Broken Play

by Samantha Kane

  “Run where?” he asked with a shrug.

  “Leave it to me,” she said, patting his arm soothingly. “I’ll take care of you.” He looked over at Cass.

  “Let her take care of you,” Cass told him. “This is the best thing to happen to this team since…well, ever.” He gave Beau a serious look. “You are the best thing to happen to this team.”

  Beau wasn’t sure he wanted that sort of responsibility. “I’m not good at this shit.”

  “No one is,” Melody Ann told him matter-of-factly. “That’s why God created PR people.”

  —

  Marian looked around and wondered for the fifth or sixth time how she’d gotten into this situation. She was standing in Cass and Beau’s dining room in their Greystone house waiting for Cass to return with plates and silverware. They’d bought Chinese takeout after driving her around Birmingham and showing her different neighborhoods. They’d actually looked at two houses, which Cass had arranged with his realtor that afternoon. Without telling her. She wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off or glad for the help.

  “Fried rice or white?” Beau asked, opening up the cartons on the table.

  “Fried,” she responded automatically. She hated white rice.

  Beau grinned at her. “A girl after my own heart. Cass gets the white.”

  “Did you like any of the houses or neighborhoods today?” Cass called from the kitchen. “And don’t give me the white rice.”

  Marian laughed. “I thought I did. Until we got here.” She looked around at the impressive house. The neighborhood was gated. Beau told her they wanted the extra security. Their notoriety meant they occasionally got paparazzi or kinky stalkers. The house itself was enormous. The exterior was a combination of brick and natural stone that made the house look like it would be at home in the Rocky Mountains. But it was the interior that took her breath away.

  The entire house was hardwoods—the floors, the ceilings, the trim, the built-in shelves and bookcases, even the butcher-block kitchen counters gleamed with a rich mahogany color that was warm and inviting. There were windows everywhere. It was night now, but during the day it would be an impressive sight. It seemed as if each room contained a huge stone fireplace. If she could have described her dream house, this was it. And Cass and Beau lived here. Life was so unfair sometimes. As if they hadn’t already pressed all her “Yes, please” buttons. And she had to say no.

  “You like it?” Cass asked, poking his head through the arch that led to the kitchen. “Thanks.”

  “Yeah, but a giant antler chandelier in the den? Really?” she asked. “Isn’t that a little over the top?”

  “Nope,” Beau said, licking the spoon he’d just used to scoop some crispy duck onto his plate. “Manly.” Cass set down the silverware on the table and grunted in agreement. Then he pounded his chest. It was too much, and Marian broke up laughing.

  “Where do you want to sit?” Cass asked her, looking up and down the table. Like everything else in the house, including the two owners, the table was huge. It could seat at least twenty. Ridiculous.

  Marian didn’t answer; she just picked up a giant hammered-silver bowl from the middle of the table. She carried it over to the sideboard and set it down.

  “What are you doing?” Beau asked, watching her with a frown.

  Cass was already smiling before she said, “Making room to sit down. This table is big enough. And far too formal for you two.”

  “You want to sit on the table?” Beau asked with a laugh. “You got it.” He pulled out a chair and then held out his hand. Marian took it and climbed onto the table. She sat down cross-legged and Beau hopped up and sat down next to her. “Shove the food over here,” he told Cass.

  “Yes, sir,” Cass said. “Whatever you want.” He pushed all the takeout cartons next to Beau and then he climbed up. Reaching over, he snagged a fork and handed it to Marian. “Your fork, my lady,” he said. “We just have crispy duck and moo shu pork. Too fancy for you?”

  “No egg rolls?” she asked in disappointment. “I thought we ordered egg rolls.” Cass grabbed a container, opened it, and held it out so she could see inside. “Egg rolls,” she said, and pulled one out and put it on her plate.

  “They get kind of soggy in the container,” Cass warned. “Want me to warm them up in the oven?”

  “You are very domestic,” Marian teased him. “I had no idea you knew how an oven worked.”

  “You’d be surprised at the things I know,” Cass said, waggling his brows.

