Page 85 of The Lessons

What the?? Oh…okay, then.

“Guys, this is Natalie, Natalie, these are the guys.” He gestured toward the group. A very good-looking group of sweaty men. “Rice, Tommy, Mark, Pitch, Eric, Marcus, J.T, Charlie, and Lambo.”

“Lambo?” I asked.

“Long story.”

“To go with my long—”

“Lam—” Ryan warned, his eyebrow rising.

Lambo put both his hands up and backed off.

Ryan turned to me. “Still up for that beer?” He smiled widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Yeah,” I said, weak in the knees.

Like a fucking schoolgirl.

Ryan’s friends were awesome. Like, really funny in a bro-y kind of way. After the game, Ryan changed into striped track pants and a hoodie, and we hit up a nearby bar. We were all gathered around a picnic table on the back patio as the sun set, and I was sitting next to Ryan on a bench seat.

And we were close. I mean, our arms and legs were touching. Not just a little but, like,fully-pressed-up-against-each-other touching. It may have been because we were trying to fit twelve people around a small table, but I didn’t see any of theguystouching. And despite having perspired for the last few hours, Ryan smelled good. I kept angling my nose toward him with every other inhale, secretly trying to take in his scent.

At one point, Regina’s baby started to fuss, and Ryan offered to take her.

“You need a break,” he said, getting up and rounding the table. I was sad to have our connection broken, but a moment later, I was rewarded. Seeing that man hold a baby, well, shit. I thought my ovaries were gonna explode.

“Thank you,Ryan. What agentleman.” Regina said as she stared at Rice.

“Oh, don’t act like I don’t help, Reg,” he countered. “I’m just letting you get your time in now because once she’s walking, I’ll be training her on the field 24/7.”

Ryan came over and sat down next to me. I looked down at the little girl—she wasn’t fussing anymore, and her big eyes were focused on me.

“She’s beautiful.” I offered my pinkie finger to her, and she wrapped her hand around it. “Hey, baby girl.”

“I think she likes you,” Ryan said softly.

I looked up at him, and our eyes met.

Yep. Snap, crackle and pop went the ovaries.

Later that evening, the guys started filling me in on what I’d missed during the earlier part of the game.

“And then he kicked it from midfield, and the fucking goalie didn’t even move. Like, he didn’t even have time to react. It was a fucking slaughter!” Lambo exclaimed, retelling the highlights of the game to me as we drank our beers.

“Dang, really? I wish I’d seen it.”

Eric cut in, unimpressed. “Eh, just swing by again next week.”

“Yeah, true. He’s pretty much like that every week,” Lambo agreed. “The other teams call him Wrecking Ball.”

I turned to Ryan and gave him a half-smile. “Oh, yeah?”

He leaned back, momentarily breaking the connection between our arms. He looked relaxed as he shrugged. “Winning is a team effort.”

He was very cute when he was relaxed.

“So, how’d you two meet?” Eric cut back in.

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