Kate narrowed her eyes. “Are you afraid they won’t approve of you seeing someone?”
If only it were that simple. “No, that’s not it. Evan’s a great guy and I enjoy his company. What I’m concerned about is my name. Austin’s family wants to move on and I don’t want what happened brought back up in the media. I’m just afraid the press will hound me again.”
She nodded in understanding. “If it’s going to happen, there’s nothing we can do about it. You just need to be strong. If you and my brother start dating, you’re going to be in the spotlight. Make sure you think long and hard on this. When Evan looks at you, it’s obvious it’s not a simple infatuation. If this isn’t what you want, you need to halt it before it goes too far. I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
Being in the public eye scared the hell out of me. I was in it with Austin, but it was nothing compared to the level of fame Evan had. “What if I’m scared?” I asked.
A sad smile spread across her lips. “Just because you’re scared doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take chances. I did with Cooper, and I thank God every day for giving me the strength to help him. And now Evan can help you. You just need to let him.”
Chapter 9
Summer
It had been about twenty minutes since Cooper had come for Kate and said Evan was almost ready. The time alone was what I needed. I had no clue what was going to happen in the future, but I knew I didn’t want to miss out on life because I was scared. Opening the office door, I peeked out into the hall and all was quiet. Did Evan leave without me?
The locker room was just a few feet away, so I strolled to the door and peeked inside. It was a little humid from the steam, but off in the far corner I heard a deep groan. I’d heard of the things some of the players liked to do in the locker rooms when no one was around. By the sound of the groaning, I could tell it was Evan. Thoughts of him screwing around with another woman made my gut clench. I could feel the fire in my veins.
His breathing picked up and so did my heart, thumping wildly out of control. I didn’t want to see him with someone else, but I had to know. Clenching my teeth, I tiptoed by the lockers until the showers came into view. All I had to do was turn the corner and Evan would be right there. Taking a deep breath, I glanced around the side of the lockers and saw him on the floor, alone, with a towel wrapped around his waist. His groans weren’t ones of pleasure, but pain. His hands were wrapped around his calf, his face scrunched in agony.
Quickly, I rushed over to him and knelt down on the floor. “Oh my God, Evan, what’s wrong? Is it your leg?”
He opened his eyes and nodded, his teeth clenched. “It’s a fucking cramp and it hurts like a bitch. It came out of nowhere.”
“Move your hands and lie on your back,” I ordered. I wasn’t an expert on cramps, but Austin’s coach had shown me some massage techniques to use if he ever got any. Evan lay down on his back and bent his left leg, keeping the other one straight. “Just bear with me, okay? I’m going to massage your calf. It’s going to hurt until I can get the muscle loosened up.”
I wrapped my hands around his leg and gasped; his muscles twitched and were extremely tense. I could only imagine how bad it hurt. As deep and as hard as I could, I massaged him, making sure to put ample pressure on his muscles. He hissed and closed his eyes as I worked on his leg. My hands started to tire, but I wasn’t going to stop until the lines around his face smoothed and his calf muscles started to relax.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he moaned.
“How long were you in here suffering? I was just next door waiting on you.”
“Well, I’m glad you came in here to check on me. I can only imagine what you must’ve thought hearing me back here.” A sly smirk spread across his face and he sat up.
“You don’t want to know,” I told him.
I held on to his arm as he got up, even though I knew he didn’t need help. “I guess you still don’t have a high opinion of me if you think I’d be in here fucking someone else.”
His towel almost fell off his waist, but he caught it and held it in place. I had to admit I was disappointed I didn’t get a little peek. “And what exactly would you have thought if you heard me groaning by myself in a locker room?” I countered.
Moving closer, he twirled a strand of my hair around his finger and murmured, “Either you were pleasuring yourself or someone was with you. If it was the former, I’d have hid and watched.”
“What if I was with someone else?”
Before he could reply, Joel’s voice echoed through the locker room. “Evan, where you at, son?” I held in my groan. If Joel knew I was in there, he would definitely think Evan and I had messed around.
“Back here, Coach,” he shouted. “Had a little cramp but it’s gone now. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“All right. Just checking on you. I think the guys are waiting on you since the party’s at your house tonight.”