Sacked (The New York Nighthawks 1)

I was so absorbed with the sight of him that I didn’t notice Sally had come up beside me until she tapped my shoulder and said, “Hey, there. Long time, no see.”

“Hi.” Her gaze drifted toward Prentice, and my cheeks heated over being caught gawking at him while I was thinking about how he’d kissed me yesterday. “I’m here to take some photos for social media.”

“Let me guess, Prentice heard you were helping your brother and asked you to handle his posts too?”

I looked away so she didn’t see my blush as I replied, “Yeah, something like that.”

“Sounds just like him. He’s one of the best guys I know.” Her smile was soft as she turned to me. “It isn’t just his incredible talent that makes him such a great leader. Every single player out there with him knows that Prentice would do just about anything for them.”

“Mm-hmm,” I murmured, my attraction to him growing as the head coach’s wife described what a good guy he was.

“For their families, too,” she added, gesturing toward my camera. “Like having you handle his social media accounts.”

I nodded. “I’m lucky. It’s a great opportunity.”

Sally bumped her shoulder against mine. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence.” At least considering how photogenic Prentice was, I couldn't go wrong when it came to the images I posted.

“I’d better let you get back to it.” She patted me on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to be a distraction on your first day on the job, and I have plenty of things to get done before my husband gets home.”

“Good luck.”

I moved back and forth down the sidelines, taking a ton of photos until the practice ended. Nixon jogged over to me with his helmet dangling from his fingertips. “Hey, Mims. Way to go above and beyond. I wasn’t expecting you to hang around this long.”

Prentice joined us just in time to answer, “That’s probably my fault. She needed to get some photos of me since she’s going to take my accounts over, too.”

“Cool.” My brother slanted a glance at me. “I totally forgot.”

I poked his chest pad. “Probably because you were still recovering from all of the fun you had at The End Zone after the game.”

“Ah, yeah.” He wrapped his hand around the back of his neck. “Sorry about that. I should’ve been more careful, especially since you were at the club with me.”

“No worries.” I jerked my chin toward Prentice. “He took great care of me.”

“I don’t usually go overboard with the drinking. It’s just that…”

Nixon seemed to be struggling with how to explain what happened that night, and I took pity on him. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. You were celebrating a big win, didn’t leave me alone to fend for myself, and had a designated driver.”

“And you showed up on time for weightlifting the next morning without a single complaint,” Prentice added.

“Not so sure I’m gonna be able to keep from complaining today. The defensive line coach wants us to watch some video, so I won’t be able to leave anytime soon,” Nixon muttered. “Are you gonna be okay doing dinner on your own? He’s bringing in food for us.”

I waved him away. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry to make you come back and get me later,” he said with regret.

“Did you drive?” Prentice asked, his dark eyes trained on me.

I nodded. “Yeah, one of the guys picked Nixon up this morning on his way to the stadium.”

“Leave your car here,” he suggested. “I’ll give you a ride, and he can take it home when Coach is done with him.”

Nixon smiled gratefully. “Thanks. I hate to have her waiting around to be my chauffeur.”

“It’s no problem,” Prentice replied with a casual wave.

“Works for me,” I said, somehow managing to keep my excitement out of my tone. I pulled my keys from my purse and handed them to my brother.

“You’re the best, Mims.” He dropped a quick kiss on the top of my head, took the keys, and then jogged toward the tunnel where most of his teammates had gone while we were talking.

“As long as you’re free,” Prentice murmured once we were alone. “Maybe you’d let me take you to dinner?”

With butterflies swirling in my belly, there was only one answer I could give. “Yes, please.”

“Great.” He laced his fingers through mine to tug me into the building. My heart raced as we walked hand-in-hand all the way to the locker room door. “Wait for me here. I won’t be long.”

“Okay,” I quickly agreed, leaning against the wall while he strode away from me. Although he said he would be quick, I was surprised to see him come back out less than ten minutes later, his dark hair visibly damp from the shower. “Wow, that was fast.”

My ovaries just about exploded when he winked at me. “I can move like lightning with the proper motivation.”