Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“And they made you study Dickens?”
“Dude, we were in the same English class.”
“I tried to block out memories of Dickens.”
He gazes skyward. “Why do I ask you how anything is? Hell, why do I share nice things with you? Why, universe, why?”
“That is an excellent question,” I say, then I drop the give-him-hell routine and go for the truth. Carter has always been the easiest to talk to about dating. More so than Patrick or even Milo. Carter just wears his heart on his sleeve, the big teddy bear. “…and it turns out, womp, womp, she works for my team now,” I say, finishing the story of woe.
He frowns. “Oh, man. That is the worst bad news ever. Almost makes me want to pay for your beer for the rest of time.”
That’s friendship for you in the face of the universe’s seriously rude sense of humor. “I know, and I really like her. Is it weird to like someone that quickly?” I ask as we turn on Abbot Kinney, passing a trendy men’s clothing shop.
Carter shoves a hand through his messy hair. “Honestly, I think it’s weird if you don’t. Especially after two dates. And your first date was all day long. I’d hope you knew you liked her after that much time. It’s a vibe thing, you know?”
I nod, glad he gets it. I had a feeling he’d be the right one to talk to. “Yeah, so it sucks that nothing more can happen.”
With a hopeful shrug, Carter says, “Maybe in the off-season?”
“She’ll still work for the team in the off-season,” I point out.
“True, true. I was trying to find a silver lining.”
I pat his shoulder. “I appreciate that. But I guess the silver lining is I am going to laser in on football and only football. First game is next weekend. Your sorry ass will be back in San Francisco by then.”
“Fuck yes. Gotta get started on my plans for a threepeat,” he says, running his fingers through his hair so the sunlight glints off his two rings—his signature move. And hell, I’d do the same if I had even one ring to flash.
“Asshole,” I mutter, then we reach the Sunlight Café, a new bowl-centric spot with stark white tables and more kale than a garden patch.
Inside, Maddox orders for us, pays, then sits us down. “When I signed you both, I hardly knew it was a package deal,” he teases.
“I like to make things easy for you,” Carter says then adopts a too big grin.
Maddox waggles his phone, showing us his Instagram feed. “Nice shot.”
“You saw that already?” I ask, kind of amazed.
“You posted it twenty minutes ago,” Maddox points out.
“Exactly.”
Carter shoots me a knowing look. “Our agent tracks us online. We can’t get away with anything.” Then to Maddox, he says, “Just kidding. We don’t want to get away with anything.”
“Good. I like that. Keep being upstanding gentleman and I’ll keep inking new deals for you both,” he says, then updates me on one of my sponsors before he shifts his attention to my friend. “Speaking of your partnerships, Date Night is quite sweet on you.”
I kick back as Maddox updates my buddy on his partnership with a dating app.
When they’re done, Carter says to me in all earnestness, “Drew, when you’re ready again, this app is the real deal. For anything. It’s all about real romance, real connections—either friendship or love. If you want to meet someone to play ping-pong with, you can. Or to yada yada yada.”
“You mean have a beachside-shave-like experience,” I say in a smoky tone.
Carter cracks up. “You know it.”
Maddox turns to me, genuine concern in his dark eyes. “I take it the second date with the woman from last weekend didn’t go well.”
Carter holds up his hand, like he’s going to hold my beer. “I got this, Drew.” Then to Maddox, he says, “Turns out she works for the Mercenaries.”
My agent winces. “Forbidden love is a tough one,” he says, sounding wistful.
Carter tilts his head. “You got a forbidden love story in your past?”
Maddox shakes his head.
“Or did you meet a new dude who’s all hot and off-limits?” Carter pushes.
Maddox just dips his head but smiles slyly. “You’re not getting any of that out of me.”
He’s notoriously private about his love life. But a man’s choice is a man’s choice.
Mine is no dating for now.
My other choice is to send the barber shop pic to Brooke. Once I reach my condo in Santa Monica, I sink onto my couch overlooking the ocean, and I fire it off to her.
Drew: Venice Beach officially has everything now. Sidenote: how cool are we?
Brooke: The coolest. Also, nice shot. You look good.
Good thing I have to get to the field for practice. Otherwise I’d spend the rest of the day texting her.
Wait. Shit. Is this definitely her now?