Page 82 of First Down Promise

“Gonna share with the class, Carter?” Pete asks in that asshole tone he’s so good at.

“I was just thinking about putting my keys on this keychain, and I had a light bulb. Also, I love it, Abby.” Dane and Pete both stare at him like he’ll never find the point. “Oh, yeah, my idea.”

“You tell stories like Abby. Never finding the point,” Pete chuckles, elbowing her.

“You’re so rude!” she screeches before I can react to Pete’s insult. A grin pulls at my mouth. “It’s an early Christmas. Can’t we get a day off from you being a prick?” Pete’s face falls, but no one argues with her.

Dane sighs, pulls his gaze away from Abby and Pete, and turns to Coop. “So, you were saying?”

“Right. What if we took Pete’s Yukon and did a road trip this offseason? Think about it. We could go down to Alabama, then to Texas for Josh, then LA,” Coop explains.

“Not a bad idea,” I say, but Dane grimaces.

“I mean, I’m all for LA, but you know how many miles that is?”

“And why my Yukon?” Pete asks. “And are we supposed to drive it back from California?”

“If you wanted to fly home, I’m sure we could get your Yukon back. Might take a few business days,” Coop jokes.

“Yeah, it would. That’s across the country, man,” Pete replies.

“Could I come?” Abby asks.

“You hate road trips,” Pete argues.

“No, I hated the road trip from Wisconsin to here,” she says. “But I love hanging out with you guys.”

How’s that going to change when Coop and Pete know the truth?

Coop lights up. “We doing it?” he asks.

Dane and Pete both groan in unison. “Maybe, if our schedules can get lined up,” Pete answers.

I sit back with my arms extended behind me and my palms flat on the rug. By then, Pete should know about Abby and me. That’s pretty close proximity, and it’ll take a minute for him to get past it and stand being in the same state, let alone the same car, as me. It’s a great idea, but Abby and I might fuck it up for the guys. Oh well. A bridge to cross later.

Dane, being the neat freak, immediately goes into cleanup mode with Abby, but I stay by Pete and Coop as they snack on what’s left of the charcuterie. When she approaches, I smooth out the ribbon between my fingers and hand it to her.

“Thought you might want that,” I say.

She smiles and delicately tucks it into her pocket. “Yeah, thanks.”

As she walks off to hand Dane the full garbage bag of wrapping and tissue paper, Coop nudges me. “You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you’ve been off since the Stetson thing.”

“It just surprised me. I told Abby that my dad always wore one once. It was just the last thing I expected today,” I answer.

Pete runs his fingers through the tight curls on the top of his head. “Since when do you and Abby talk so much?” he scoffs.

“Pete, I’ve gotta head out. Hope you have a safe flight,” Dane says with Abby by his side as they rejoin us.

“Oh, thanks, Dane. I’ll see you there in a couple of days,” Pete replies.

Pete has to fly out early for interviews and a photo shoot that lined up well. Which is perfect for me. He’s starting to sniff this out, and we might need to rip off the Band-Aid soon.

That evening, Abby arrives at my house just as the sun is setting.