  “None of that,” Beau growled. “This is not a romantic dinner. Just friends having takeout. We agreed.”

  Cass groaned as he carried the egg rolls back into the kitchen. “Don’t remind me,” he yelled back at them.

  “Thank you,” Marian said quietly, scooping moo shu pork onto her plate, not looking at Beau.

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “But I can’t hold him off forever, you know. He’s a very determined son of a bitch.”

  “So am I,” she said firmly. “And I am determined not to screw up the team by getting involved with you two.”

  Cass came back to the table and she steered the conversation away from their relationship status. “Mike is thrilled about Beau going viral. He said he almost had a heart attack when he saw the story on the NFL Network last night. He almost choked to death on his dinner with no one to give him the Heimlich.” Both Beau and Cass laughed. Mike was a notorious workaholic and loner. “He thinks you’re a player who’s going to shine under the spotlight,” she said to Beau. “What do you think?”

  Beau grimaced. “I’ve been under the spotlight. I’m a little too tarnished to shine.”

  “Nonsense,” she said, and she meant it. “I think you’re going to be brilliant. There’s going to be a lot of media attention on you now.” She’d been thinking about what that meant for her all day. There would definitely be no romance now, not with the press scrutinizing Beau’s every move. He and Cass hated that sex tape and what it had done to their lives. They tried hard to keep their personal lives out of the limelight. No wonder Beau was reminding Cass they were going to remain nothing more than friends. A three-way romance was absolutely out of the question. And it was stupid of her to feel so let down at the thought, since she’d already told them so last night.

  Before Beau could answer, there was a knock at the front door and Rebels quarterback Tyler Oakes came in without waiting for an invitation. “Hey, guys!” he called out to them. “I’m here! You said eight, right?”

  Chapter 5

  Marian turned and looked at Cass and then Beau. Cass felt like a deer in the headlights. “Um, yeah. Hey, Tyler,” Beau said.

  Tyler came up and hugged Marian from behind. “Hey, you! They wanted me to come over so you didn’t think they were ganging up on you or anything.” He pulled away and smiled at her. “I’m too pretty to be threatening.” As far as Cass was concerned, he was too damn pretty, with his blond surfer looks. But Cass wasn’t worried. Marian had shown zero romantic interest in the notorious flirt. Ty’s sexual escapades were almost as well-known as Cass’s and Beau’s. As one of the only openly bisexual players in the NFL, he was always under scrutiny. He’d chosen the shameless-whore route instead of pretending to be searching for a monogamous relationship.

  “You wanted him to come over so I didn’t feel uncomfortable?” she asked, sounding choked up. Damn Tyler and his big mouth. What Cass had actually told Tyler was to come over and act like it was a surprise, and he was just dropping by. How could a brilliant quarterback who could memorize a hundred-page playbook not remember a simple plan?

  “It isn’t that big a deal,” Cass grumbled. “He lives two doors down. Close the damn door,” he told Tyler, rather than answering Marian’s question.

  Now it was Tyler’s turn to look uncomfortable. “The thing is,” he started to say, and then another voice spoke from the doorway.

  “Hey, Cass,” Tom Kelly said, sauntering in. “Are we having Chinese?”

&n
bsp; Cass glared at Tyler, but the quarterback looked unimpressed. “The rookie was hanging out at my house. I thought I’d bring him along.”

  “Whoa,” Tom said, halting and putting both hands up in front of him. “I can go. I don’t want to intrude.” He spun around and headed back for the front door.

  “Hold it,” Cass called out with a sigh of resignation. “Stay. We have enough.”

  He’d invited Tyler over because he knew he had a few kinks and if things went that way with Marian, Tyler could be counted on to join in, watch, or leave without judgment. But Tom was young, just out of college. No way were he and Tyler fooling around. He was big, and looked like he could eat a Honda, but with his buzz-cut hair and dimples he exuded a kid-next-door innocence that meant there’d be no messing around tonight. And even thinking that, not to mention being disappointed about it, made Cass feel like an A-number-one asshole. He caught Beau’s eye and Beau just shrugged. He’d come to the same realization that Cass had, apparently, but Beau tended to be more philosophical about these things.

