Page 7 of The Catch

It seemed completely worth it at the time. Rage ran in my veins, and I moved without making a conscious decision. With one hand, I dumped the large smoothie on his head and shoulders, like it was an ice bucket and I wanted him to freeze and shiver. Cower in response, maybe. With the other, I pushed the sandwich onto his shirt andsmearedit. Mustard, it turns out, stands out against blue fabric. Artistic moves, really.

I finish eating and decide a shower will help. The rain showerhead I peeked at earlier will wash my hurt away. If a new set of tears escapes me, at least I won't notice.

With morose movements, I aim for the guestroom. Saint's door, right next to mine, is ajar. It tempts me, winks at me, while I'm on my way back to the guestroom. He may have said I'm welcome to snoop if I need anything, but this feels wrong. I may be curious about him and the kind of things he gets up to in there, but the devil on my shoulder gets heard only once a day. I ruined Aidan's gorgeous curls with a wet-and-sticky mix of oatmeal, berries, and almond milk, after all. Right before he joined the show to promote his latest album. It's plenty to satisfy the red little rascal.

Even now, a part of me delights in how it dripped down his amazing hair, streaming down his torso and plopping down on the floor. The hundred eyes staring at us in shock. The gasps. The anger electrifying my nerves.

I turn into what will be my space for an undetermined amount of time and go straight into the bathroom. Despite the emotional nicks and bruises weighing me down, nothing can erase the satisfaction of ruining Aidan's promo segment.

It probably says a lot about me and the things I didn't really feel for him, that a moment of rebellion puts a small smile on my face.

As the water cascades down my body, I cross my fingers that it will be enough to keep me composed. I have too much I need to figure out to crumble.

Chapter 3

Saint

It's a conditioning day for the team. I'm doing sprints, which serves me well today. When I'm running, I have less of a chance to talk to people. It lets me keep thinking of Ames non-stop.

She broke up with Aidan. She's moved in with me— temporarily. That's all I know, and it's enough to make my heart strain.

Fuck, the pain on her face. The barely-subdued anger.

I run until my lungs feel like they might explode from the effort. One of the trainers insists I need to take a break, and I sit on the grass to recover.

Evie appears through the large glass doors out of the building, and waits at the edge of the field. I'm about to stand and go to her, just in case she's here to tell me Ames texted and something is amiss, but she calls Logan. Their conversation looks serious, so I make myself wait. A few minutes later, the quarterback gives her a quick kiss, turns, and runs to me. I meet him half way.

His frown is severe. "Evie wants to talk with you. It's going to be rough, but it's going to be okay in the end."

"Is Ames okay?"

"As far as I know. But this— we'll talk about this later."

My stomach turns into a knot.

"I thought you'd want to know what's going on," Logan adds, "but if I was mistaken, you can berate me later."

"Cryptic much?" I add a smile to soften the question.

Logan slaps my shoulder and goes back to training. I jog to Evie.

"What's up?" I ask.

Worry mars her brow. It's not quite the killer frown her boyfriend typically sports but, with all the time they spend together, maybe she has started to adopt some of his quirks.

She purses her lips. "I heard something in the front office. It's not good. Can you come find me after training?"

"You have to tell me what it's about or my concentration is shot." I smile because my dimples will help convince her.

"I think they're talking about trading you, Saint. I'm so sorry."

All sweat from sprinting cools down at once. I freeze. My smile falters.

"It's about the salary cap and other stuff," she adds. "I'll tell you more later."

I'm glad she doesn't try to explain, because the way blood rushes in my ears, I can barely make sense of what she says.

I take a few deep breaths.