On Monday, excitement was in the air. Our first games were coming up soon, and I was ready to prove myself. A lot of the men felt that way, and maybe they had what it took. But I knew I had what it took.

Coach Daniel had picked us for his team, so we were backups for the first-stringers, and even though it was a huge privilege to be a backup, to be the guy they relied on when their first-stringer went down for some reason, I wanted to be the guy who had a backup.

“Right,” Coach Daniel said, clapping his hand together and summoning the team. We had been running to warm up, passing the ball casually between us. “Get all the wiggles out of your system.” The men laughed when he said that, talking to us like we were kids. “I don’t want fights on my field today. If I can’t rely on you during training, the Sharks sure as shit can’t rely on you to back them up. Think about it.”

Some of the guys rolled their eyes at the coach, but I agreed with him. Our focus had to be working as a team, not fighting each other. I could imagine how strong the Sharks were, with so many of them being close friends, and I knew it had to make a difference. I considered making friends with my teammates, but I told myself I was already friends with the men who would eventually be my teammates. It was only a matter of time. The dinner on Saturday had proven to me how much I was already part of the team. The boys had welcomed me with open arms, drawing me in and making me feel like one of them. It had been a pleasure to spend time with them.

Ryan was a great friend, and I valued our friendship, but the Sharks—Liam and Brad and Brian and the other guys—were on a different level. They were sure of who they were. The second-stringers were all a little unsure of where they stood, and I didn’t want to be there. Was I arrogant in assuming I was worth more? Maybe. But if I didn’t look at the whole thing as if belonged at the top, I wasn’t going to get there.

Training started, and we worked on our tackles and huddles. It was a rough one, physically challenging, and we had jostled around and shoved a lot. This what we trained for. We had to learn to handle a hit because in football, it was inevitable. I felt good on the field, but I knew as soon as the adrenaline faded, all my aches and pains would show up after hits I couldn’t even remember.

Brad and a few other Sharks players I didn’t know personally stood on the side of the field when we finished, and I realized they’d been watching us play.

“This was a good session,” Brad said when I joined them and shook his hand.

“It was,” I said. I felt on top of my game, and the men had worked together better than on Friday when they had been at each other’s throats.

“You’re getting better,” Brad said, and I tried to hide how happy I was to hear him say that.

“I’m working hard,” I said.

Brad nodded. “It shows.”

We talked shop for a short while before I steered the conversation toward Saturday night.

“Thank you again for inviting me,” I said. “I had a great time.”

“I’m glad,” Brad said. “We try to host dinners when we can to keep in touch. It’s so easy to live past each other or get too involved in the game.”

I nodded. I could understand that. Football easily became the air we breathed when it was this serious.

“So, I was wondering,” I started. “Could I ask you for Hailey’s number?”

Brad looked at me, surprised.

“You’re asking me for a girl’s number?”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, I didn’t get it on the night. I should have. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.”

Brad chuckled. “Okay, but she’s not a piece of meat. She’s Carly’s best friend.”

I nodded. “I know, I’m not trying to get some company for the night. I want to get to know her.”

Brad nodded and took his phone out of his pocket, finding her number and sending it to me.

“She’s a good person, Nick,” Brad said.

I nodded again. He was protective of her. I could understand that. It was Carly’s best friend, and he was hosting her. But when I had seen her, I had forgotten about everything else. When Brad had mentioned the out-of-town guest he was hosting, I hadn’t for one second thought it was a woman, let alone a woman who looked like that.

“Thanks,” I said when I received the number.

I didn’t usually ask other people for a woman’s number. I could get them myself, thank you very much. But she had caught me off guard, and I had spent the night watching her or talking to her. I hadn’t thought about getting her contact details until after I had left. Which was saying something about how she had affected me. Usually, I couldn’t think of anything other than getting into their pants. This time, I had wanted to know about her, what made her tick. I had watched her laughing and talking with the others, and she had been amazing to watch. It sounded creepy, but it wasn’t. She was beautiful and gracious.

I showered up, exchanged jokes with the guys, and finally headed to my car. When I hit the road, I dialed Hailey’s number. The caller tone filled the car through my Bluetooth radio system, and she answered after a few short rings. Her voice wrapped around me, smooth and husky.

