Fourth Down (Portland Pioneers 1)

“I’m hoping you captured my good angles.” Julius turns and poses, and everyone around us laughs. Including me. “Seriously though, I had a blast. Anytime Autumn is out, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll gladly fill in.”

I lightly jab Julius in the arm. “Hey.”

“What?” he pulls me toward him and wraps his arm around my shoulder. My co-workers give me a few looks, making me wonder what is going on in their minds. More so, what is going on in Julius’s right now? He looks at me and winks. I like this. The feeling of his arm around me and the way he stares at me. He’s not much taller than me, but it’s enough to make me feel secure. Julius is a friend if I can be so bold as to even call him that. Up until now, I thought he hated me.

His deep-set, crystal blue eyes bore into mine. I swallow hard and try to disengage, but I can’t turn away. Julius is attractive. He knows this, and I have felt this way about him since I saw him on Peyton and Noah’s balcony. His attitude that day and the days following should’ve steered me down the path of avoidance, but each time I’ve seen him, I’ve greeted him with a wide grin only to be rebuffed by him. I should be afraid. Leery even. Except, I’m not. I’m interested and curious. Is this truly the Julius Peyton told me about?

“Autumn?” he says my name so quietly, I almost don’t hear him. I snap out of my trance and realize people are staring at us. My eyes blink rapidly, and I look off into the distance to regain my composure. Julius’s arm is still around my back, and his hand cups my shoulder. It’s an intimate gesture. One that I like.

I finally clear my throat and face my co-workers. “You can’t take my job,” I say firmly as my eyebrow raises. I’m challenging Julius to say otherwise.

He doesn’t.

Instead, he smiles so brightly and laughs. “Our girl has spoken,” he says as his gaze leaves mine and his attention is back on the people around us. I feel like I should feel relieved, but the truth is, I’m on edge. My nerves are dancing at the edge of my skin, keeping me rattled. I can’t tell if my speeding heart is because of the situation I’m in now or because of Julius and how I’m starting to feel about him.

My co-workers ask for Julius’s autograph, and he agrees, which means he must let go of me. As soon as he moves his arm, I find myself stepping closer to him so I can continue to feel his presence. Julius tilts his head slightly and smirks. It’s sexy and heart racing. I step back and give him the space he needs to be Julius Cunningham, Wide Receiver for the Portland Pioneers.

After Julius finishes and my work family is satisfied, we walk back to my dressing room. I think I feel his hand on the small of my back every few steps we take, but I most likely imagine his hand is there. It’s one thing to show people you’re grateful for an opportunity, but it’s a whole other thing to openly flirt. I tell myself; Julius is not flirting. He’s being nice.

“Okay, what’s next?” he asks when we get to my dressing room. I honestly hadn’t thought about what we’d do next and figured he would be so angry with me he wouldn’t want to talk to me again.

“Well . . .” I pause and think about what we could do with the rest of the day. I had planned on taking a nap and trying to find a last-minute opening for a massage. “Shopping,” I blurt out. “Yeah, we’re going shopping. You get to see how I normally spend my day.”

“What do you mean?” he asks and then shakes his head. “Shopping, really? You want to take me to the mall?”

I shrug because I don’t know what I want to do, except I don’t want our date to end. This new Julius is fun to be around. “You know I am usually on the evening and nighttime news with Aiden, Selena, and Arthur, right?” he nods. “I made special arrangements today for all of this to happen. When I told them my idea, they wanted to be part of your broadcast, so we all swapped with our afternoon team.”

“I still don’t get where shopping comes into all of this?”

“It’s part of my routine. Once a week, I go into Meyers and work with a personal shopper on the new items they’ve received. They fit me for my wardrobe, find things they think I’ll look good in, and then I usually meet Peyton for lunch before I go to the station to work.”