  Tom grabbed a plate and started to climb up on the table. “What the hell are you doing?” Cass asked. Tom froze.

  “I thought we were sitting on the table,” Tom said slowly. “Wrong again?”

  “Wrong again,” Cass said, pointing to a chair.

  Tyler pulled out a chair and sat down and started to empty out the crispy duck container. “Why do you guys get to sit on the table?” he asked.

  “It’s a thing,” Beau told him.

  “Are you guys a thing?” Tom asked in obvious confusion, waving his fork around to point at the three of them.

  “No,” Marian answered quickly and emphatically. Cass just took a bite of duck and stared at her. Beau didn’t say anything either.

  “Ooookay,” said Tom. “Whatever.”

  “They were just helping me look for a house today,” Marian explained, casually spooning more fried rice onto her overflowing plate.

  “How do you lose a house?” Tom asked. It took a moment for Cass to realize he was joking. Tom looked so damn serious he’d almost missed the twinkle in the kid’s eyes.

  “What?” Marian asked, looking equally horrified and confused, as if she just couldn’t believe Tom was that stupid.

  “You know women,” Beau said, playing along. “Always losing something.”

  Marian tossed down her fork in indignation. “Hey! I did not lose a house.”

  “Then why are you looking for one?” Tom asked, all innocent confusion.

  Tyler blew it. He broke up laughing and then Tom lost it, too.

  Marian started laughing. “Oh, God. I can’t believe I fell for that.”

  “How young and stupid do you all really think I am?” Tom asked. His tone was light, but Cass sensed some insecurity behind his question. With chagrin he realized that maybe his doubts about signing Tom to the Rebels hadn’t been as well hidden as he’d thought. And maybe some others on the team had picked up on that. He glanced over at Tyler, who was looking at him expectantly. Trust Tyler to pick up on all of that and set things straight.

  “Stupid enough to eat the rest of the crispy duck,” Cass said casually. He grabbed his phone from off the table and tossed it to Tom, who caught it awkwardly. “Hunan Province,” he told him. “Under P. And you’re paying this time.”

  “Wait a minute,” Tom said, frowning. He pointed the phone at Tyler. “He finished the crispy duck.”

  “Not so stupid after all,” Cass said with a grin.

  “More egg rolls,” Marian demanded. Cass saw her wink at Tom. “I’m eating my feelings over my lost house.”

  Beau laughed out loud and they all joined him while Tyler ordered more food.

  “So, do you guys have any ideas to get the Rebels more press coverage?” Marian asked. “The head office wants more of what Beau gave them.” She looked relaxed and happy and Cass realized that inviting Tyler over tonight might have been the best play he’d made all day.

  Chapter 6

  Cass slammed the locker-room door open with a flat palm and Beau winced when it hit the wall. “If that motherfucker doesn’t get his ass here pronto, I’m going to serve it to him on a plate. He won’t even return my calls. What am I supposed to do with that?”

  The locker room had gone quiet when Cass stormed in, and Beau rolled his eyes at Cass’s dramatics. “Not cool, bro,” he whispered. “You want to sink his chances with the team before he even gets here?”

  “You’re the one who called him a prima donna on cable TV,” Cass growled. “Not me.”

  Beau was so sick of hearing about that interview that he wished he’d never opened his big, fat mouth. Except the part about the Rebels bringing trouble to your fucking door. That part was good. He liked that. “I was pissed off at the reporters and all the bullshit,” he snapped. “You know that. I took it out on Smith. We’ve all been where he is. He was blindsided by this trade, salary cap or no. He expected the Ravens to fight to keep him. It was a blow from left field. He’ll get over it. He’s a pro.”

  “I don’t know much about his situation,” Tom offered from where he stood in front of his locker. He slipped his arms into his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. “Maybe none of us do. There could be shit going down we don’t know about. Right?”

  “Marian said the same thing,” Cass growled. “I don’t care if he’s got his own shit. He needs to deal with it on his own time and quit wasting ours.”

