan leaned against the counter, her lips twitching into a sly smile. “You ever wonder if any of them might… I don’t know, look for an edge? Hypothetically speaking.”

Her tone was too breezy, too specific to feel innocent. I stiffened, not liking the direction her questions were going. “Nothere. They know better than to risk their futures over something like that.”

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