Page 121 of Need You to Choose Me

Moskins must sense it too. “Chill, O’Conner. I’m offering your girl an olive branch. No pun intended.”

I grin at the right wing.

Alex stops beside me, his hand going to my lower back as his shoulder brushes mine. “You okay?”

“More than,” I promise him. “You were great out there. You didn’t look nervous at all.”

Moskins makes a thoughtful noise. “I hate public speaking too. Makes me get the nervous shits.”

My brows go up at the information I probably could have lived without. “That’s unfortunate.”

Alex’s head cocks. “I thought you lived for these things. You love attention.”

“I like attention when it’s on my terms,” Moskins corrects. “There’s a difference. You can’t always control what people are going to bring up when you’re talking to them. They’ll do anything for a quick buck, and the stories aren’t always accurate. Say one wrong thing, and they’ll twist your words and make you look like an asshole.”

I frown. I’ve never seen anything bad about him online, not that I’ve looked into him. “I’ll make you a deal. If I get the internship, I’ll be here when you do media interviews. Not just because it might be part of my job, but because everybody deserves to have someone in their corner cheering them on.”

His eyes widen for a millisecond before narrowing. “Why would you do that for me?”

Alex makes a noise like he’s wondering the same thing. Isn’t it obvious though? “Sometimes we need someone to be there. Not because we need to be fixed or anything, but because we’re human. We all need support once in a while. I’ve been told I give good pep talks.”

Both boys look at me, so I just smile at them like it’s the easiest thing in the world. And, right now, it is. Because I’ve been lucky enough to have a family who’s always been in my corner. They’ve showered me with love and support. Even my brother, who questions my choices, will always be there. One day, he’ll see that Alex is there too. He’ll get over being mad at me and realize my choice isn’t a bad one.

If I can spread some of that to people who need it more, then I’ll do it.

“It’s a deal then,” Moskins tells me.

My smile spreads.

He looks at Alex. “You’ve got a good one, O’Conner. Make sure you don’t fuck it up.”

The man beside me gapes at his teammate. “I won’t.”

Moskins shifts on his feet, looking like he might want to say something else. He doesn’t. Clearing his throat, he nods to himself and then walks out of the room.

“That was strange,” Alex murmurs.

I shake my head. “I think there’s more to him than you might think. You two are probably more similar than you know.”

Under his breath, he mutters, “I hope not.”

I elbow him. “Be nice. Not everybody has a good support system, and that’s important. I don’t think his marriage is a happy one.”

Alex doesn’t confirm or deny that. “I’ve never met his wife, and barely anybody talks about her.”

Which tells me all I need to know. “I think that’s sad, and exactly why Moskins could use some friends. And he apologized.”

“He did? Huh.”

I’m not going to force somebody to be friends with anyone they don’t want to be, so I don’t push it. “Do you want to celebrate your interview being over? We can go out to eat. My treat.”

“You’re not paying for a meal.”

“Then it wouldn’t be my treat.”

“You’re a pain in my ass.”

“But I’m yours,” I counter, poking his side.

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