  “Amen, brother,” Jo Jo said. “Preach. No offense, but the young Jedi there shouldn’t be our only running back.”

  “Fuck you, Yoda,” Tom said mildly. “I can handle it.”

  “You shouldn’t have to,” Cass argued, ripping his shirt off. He tossed it into his locker and grabbed his practice shirt. “He was hired to do a job. He needs to show some professionalism and do it. He acts like he doesn’t even want to play football. If he doesn’t want to play, then what the fuck, man? Why is he even in the NFL in the first place?”

  “What’s all the yelling about?” Marian asked. She stood in the doorway, one hand holding the door open, a frown on her face. She wore an all-white shorts-and-polo outfit today. Beau liked her in white. It made her hair look like melted gold against her shirt. Tyler came up behind her and laid his chin on her shoulder. She let out an undignified squeak and jumped a mile high before she threw her back against the door and looked frantically from side to side. Cass didn’t like that at all and took a couple of steps toward them, a scary-as-shit look on his face. Beau grabbed his arm.

  “He didn’t mean to scare her,” Beau said quickly.

  “Hell, no, man,” Tyler said. “Sorry, Marian.” He held both empty hands out in front of him as if he were surrendering. “I thought you heard me coming.”

  “Hey, are you okay?” Tom asked starting to walk over to Marian.

  “I’m fine,” she said, a little too loudly. She was pissed, but she was also breathing heavy and her hand was on her chest, as if her heart were racing. “He just surprised me, that’s all. I don’t like surprises.”

  “Like the guy in that commercial,” Jo Jo said, laughing. “The one who jumps and squeaks just like that when he opens the door to his surprise party.” Some of the other guys in the locker room laughed, too, and the tension was broken.

  “Do not, on pain of death, ever throw me a surprise party,” Marian said, pointing at him. “I mean it.”

  “No, ma’am,” Jo Jo said. “Not me.”

  “If you’re dead, can you feel the pain?” Tom asked thoughtfully. Marian glared at him. “Just weighing my options,” Tom said, going back to his locker.

  “Now, why was Cass yelling? Again?” Marian asked, smoothing her polo across her flat stomach. Beau frowned when he noticed her hand shaking a bit.

  “Danny Smith,” Beau told her, knowing it would take everyone’s mind off Marian’s overreaction.

  Marian put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. “Again? Seriously? Can’t you let the head office worry about Smith an
d focus on playing football? Would that be too much trouble, Mr. Zielinski?”

  Oh, man, she was going to push Cass too far. Beau wasn’t sure if he should intervene. He’d sort of started it, making it open season on Smith with that interview. Cass had a right to be pissed. They all did. But he could see Marian’s point, too.

  “That’s what I’d like to do,” Cass said from between clenched teeth. “But it’s pretty hard to learn the playbook and scrimmage without your star running back.”

  “I’m doing all right,” Tyler said affably from his locker. He’d sauntered over, making a wide berth around Marian when he came through the door. “It’s Smith who’s going to be playing catch-up. Ha!” He looked around the locker room with a grin. “Did you get that? The running back playing catch-up?”

  “Don’t quit your day job,” Beau said absently. He was watching Cass and Marian closely. If they went head-to-head, should he let them go at each other? It could ruin whatever it was that they’d started. A few weeks ago, Beau wouldn’t have worried about that. He would have been glad about it. But now…now that he’d spent time with Marian. He liked her. He maybe more than liked her. If Cass walked away, Beau wasn’t so sure he’d follow his play, which was unnerving. Beau always followed Cass’s lead. He felt a little unsteady at the implications. Cass had always been the only one he really wanted. But Marian made him feel like his old self again. Actually, better than his old self, stronger and smarter, and like he was somebody.

  Staying with Marian could cause him problems, problems he’d been avoiding ever since that damn sex tape came out. He was high profile right now. That could change on a dime; the press was notoriously fickle. But if it didn’t? If they got wind of what was happening between him, Cass, and Marian? It would be all over the news, and not just the sports news. Did he want to go through that again? Was Marian worth it? His head hurt just trying to think it all through.