Page 45 of Third and Ten

Before I pick up on what’s happening, I see the corners of her mouth turn up into a satisfied smile. Then she bites her lip and gestures hesitantly to the counter. “JD, you…um…I think you might have bumped into Ethan’s cake.”

I cringe, finally realizing that I have, in fact, leaned back onto the tall, multilayered chocolate cake resting behind me. I’m growling in frustration when I feel a light touch on my arm. It’s Tenley, gently urging me forward. I reach back to find that, sure enough, there is now a blob of brown icing smeared across the bottom half of my shirt. I can only hope it doesn’t look like I shat myself, though I imagine that’s exactly the case based on Tenley’s expression.

I groan. “I ruined his birthday cake, didn’t I?”

She shakes her head quickly, barely concealing a smile. “Nah, I’m sure I can smooth this out. Though, you might be wearing some of it for the rest of the night.”

“What’s wrong?” her mom asks, returning to the kitchen and walking over to us.

“I’m just a bull in a china shop,” I grumble. “Too big and clumsy for every room.”

“Mais, cher, that’s nothing,” Mrs. T replies, laughing lightly. “Tenley can help you clean up. I’ll grab one of Jude’s old T-shirts for you.”

“Come on, Coach,” Tenley says, looking entirely too amused as she leads me down the hall to an empty bathroom. She gathers a washcloth and soap while I stand there like a helpless toddler, then she slips away, chuckling quietly.

I glare at the pathetic man-child in the mirror and scold myself for being so lame again before I attempt to clean up. But I’m too annoyed to keep reaching around, so I end up ditching my shirt, slowly and deliberately peeling it up over my head to avoid spreading the chocolate. I hear the door creak softly and look up to find Tenley standing in the open doorway again.

Her eyes widen for a second before she averts them. “I’m sorry, I should have knocked first. Uh, here. Hopefully this fits.” She holds out a faded Saints tee. I can’t help but smirk at her as I let my shirt slide down my forearms, leaving me completely topless. Then I take the T-shirt she offers and push my arms through the sleeves, pausing there.

“Thank you. Would you mind checking to see if I left anything behind?” I ask, turning so she has no choice but to inspect my bare back.

I twist around to watch her from over my shoulder, flexing for her again. “Ah, no, looks…fine,” she squeaks.

“Cool, thanks.” I turn back to face her as I pull the fresh shirt down over my head. It’s a little tight, so it takes a few tugs to get it past my chest.

“No problem,” she whispers, then bites her lip as her eyes dart over my torso.

I open my mouth to say something flirty again, until I notice Ethan standing behind her and watching our exchange from the hallway with a grimace.

“I’m not even going to ask what excuse you used to get shirtless this time,” he declares.

I grab my chocolatey shirt and follow a red-faced Tenley out. “It’s probably for the best,” I answer, patting him on the shoulder.

“Let me throw that in the laundry for you. I can send it back with Ethan later,” she offers, stopping to take the balled-up fabric.

“Thank you,” I’m forced to say again, though the idea of having one of my shirts smell a little like Tenley isn’t so bad.

Yep, still pathetic.

We all go into the kitchen, Tenley making a quick stop in the laundry room before everyone sits around the large dining table. I find myself sandwiched between Ethan and Tenley. At least I don’t have to sit across from her and try not to stare.

“Where’s Caidence?” I ask Ethan.

“She’s working at the cafe tonight. But she asked if I would stop by later to show her my truck,” he says with a cocky smile. I nudge him playfully, making him laugh. “So, uh, you guys made up?” he leans over to ask quietly.

I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “I guess. She apologized. I accepted. Either way, I’d never turn down a free meal.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Tenley leans over and whispers conspiratorially. Ethan laughs again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You probably don’t appreciate the way I was talking to Ethan about you behind your back, right?” I retort, narrowing my eyes.

She scrunches her nose. “Who’s ready to eat?”

I smirk as I stand and gesture for her to serve herself first, waiting for her to return to the table so I can push in her chair for her. Her eyes flicker over to me with a warning, but I can’t help the way I was raised.

Mrs. T adds some homegrown cucumbers and tomatoes to my already overcrowded plate once I sit. Then she leads everyone in a blessing and invites us to dig in. I shovel a forkful of rice and stew into my mouth and let out a loud, involuntary groan.

I turn Tenley with stars in my eyes. “This is…so good.”

---