“Hi, it’s Nick,” I said. “We met at Brad’s dinner party on Saturday.

She remembered who I was, which made me happy, and told me it was fine when I said I had taken her number from Brad.

“I was wondering, do you want to go out with me on Friday?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Nick?” she asked. She was a little coy. Playing hard to get was so fucking sexy.

“I am,” I said.

She was hesitant. I wondered if Carly had told her anything about me and my reputation with women.

“It’s nothing crazy,” I said. “I just want to take you out, show you a different side of Miami than I’m sure you’ve been seeing. I want to get to you know you a little better.”

“That would be nice,” she finally said, and I could hear her smiling.

Score.

“Can I pick you up?” I asked. “Or would you like to meet me somewhere?”

I was proud of myself for asking. She was already hesitant. I didn’t want to do anything to make her uncomfortable. Even if this woman was nothing more than a one-night stand, I wanted her to feel special because she had seemed different when I’d met her.

“You can pick me up,” she said carefully.

“I’ll call you during the week and let you know what the plans are, then,” I said.

She agreed, and I ended the call. When I was sure the line wasn’t open anymore, I fist pumped and told myself, “that’s how we do it, Nick.” I had always been on top of my charm. The other night with Ryan at the pub had left me wondering if I was losing my touch, but I wasn’t. I was right up there, ready to show what a thrill it was to be with me.

I drove the rest of the way home blaring music over my sound system, singing along. I didn’t get pissed off with road hogs, and I was in a good mood when I arrived at home.

I drank a post-training shake and took the meat I wanted to steam for supper out of the freezer before sitting down in front of the television. I didn’t switch it on. Instead, I flashed on Hailey’s face.

She had blond hair that hung over her shoulder in waves and green eyes that reminded me of springtime. When she smiled, she lit up the room, and her laughter reminded me of windchimes. It sounded stupid and cheesy even in my own head, but I couldn’t help the analogy.

On Friday, I would find out more about her. I hadn’t been this drawn to a woman before. I had wanted to fuck women for sure. I had seen a piece of ass and gunned for her until I’d gotten it, but this was different. This was about who she was as a person. Sure, Hailey had a hot body. God, she had an incredible ass and tits that looked perfectly sized for my hands. But her eyes were mesmerizing, and her lips made me want to kiss her whenever she said something interesting, which was all the time.

When I noticed a woman’s face and her personality, more than her delectable ass, I sat up and took notice.

I had been a playboy all my life. The pursuit of women had intrigued me from a young age, and the moment I’d realized they thought I was irresistible, it had been game over. I could get anyone I wanted without trying very hard.

As fun as that was, it got boring. I was tired of women throwing themselves at me. Women often complained about men wanting only one thing, but in my experience, the women I’d been with hadn’t been after much else either.

I had a feeling Hailey was different. She seemed like the kind of woman who would care to find out who I was on the inside and not only how big my package was. I didn’t know for sure. We hadn’t spoken much besides lightly flirting with each other, but I wanted to find out.

Instead of switching on the television, I walked back to the kitchen and started on a garden salad. I could cook. As a football player with a strict diet, I’d had to learn to create my meals because takeaway joints were out of the question, and no one was going to put it all together for me unless I hired a cook, which seemed pointless until I was on the team where I wanted to be.

So, I cooked. Maybe, if everything went well with Hailey on our first date and I could see her again, I would cook for her. There was nothing sexier than a man who could cook, I’d been told.

I steamed vegetables after making the garden salad and put oranges in the juicer for breakfast for the next morning

Finally, when I was done, I sat down at the counter with my plate. Yeah, going out on a date with someone who was more than a lay would be a great idea. I was getting tired of eating alone every night. I wasn’t sure when it had changed for me, when I had realized I didn’t want to be so detached anymore, but everything was changing.

Maybe it was because I knew where I was headed in my football career, so I wanted my personal life to be on track too. Maybe it was because I was settled into a routine now, and I had time to realize I was lonely when I wasn’t training all the time.

Or maybe it was me growing up. Whatever it was, I was hoping my date with Hailey would prove she wanted more too. But that was still a big maybe. Until then, I would do me.