Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
I winced, and he shrugged. “It’s what we do for the game and the women we love. You’ll understand someday.”
Prentice snorted from three lockers down and glanced at me with an amused expression. “Gage would have to be willing to be in a relationship first. Or at least interested in a date.”
Maybe I would if I wasn’t such a pussy.
1
RORY
My phone rang as I stared into my closet, trying to decide what to wear. Glancing down at the screen, I saw my eldest brother’s name. I had to be at the stadium in less than an hour, so I was tempted not to answer, but I knew how relentless Russell could be. He’d just keep calling until I finally answered.
“Hey, biggest bro. What’s up?” I asked, switching to speaker mode and setting my phone on the dresser to my right.
“Just wanted to wish you luck on the first game of your internship even though you’ll be working for the Nighthawks instead of a real team like the Nitros.”
Russell was into baseball, so he’d been giving me a hard time about not working for the local pro team ever since I landed my internship.
“Or the Navigators,” Ridley chimed in. “Since hockey is the superior sport.”
I was surprised to hear my other brother’s voice. “You’re on the call too, big bro?”
“Yeah, Russell conferenced me in ’cause he knew that I wanted to talk to you,” Ridley explained. “Even though you’ll be crunching numbers for a football team, it’s still a pretty big deal.”
I was used to them teasing me about pretty much everything, so I didn’t take any of it personally. And I loved it when I had the perfect comeback. “And it comes with awesome perks, like being able to beta the new Beaumont Football game before it officially launches.”
“Yeah, I can’t argue with you there,” Russell muttered. “Being in the beta for a new game is damn cool.”
Although I hadn’t officially started until the beginning of the preseason, I’d landed the internship with the New York Nighthawks before the end of last semester. When my boss reached out to ask if I’d be interested in being part of the closed beta for a new football game their owner was launching soon, I thanked my lucky stars that I’d mentioned to him that I was a gamer during my interview.
I was usually more into doing RPG and sim stuff, but I figured playing Beaumont Football would help me become more familiar with football as a sport, which would come in handy when I helped analyze their statistics. I’d been right about that…but I’d never expected to meet a guy who’d captured my interest in a way no other man had done. One who I had no idea what he looked like. Or even what his real name was since we’d only been allowed to go by our gamer tags while playing.
“It almost makes me wish I was as good at math as you, little sis.” Ridley’s grumbling pulled me out of my thoughts of the guy I’d never get the chance to talk to again because I had no way to contact him anymore.
I shook my head, rolling my eyes even though they couldn’t see me. “Maybe if you’d actually applied yourself, you might’ve gotten better than a C in your college stats class.”
“Nah, that sounds like a horrible idea.” Ridley laughed. “Sorry, but you’re the only nerd in the family who spends more time studying than partying while you’re a college student.”
“She damn well better be,” Russell growled. “The last thing we need is for our little sister to be on her own at a party in a city as big as New York.”
I let out a huff of irritation. “I’m twenty-one. Old enough to handle a party if I wanted to go to one.”
“Thank fuck she’s happier playing video games for entertainment than hitting up the bars,” Ridley groused.
“Don’t remind me that’s a possibility.” Russell heaved a deep sigh. “You’re gonna give me hives or something.”
“Maybe we could get back to the reason you guys called me?” I yanked a pair of khaki pants out of my closet before reaching for a Nighthawks jersey our parents had sent me when I told them about the internship. Luckily, casual dress was perfect for being in the press box during the first preseason game since I wasn’t a fan of dressing up. “I need to leave in about ten minutes, and I still have to finish getting ready.”
“Okay, I guess we better stop giving you a hard time and let you head out.”
“Yeah,” Ridley agreed. “We wouldn’t want you to be late…even if it’s just football.”
“Gee thanks.” I laughed softly. “Love you guys, too.”
After they said goodbye, I finished getting ready and headed out of my teeny-tiny micro apartment in East Village. The subway ride out to Long Island went smoothly, and I arrived at the stadium with about ten minutes to spare. Which was more than enough time since I already had my employee pass and didn’t have any issues getting through security.