Page 98 of Play the Last Card
“Huh?” Scott looks at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I feel bad. That I can’t … we can’t be seen together or you can’t tell you teammates, or have me in the family room after a game. Do you hate it?”
He’s silent for a moment. But then he reaches across the console and grabs my hand. Bringing it up to his lips, he says, “I want you in whatever way you’ll let me have you right now. Like I said, if it has to be a secret for now then it’s a secret.” He leans in, beckoning me forward. “Besides, I don’t want to celebrate with them the same way I do with you.”
He winks and closes the gap between us.
God, I love kissing this man.
Later, we’re curled up in bed and watching reruns ofFriends, my phone rings on the nightstand. I groan, pulling away from where I’m practically burrowing into Scott’s chest and turn the phone over to see the screen. Katie’s name flashes up at me. I glance at the time and notice that it’s almost eleven. She wouldn’t call me if it wasn’t important.
“Are you okay?” I answer the phone quickly.
“Have you seen it?” Her voice sounds panicked.
I sit up, Scott slowly waking up as I move away from his body. “Seen what? What is it, Katie?”
“I don’t know how they got it. Or when? When would they even have had the chance to get it?”
“You’re not making any sense. Slow down.” I take a deep breath, hoping she’ll do the same. Next to me, Scott picks up his phone and I see his brows come together.
“Shit,” he murmurs next to me, staring at something on his phone. I try to look at his screen but my phone buzzes in my hand. Then, it buzzes again. And again.
And again.
What the fuck?
“Katie?” I prompt down the line.
“They have a photo of you,” she says quietly down the line. “And Scott. Together.”
“Who’s they?”
I feel sick. My stomach turns over and anxiety floods my body. I look over at Scott. He’s staring back at me. His features are full of regret.
“The press. A photo of you and Scott kissing after the game is all over the internet. Someone leaked it.”
A sob crawls up my throat as she says her next words. “It’s everywhere.”
***
I scroll through my phone, looking at picture after picture of myself and Scott.
Me, tucked under his arm and walking through the underground tunnels at the stadium. His face is turned toward mine so you don’t really know it’s him but his name is clearly written across my shoulders.
Me sitting in the passenger seat of his car with my hand on his cheek.
Me leaning over the middle console of his SUV and kissing him.
Clear as day. Unmistakable.
It’s all over Instagram. It’s all over TikTok. His female fans didn’t hesitate to start digging. My followers blew up in a matter of hours and I ended up making my profile private. I wish I had been quicker.My posts had been screenshotted and shared everywhere, people piecing together my history one post at a time. My high school yearbook pictures have popped up more times than I’ve probably ever seen them. I’ve seen comments from people I went to college with claiming to be my best friend. Katie lost her mind when I told her that.
As if on cue,SportsCenteralso picked it up and started to take bets on whether we’d last.
Football princess and star quarterback finally reveal their secret relationship.
Sports royalty recluse shakes up with Boston’s newest football star.