“Please don’t tell me something terrible went down because Gemma’s parents stopped by that morning.” I wince. “I introduced Abby as Hazel’s nanny.”
“Shit. Well, this is worse. I figured she would’ve hashed it out with you Sunday night.”
That makes the hair at my nape stand on end. “Hash what out? She stayed with Paige Sunday night, so we never talked about whatever happened at work.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger.”
This gets worse by the minute. I stop the treadmill and turn to Dax. “Spit it out.” Just then, the door opens, and several of the guys join us. I spot Jinxy clowning around with Maverick over by the water fountain. “Does this have anything to do with Jinxy?”
Dax pauses his machine. “I’m not a fan of ratting out friends, but I think you need the whole picture if you wanna win your girl back.” After he glances over his shoulder, he lowers his voice. “But take this with a grain of salt. Jinxy was drunk off his ass.”
“On a Sunday morning?”
“It’s more like he never stopped drinking the night before. Anyway, Abby was our waitress, and he said something like she deserved the credit for our win. That she was your lucky charm.”
Frowning, I look over at Jinxy. “What does that mean?”
Dax makes a face, then glances away. “Jinxy thanked her for fucking your brains out so you could focus on football.”
“What the fuck?” I literally feel the pulse in my neck. “What exactly did he say?”
“Something about how we all knew you were banging your nanny. That he encouraged it because it would clear your thoughts and get you to relax. That she put out and helped you get your shit together.” I’m gonna kill that asshole. “But it gets worse,” he says again.
“How the hell could it get worse?”
“Tiffany was there.” Christ. Nothing good happens when that girl’s around. “She was like, ‘Ohhh! That’s why you said he’d be single second semester.’”
I close my eyes. “Jinxy said that to Tiffany at the carnival. He told me it was to get her off my back so Abby and I could work things out.”
You know that expression, seeing red? When Jinxy struts by with a giant smile on his face, that’s what happens. I see red.
“Motherfucker.” I leap off the treadmill and slam him to the wall. I’d love nothing more than to punch his teeth in, but my daughter is a few feet away. I glance over there, and she’s blissfully ignorant that I’m seconds away from kicking Jinxy’s ass. “Why the fuck would you say all that shit to Abby at the diner?”
His eyes widen. “I—I… shit. I don’t know, bro. It just slipped out.” He holds up his hands. “I was drunk. I thought she’d be like all the other girls who want some football dick. Grateful she had a role in your success.”
I shove him back against the wall again. “I love that woman, you asshole. I think I wanna marry her someday.” The honesty of that statement shocks the hell out of me, but as I consider those words, it feels right. I want Abby in my life. Permanently.
“Jesus, bro. I’m sorry. How was I supposed to know that? You’re sealed up tighter than Fort Knox. Maybe if you shared your feelings once in a while, I’d know—”
“You’d know you shouldn’t treat women like trash?”
He holds up his hands. “Let Jinxy make it up to you.”
“Stop talking about yourself in third person, Jankowitz.”
His mouth drops open. “Why would you call me that? I thought we were friends. That’s just mean.”
“It’s your name, asshole.”
“Hey, you two!” Coach yells as he points at me and Jinxy. “Hallway. Now.”
I look around the weight room, and all the guys are watching us. Fuck. I’ve never fought with a teammate before, much less weeks before the playoffs. I’m pretty sure Coach is gonna rip us new ones.
Jinxy and I walk over to Coach, and I immediately apologize for disrupting everyone’s morning.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
When Jinxy opens his mouth, I give him a look that shuts him up. “I’ve been dating this girl Abby, Abigail Dawson, one of the women who takes care of Hazel.”
