Page 59 of First Down Promise

I rub the back of my neck. “Good, just catching up with Dane.”

“I need this workout. Mama made all of my favorites when I was in Bama,” Coop adds and pats his stomach. A flicker of sadness hits me, but I blink it away.

“Glad you made it home,” I reply. I slap the back of Coop’s shoulder. “How is Mama Carter?”

“Had me working all week and didn’t let me sleep in, and I helped Dad build the new chicken coop. We got to video call my brother, too. That was real good,” he answers.

“How’s Con?” I ask.

“Good. Still happy in the Marines.”

“He’s the real hero,” I reply, and Coop nods with a big smile on his face.

His younger brother, Conner, could have ended up playing pro like us and been a hell of a defensive player, but he had his heart set on the military. Coop tries to set him up with tickets whenever he’s home, usually around the holidays, and the last time I saw Conner, he was in a skybox with a mile-wide smile.

Coop and Pete follow me to the home gym where Dane is doing shoulder presses again. “Sup, Dane the Tank?” Pete greets him.

“How was New York?” Dane asks.

“So fucking busy. A million interviews, ads to shoot, photo shoots. But it’s the best. I wish Ab could have come with me. She loves Gossip Girl, and she’d love Manhattan,” Pete answers. Dane’s eyes flicker to mine but return to Pete. “Stupid squad scheduling practices during bye week.”

Dane smirks. “She kept herself busy.” My pulse ticks up, and I subtly shake my head at him. “I saw her at Josh’s party.”

Pete turns to me with an easy grin. “Oh, yeah! How was the Josh Bash? Did Abby have a good time?” Heat creeps up the back of my neck.

“The party was good. I didn’t see her much, but I’m glad she came,” I reply.

Dane lets out a restrained laugh, and Pete looks over his shoulder at him. “Sorry, was just thinking about something funny Josh told me earlier. Um, I talked to her at the party for a bit and drove her home. She seemed bored, actually. I don’t think she knew anyone there aside from Josh and me, and you were busy hosting,” Dane says.

“I noticed your truck in my driveway from the cameras before the party. Was everything okay?” Pete asks.

Fuck.

“Yeah, she needed help with, um, the thing. You know? What’s it called?” I ramble, scratching the scruff on my jawline.

“Oh, was it the fire alarm? That damn thing keeps beeping randomly,” Pete replies.

“Yeah! Sorry. I didn’t sleep well,” I say with a light laugh.

Pete grins. “I’m glad she called you, though. I told her to hit you up if she needed anything while I was gone. So, did I miss anything else?”

Dane chuckles under his breath as Coop’s voice draws Pete’s attention, and I mouth to Dane, I’ll kill you. “I don’t know. I was home,” Coop says and turns to me. “Who’d you take home after the party? It’s your thing.”

“Yeah. Who’d you bring home?” Dane asks.

My cheeks burn, and I’ll blame the workout if anyone notices. “Uh, no one this time. I, you know, scoped it out, but I think I’m outgrowing that tradition.”

Pete narrows his eyes. “Dude, you’ve slept with more girls than I can count. Since when are you outgrowing that?”

The protein shake in my gut churns. I’ve done a lot I’m not proud of, but no one has given me butterflies like Abby or made me dread the mornings when we had to part this week.

“I’m fucking thirty. What do you want me to say?” I pause and look him up and down. “Before Abby moved here, you had your fair share of girls in and out, too.”

“I got smart, Josh. What if you have a kid out there?” Pete asks, then points at Dane. “Same goes for you.”

Unlikely. I would have heard about it by now if I had, and I was always careful and wore a condom. Abby’s the first girl I haven’t used one with in years because I can trust her to stay on top of her pill, and after spending a lot of time with her this week, she takes it like clockwork.

Dane makes a face at Pete, but I speak up before he can take a turn sparring with Pete. “I’m getting smart too, so get off my back, Pete.”