The presence of the tabloid photographer recast doubt on my bond with Tyler. In a perfect world, common sense would win. But this world was far from perfect, and the truth all too often became lost in the ocean of sensationalism.
Famous football star kisses lowly-bar woman and stepsister, all too easily morphs into troubling dark relationship sister.
As Tyler walked back to me, I started to walk away from him. I didn’t want to ruin his life; it didn’t sit well with me. Same for all four. Society was so full of lies and gossip. I didn’t want to bring that sort of scandal to them with the potential to end their careers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ETHAN PAULSON
Handfuls of testosterone hang in the air.
You could reach out and grab the testosterone. You could smell it and taste it on every breath. It would sting your eyeballs if you looked too hard for it. The place to find this atmosphere was the adrenaline-pumped Arlington Argonauts locker room on the day of a big game.
Tyler stretched himself out, but the expression on his face told me his mind wasn’t on the game.
“The fuck is your problem?” I said, arms crossed.
“The fuck is your problem, man?” he snapped back.
“I asked first.”
“Fair enough. Probably should talk it over with you, because it involves you.” He pointed to the twins, also doing their stretches. “Also, you two. You’re part of this problem.”
“Oh, Tyler, before a game.” Jake sauntered over to us with a little dance. “Always extra spicy.”
“Fuck off, man.”
“Extremely, extra spicy today.” Jake grinned, thoroughly enjoying provoking Tyler.
“It’s about Kayla, the cook, you idiots,” he finally said, getting to the actual point when Lewis drew near.
We all took a step closer at that, forming a private little huddle, a bit away from the rest of the team.
“What’s up with Kayla?” I asked. And I wondered about why Tyler had called the twins in to this. I hadn’t told them about Kayla staying the night, but I didn’t know whether Ty had.
“Man, she’s like... overthinking all of this shit. She walked away from me yesterday after I tried to chase down a photographer.”
“What made you chase a photographer?”
Ty shook his head and sighed. “He snapped us kissing on a bench.”
“You and Kay met up yesterday?” Lewis’s eyes went wide with surprise. But it was not so much of a surprise to me. I knew Ty had been trying to get hold of her, same as I had. I guess she chose him out of the two of us.
“Okay, how graphic did you go with threats of violence?” Jake’s eyes lit up, hungry for details.
“I only called him a fucker, but I didn’t get my hands on him. He dashed out of sight and must have had a good getaway route planned. Anyway, my mind was on other things. She didn’t take off because I got too scary and vivid in my verbal abuse. That wasn’t it at all.”
“So what? She discovered you’re a shit kisser?” Jake asked.
Lewis grinned. “Bad breath problem?”
“Urgh, you didn’t burp into her mouth, did you, man? Because that’s the pits.” Jake appeared to enjoy poking fun, but I was curious where Ty was going with this story.
“She took off because she’s concerned about ruining my reputation.”
“Didn’t know you had a reputation to ruin. Tell me about it?” Lewis beamed. The twins tried to play jesters in the locker room to keep spirits up, but now? This was too much.
Tyler was having none of it. “Shut the fuck up and be serious for a second.”
The twins shared one of their glances, and their beaming smiles relaxed into a more normal expression.
“She seems to like us, all of us, I think. And she’s worried about ruining our lives.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “I guess you two should know we spent the night with her, the night before last. And if I have any say in the matter, it won’t be the last night I spend with her, even if I have to challenge you for a duel at dawn, Ty. I really like this woman.”
“Hey,” I butted in. “You don’t need to fight over a girl. Think about it.” I waved my finger, pointing at the twins. “If you two are okay about sharing, why not share with Tyler as well?”
The twins looked at me like I’d said something crazy, but it sounded reasonable to me.
Lewis placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Jake, if she was into you, would she meet up with Ty the next day and kiss him on a park bench?”
“Guys,” Tyler said. “The meet-up was by chance. Adding further complications in the mix, our parents are getting married. My mom and her dad, and that’s the reason we met up. But what I’m telling you is, I suspect she’s into all four of us. The way she talked. She’s conflicted about all of it. I told her I don’t care. I’ve told her multiple times.”