Page 78 of Front Runner

“It’s not important.”

Parker lookedas pissed as I felt. His jaw clenched tight as he threw off the covers to stroll naked into his closet. He came back into the room a few seconds later and tossed me some of my clothes before going to grab his own.

Mac lifted his brows. “Did she already move in?”

My gaze shot to him. “You too?”

Parker raised his voice in the closet. “I talked to Mac and Noah about it before I asked you. They live here too.”

I shook my head and held up my clothes, glaring at Mac. “Do you mind?”

He stared at me blankly for a second, then realization dawned. “Right. Naked. I’ll just be…” He pointed over his shoulder, then hurried into the hallway, closing the door after him.

Parker came out of the closet fully dressed and leaned against the frame with his arms crossed. I let the covers drop to yank on the underwear and sport bra in my hand.

“We should talk to Coach,” he said. “As soon as possible.”

I hated the idea. One of my worst nightmares was discussing my sex life with my football coach. Before I’d met Parker, it hadn’t even been a consideration.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

Parker had spent more time looking at the article. I’d only read the headline and scrolled the pictures. His lips pursed as he watched me, and my fledgling hope that it was rumor fodder died.

“Bad. They know about you coming home with me, and someone told them about the dance with Eva. There’s some speculation that you’re fucking both of us.”

I grunted in disgust and jumped out of bed. Fucking journalists with no sense of integrity. If I wanted to sleep with Eva and Parker and the rest of the fucking team, it should be my business and no one else’s. I pulled on the leggings and a long-sleeved top he’d tossed me.

“I really don’t want to talk about it, but you’re right. Even if this blows over, we should tell Coach.”

He pushed away from the wall and wrapped his arms around me, halting my aimless wandering. “Whatever happens, I’m here with you. The semester is over, and the season only has four games left at most.”

Neither of us mentioned the spring semester or the potential problems for next season.

I wove my arms around his waist and let my head drop onto his shoulder, already tired of the shitty day. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t going to blow over. The stories were already sordid and only sort of based on the truth.

Gina was right. I needed a PR person, even if I couldn’t afford it.

The bigger problem was that we’d broken the administration’s new rule. They might have been willing to look the other way as long as we stayed under the radar, but those articles painted the university in a negative light.

One of the headlines had brought up the last coach’s harassment and seemed to be questioning how high the corruption went. If they’d planned my presence here as a publicity stunt, it had backfired spectacularly.

Mac knocked on the door. “Coach just texted me with a message for RJ.”

My brows drew together, then I realized we’d put our phones in do not disturb mode before we’d passed out. No wonder we hadn’t gotten any warning about the story breaking.

I pulled away from Parker and yanked the door open. “What did Coach say?”

His eyes slid past me to land on Parker. “He wants RJ in his office. Now.”

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, not bothering to check my notifications, and shoved it in my gym bag. When I tried to push past Mac, he pulled me into a quick hug.

“We got your back, girl. Unless you’re secretly having an affair with Eva too, then I’m devastated you kept it from me.”

I tried to smile at his joke, but it fell flat. “Thanks, Mac.”

He released me into the hallway, and Parker followed. The cold in my gut spread as I stared at the front door. Nothing would be the same once we left the apartment.

Parker’s warm hand on my back urged me forward as he took control. “Where’s Noah?”

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