Page 104 of Need You to Choose Me

Something in her eyes dims.

“I take it Henderson doesn’t like knowing his sister is rooting for another team?” Miller guesses.

Olive is quiet.

“He doesn’t know?” Clarkson asks.

Moskins laughs. “That’s gold. He’s about to have one hell of a reality check then.”

I turn toward him. “She’ll tell him when she’s ready. It’s none of your goddamn business one way or another.”

He holds his hands up. “You two are in public. You really think people aren’t going to post about that? You’ve never been seen with anybody, and now you’re out and about parading her around. What do you think is going to happen?”

My jaw gets tight.

Olive puts a palm on my arm. “It’s not the end of the world.”

I don’t listen to her. “If you make it a point to get this out there, I’ll make your life hell, Moskins.”

Clarkson swipes a hand down his face. “We don’t need to throw threats around. Nobody here is going to say anything. Right, Moskins?”

Moskins stays silent.

“Right?” the captain repeats.

The right wing’s nostrils flare. “Fine.”

I don’t buy it for a second. “Everybody deserves to have their privacy. I’ve always thought that. I may not be any of your best friends, but wearea team. And Clarkson seems to think that means staying loyal to each other. That deserves some respect if nothing else.”

Moskins counters my point. “But she’s not part of the team. She’s got ties with one of our biggest competitors. We don’t have to trust her.”

“She’s not your competitor. She’s a person,” I state, feeling the tension grow thick in the lounge. “And she’s somebody I care about. If you knew anything about respecting women, you’d know that I’m not asking you for anything big.”

Clarkson cusses under his breath. “Let’s take a breather. We’re all good here.”

“Are we?” Moskins questions. “Because it sounds like he’s taking a dig at me.”

It’s Miller who chimes in. “You sort of started it, bro.”

He gets shot a daggered glare from Moskins before the person in question turns back to me. “I don’t get whatever this is, but I’ll play along if you want to act like being part of this team means something to you. But that’s all you’re getting from me.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

We’re all silent.

Olive squirms in her seat, glancing between me and Moskins.

Nelson is the first one to break the silence. “I need a refill.”

A few of the guys murmur in agreement.

I put my hand on Olive’s leg under the table.

She puts her hand on top of mine.

We share a look.

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