Page 51 of The Catch

We stand near the window and watch. Whatever play they made, it's good. Saint sprints with the ball toward the end zone. Nerves instantly sprout in my belly.

I grab Evie's arm. "I don't think I can watch."

"Yes, you can," Evie says. "If they score, you need to see what they do."

Before I know it, Saint crosses the final yard, throws the ball hard into the grass, and it bounces off and away. He dances in place and, when Dom joins him, they do a series of coordinated moves.

I'm still frozen in place. I cling to Evie.

She rubs my hand in a comforting manner. "Ugh, I love it when they do stuff like this. See them dancing? I bet they practiced that."

"And look at the crowd," Nat adds. "The energy is immaculate."

Bold silver words appear in the megascreen, readingHEAR THE THUNDER. The whole stadium seems to break into a roar. For a second or two, the bass of it makes my chest vibrate.

"Wow. Yeah." I release Evie's arm. "That is pretty sweet."

Pen's eyes glint. "Not as sweet as when the guys dare Logan to make a heart with his hands in Evie's direction."

"He'll do one for me at the end of the game today." My friend grins. "Because he knows I like them, not because of a bet."

"Aw, that's nice." Pen sits and we all imitate her. "It must be love."

"Right?" Evie tracks Logan on the field on his walk back to the bench. "We love a man who will show his feelings freely."

The Strike's defensive team takes the field, and we all relax into our conversation again.

"Talking about showing things freely." Nat smirks in my direction. "You're wearing Saint's jersey."

"It was Dom's idea." I chew on my lip. "And I wanted to show I support Saint."

"What did your roommate say?" Evie asks.

"Not much. He gave me the jersey this morning and told me he looked forward to seeing me in it."

He said it with a smile I couldn't decipher. His eyes lingered on me, too. Butterflies invaded my stomach at the time, for some reason.

I frown. "But if it's anything like it was in college, that means something, right? At least in their mind."

Evie sips from the mate and nods. "They compete over everything, including how many people choose to support them. At least that's my theory."

"Yeah, it's a possessive thing, too," Pen says. "They go a little caveman over having their inner circle wear their jersey."

"Especially their partner," Nat says.

"Or best friend, like me." Pen smirks. "Bear would hate seeing me wearing someone else's name, even if we're not together. That's why I said 'inner circle.'"

"How many people have worn Saint's jersey?" I ask.

Evie gives me the mate and I take a sip. The three women next to me gaze at each other.

"No one has worn his jersey before," Nat eventually says.

My chest stirs. Air seems scarce, all of a sudden. Those butterflies come back to life for good measure.

I do my best to tame them with a deep breath, and by paying attention to these golden nuggets of information. I'm not sure why, but they matter.

"In fact," Nat adds, "I think I've heard Saint say he doesn't let his dates wear his jersey on purpose."