Page 157 of Call the Shots
“In case you were wondering, you can baby-trap me. I’d be cool with that?—”
“Bad.”
“What? It’s the truth?—”
“No,Bear.” Fridge ran a hand over his face. “The stuff you say in the bedroom stays in the bedroom.If you say you want to get a woman pregnant in the real world, they consider that a threat. June will act accordingly. She’ll pepper spray you.”
“No, I don’t want to get her pregnant—I’m saying if she asked me to get her pregnant—damn—I could do it in twenty minutes?—”
Fridge snapped his fingers in my face. “Don’t make me hurl.” He sighed. “We have a lot of work to do. We’ll make you the most romantic love confession ever written.”
CHAPTER 59
JUNE
I NEED A MIRACLE
I arrivedat the training facility in a brand-new coral-color professional suit, with sharp shoulders to ward away lesser predators. Everyone waved at me, and I waved back, polite and cordial, because once my appointment started, I planned to be anything but.
As soon as I stepped onto the third floor, I checked my folder with my print-outs, thumbing through the list. Fifteen minutes until my appointment. This was my shot. I owed it to the Gladiators to try everything I could.
“June,” a voice commanded my attention.
With everything else falling apart, Xavier’s arrival was the least important part of my day. I rolled my eyes. “Uh-huh.”
Xavier broke away from a team of embarrassed housing employees, careful to avoid looking at me, but he wasn’t embarrassed. He strode up, all smiles. “We’re asking about the extra space now that—well—the Orson J. Portnoy Arena will be gone.”
“The Colo,” I corrected him, “isn’t gone yet. Your signatures won’t mean anything.”
“You’re back to your same strategy?”
“I’m not interested in whatever brand of bullshit you have going on.” I motioned him away. “Go away.”
He dropped his voice, careful to keep quiet. “Can I break it to Bear? He shouldn’t get his hopes up because you’ll find an athlete to fuck on the side? Or are you sticking with King out of habit?”
I yanked down my folder. “What are you talking about?”
“Pretending like you don’t know?”
“I didn’t fuck King,” I hissed. “Ever. Is that what this is about? You’re punishing me for something I didn’t do? You’re a liar and?—”
“You play the victim card so well.”
“You—you—” My words trailed off while I gazed up at Xavier, smirking with satisfaction. The conversation played back to me. Something wasn’t right. I held up a finger, thinking it through. “Wait, no. I…don’t believe you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Gaslighting?—”
“No, if you thought I was ever sleeping with King while we were dating, you would’ve lost your shit.” So why was Xavier saying this? I swept my hair behind my shoulders, thinking. “You…don’t actually believe that. My mama’s right. You just want to argue. You want attention. Some proof that I care. That you mean something to me.”
“That makes you sound guilty?—”
“I don’t give a shit if you think I fucked the whole football team.” I shrugged and moved past him. There were way more pressing things in my schedule. “I don’t have anything to gain from this conversation. Fuck off.”
“You’re trying to make me jealous with my fuckingstepbrother,” he snapped, putting a hand out, stopping me in my tracks. “I see you, flaunting him on campus?—”
“Flaunting him?” I whirled around. “You’re an idiot—you missed out on such a great stepbrother. I was an idiot too forbelieving you! He’s sweet, loyal to a fault, his team loves him. I feel sosafewith him. He makes every day good and…and…”
I froze, eyes on the clock behind Xavier even though I couldn’t read the time. My brain was too busy recreating that warm, bubbly feeling when I saw Bear…
