Page 90 of Third and Ten

“Tenley?” His voice brings me back from my thoughts. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I just…I’ve always been a little self-conscious, I guess. It’s tough growing up with more curves than the average girl.”

He furrows his brow and rests his hand on my right leg. “Your curves are amazing. How do you think I earned the nickname ‘Coach Thirsty’?” he admits with a smirk, his hand curling in and his fingers softly raking my thigh.

My breath catches in my throat and my stomach flips.

Oof.

This is going to be harder than I thought. Thankfully, he pulls his hand back after a second of my silence.

“So, uh, whatcha watching, Dorothy?” he asks, trying to lighten the mood.

“Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.” I gesture at the TV.

He eyes me suspiciously. “Seriously? You were all alone in a hotel room watching football? Where are the cameras? Is this a prank?” I giggle as he looks around the room, pretending to be searching for evidence of a setup.

“Are you still questioning my affinity for football?”

“I have to,” he replies, shaking his head. “I’m still wondering whether you’re real half the time.”

I look away, my face heating up once again. “How was practice?”

“It was great. The kids really enjoyed messing around at the field house.”

“Did it bring back any memories for you? Or tempt you to go after a college coaching job?” I ask, my tone a little flirtier than intended.

“Well, actually…I kind of got hit on by the BSU coaching staff today.”

“Wow, seriously? That’s awesome, JD.”

He shrugs. “Like I said before, I’m happy where I am right now,” he says, looking at me intently and making me feel all warm and tingly inside. “By the way, I haven’t told anyone else about that, so can we keep it between us?”

“Yeah, of course.”

But now I’m reminded of my conversation with Loren as I consider the implications of him confiding in me. Have I become that person for him, the one he trusts with his secrets and considers before making big decisions? Do I even want to be?

I’m afraid my honest answer is that I want to be anything and everything JD needs.

And that I also want to fulfill his…other desires.

I’m slowly realizing that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.

I clear my throat, trying to disguise the way I’m breathing so heavily. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

He licks his lips, distracting me for a second. “A little. I mean, we’re totally preparing for a good old-fashioned ass-whooping,” he admits. “But hopefully they’ll make some fun memories and at least be able to look back on the time when they made it so far in the playoffs that the town threw them a send-off parade and they practiced on a college field.”

I squeeze his forearm. “You’re definitely giving them that. Those boys are having a blast.”

My phone sounds, and he reaches up to tug at the collar of his hoodie. “Man, I’m dying in this thing. It’s so much warmer in your room.”

All I can do is squeak an “mm-hmm” in return.

“You should probably check that, just in case it’s your mom or something,” he says and shifts around as if he’s preparing to remove a layer.

I pull out my phone, relieved to see a text from Loren.

Loren

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