Page 2 of The Score

Gina nods. "He's attended enough work fundraisers with you that we've seen the way you two are, right?"

"And since they started showing you on the team's feed for his games alongside the other WAGs, it's kind of a glaring amount of clues."

"Don't call us WAGs, please." I sigh and grab my bag from the deep drawer where I hide it every day. "One day you'll believe me that there's nothing like that between us."

I stand and we go toward my office's door.

"Maybe we believe you," Nikki says, "Maybe we don't. Regardless, teasing you is always a fun little break on the dark days. Thanks for your service."

"And it's a salve on my poor jealous heart," Gina adds. "I like teasing you because you got it right. Sometimes I'm tempted to stop dating, too. And if it came with someone like your Leon Karlsen for company, I'd be sold."

He's the most wonderful companion. That's true. Having Leon as a friend meant I didn't end up alone when I swore off romance— I hadhim. Like I always did. With him, our friends, and my family by my side, I didn't have to keep looking for someone to prove romance was worth it. No need to keep trying only to end up as collateral damage to men I didn't really like anyway.

My parents don't get it, of course. My dad dreams of walking me down the aisle, and my mom dreams of grandbabies. They want to see me fall in love, get married, and have a life they understand. They try to support my decision… but can't help pushing me sometimes. I always respond the same way.

"Decentering romance is the best thing I've done," I say to my friends next to me, and my parents in my mind. "It's truly freeing, I'm telling you."

All the romance-y stuff makes me feel cynical, anyway. Romcoms? Only when Bear insists. Flowers and poems? Uninterested. Valentine's Day? Puke. Romance is a mystery I could never make work… even when I tried really, really hard to make it work. In a secret corner of my mind, I wonder if I ever had it in me to start with.

It's fine. My life is full of love as it is. I don't need romance. I'll keep the bonds that I already have. I'll nourish them and take care of them. I'll continue making my life amazing in a million other ways. I don't need anything else.

We turn to the reception area where, during office hours, thirty to fifty people a day wait for our services and support. At the end of a workweek, it's empty of community members, but some of the staff still wrap up paperwork and decompress.

Except they all seem to have taken a break to fawn over my best friend.

He smirks at six of my coworkers and leans on the tall reception desk. With his arms crossed, it makes his shoulders and arms pop. It gives him a bit of that impenetrable wall look he likes to give off sometimes. He knows that, except for his black hair, he could pass for a Viking, or one of those medieval ironsmiths who've grown thick muscles from shaping metal through the constant application of force.

It's funny, because his family is Norwegian. He likely has Viking genes, even if there's not a single blond hair anywhere on him that I've seen. Not on his well-kept, thick beard, or the plentiful swath on his chest that follows a path down his tummy. It's all been jet black.

There used to be plenty of dark-haired Vikings, he told me once.

Regardless, the point is to use his looks and his heavily-tattooed upper body to give off intimidating vibes. The scar on his upper lip can give him a scary look, too, but I know better. Inside, he's a teddy bear. He's just trying to live up to the expectations people have of him as a big, famous athlete with a slightly rugged face.

"Ready to go, or are you in the middle of something?" I ask.

Humor tilts his lips, because he knows what I mean.

Unlike me, Bear wants a grand love story. He's a romantic. Everything I didn't get in that department, he got twice over. He hasn't found what he'slooking for yet, but he will one day. Until then, he'll enjoy any attention he gets, including from a handful of not-profit employees.

I will enjoy him until the day he falls in love, too. While I don't think our friendship will ever die, I won't always get his undivided attention. It happened once already. Sort of. Seeing him fall for someone, even when it didn't work out in the end— and seeing him dream of romance through his shows and movies— it's taught me important lessons. He's looking for a love I can't figure out… and one day he'll find it.

Understanding this is how I show him I care about him, when he's always so centered on me. Being his best friend means wanting him to be happy.

"We were asking him about winning the championship last month," one of my coworkers says. "You were there, right? I think I saw you on TV."

I nod. "I was there."

"She's always there." The way Bear says it, it sounds like an endearment.

When his smirk turns into a small smile, I can't say I'm immune to his charms. Even when he goes stern and bossy, which is often, people melt for it. His dark blue eyes look navy most of the time. Whenever he's in low light, one might think they're black. It adds to his mysterious vibes. I'm never surprised when he's immediately surrounded by adoring fans and admirers, trying to decipher what kind of secrets he keeps.

He's like a sun with planets orbiting in the skirts of his gravity. It's always been like that.

"It's the offseason," someone else says. "What do football players do in the offseason, anyway? Besides taking their friends camping, that is."

"Come on, let us ask him stuff," our team receptionist asks from across a desk that hides most of her body. "Five minutes. He doesn't come here often enough."

"Yeah, let them ask me stuff." Bear's grin appears, white teeth shining in the halo of his thick black beard. His scar stretches wide. "It's cool."

Gina stares at me as if saying,that smile? How can you resist? Are you sure you can?

I'm starting to respond when my phone vibrates in my pocket. It's my dad.

"Okay, knock yourself out," I say with a smile. "I'll be back."

I leave my friend to bask in the flattery of the group around him. It's one of the things he wants but I can't give him. I love the guy, but I've known him too long for that. So I trace my steps back to my office, and give him a chance at it.

It's all right. I'll get him to myself tonight, when we're enjoying an intimate fire by the lake. Like usual, I can't wait for one-on-one time with my best friend. It's always been like that and, after twenty years, I don't want it to ever end.

Well, not until he finds the love of his life, but that's a problem for another day.