QUINN DIDN'T STIR when I knocked on her door at six-thirty, and I almost left her behind.

She'd be pissed, but I refused to peek into her bedroom and wake her knowing she'd gone to bed half-naked. No way. I couldn't risk walking in and seeing things I shouldn't see. I couldn't risk the chance of getting yet another boner when I had shit to do that didn't involve ogling my house guest.

Just as I grabbed my car keys from the kitchen counter and was about to walk out the door, Quinn raced down the hallway, wearing leggings and an oversized Warriors T-shirt.

"You were going to leave without me," she accused breathlessly as soon as she saw the keys in my hand.

"You were sleeping," I said simply. I rocked up onto the balls of my feet, trying to stretch. I was stiff today, my body aching. Especially my bad knee. "I didn't want to wake you."

I actually didn't mind the idea of waking Quinn, which was the whole problem. Because the ways I imagined waking Quinn up were...not things I should be thinking about.

Quinn scoffed. "I told you to–never mind. Let me just throw my shoes on, and I'll be ready to go."

She'd pulled her dark hair up into a ponytail on the top of her head, and it swished back and forth as she speed-walked across my living room to retrieve her gym shoes from by the back door. And through the swishing of her hair, I spotted something that made my whole body tighten.

My name.

She was wearing a Warriors shirt with my name on the back. My number. Fuck me.

Damn, I wish she'd worn that to Sunny's yesterday so everyone could see her with my name on her back. 

"Nice shirt," I grunted after clearing my throat and getting a grip on myself.

After slipping her shoes on, she looked back at me with a grin. "Thanks, it's my favorite Warriors shirt."

"Oh yeah?" I leaned against the counter. "Why's that?"

"Features my favorite player," she whispered, as though revealing a secret.

Despite the strange emotion swirling inside me, I shook my head. "Favorite former player."

"True." She sighed dramatically. "Which is really too bad. I sure wish I knew why he retired. It's not gonna be the same without him on the field."

Her words cut through me. I had been trying not to think about that–about how it would feel when the season started up again and I'd see all the guys running onto that field without me.

I might have my beef with the franchise and their reporters, but I'd miss the guys. Cuddy and his ridiculous pre-game ritual. Rice and his belly laugh that echoed through the locker room. All of those little things.

"You'll find a new favorite player," I said reluctantly.

"Hm." Quinn's eyes flicked over me in a way that made me feel transparent. Like she was getting closer and closer to being able to see right through me. "I'm not so sure about that. No one else rolls their eyes at me when I try to interview them."

Her words created a knot of emotion in my throat, but I swallowed past it.

"I never rolled my eyes at you during interviews."

She put her hand on her hip and cocked it to the side. "You've done it at least every day since I've been here."

"I meant back in New York."

"You were more discreet, but I caught it."

"I just don't like interviews, Castle."

She smiled reassuringly. "I know, Fletcher. That's why I've always liked you."

I raised a brow. "Pretty backward thinking for a reporter."

"What can I say? I like a challenge."

My stomach stopped somersaulting and dropped like a rock. "So what? I'm some little pet project for you?"

Her smile fell. "No, August. I just..."  She took a few tentative steps toward me, and I held my breath, thinking of how my first name just left her lips and how fucking good it sounded. "I just appreciate a player who cares more for the game than for the fame. I respect all the reasons you don't want to let me in. And it makes me want to know you even more."

I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to point out what she'd said last night–that she was only coming with me this morning because it was her job. She wanted to get to know me because it was her job. But I didn't bother. We both knew it was the truth, and I didn't feel like hearing her say the words again. So instead, I cleared my throat and looked at my watch.

"We have to go. We can pick you up some breakfast on the way."

She blinked, startled by the change in conversation. But a second later, she ran with it.

"Don't worry about me. I have my trusty purse granola bar." She walked over, swiping said purse off the countertop.

I gave her an exasperated look that she seemed to understand.

"Purse snacks are the best snacks," she said with a tentative smile.

"We're stopping to get you breakfast," I said definitively. I didn't know how long we'd be at the complex today. I already felt guilty about yesterday and how she'd worked her ass off all day. I didn't need her passing out on me today.

"You're always so bossy," she muttered, but there wasn't any real heat in it.

I smirked. She didn't know the half of it. "It's a talent of mine, Castle."

Her eyes caught on mine before she flushed brilliantly, and I immediately felt better. Because even if I didn't know where the two of us stood, I knew one thing.

The way she blushed for me couldn't be fake.

It was all real.

And it was all for me.

|||

"Nice to see you again, Quinn." Finn's voice cut through the early morning air as soon as I hopped out of the jeep. Quinn, a breakfast sandwich in her stomach, had jumped out first and was already walking over to where Finn stood by the U-haul truck. "How was the rest of your night?"

I strode around the jeep and glared at my friend over Quinn's shoulder. The complex loomed behind him. It was shiny, with huge windows lining one side of the building, looking out at the ocean. We were slightly elevated compared to the main part of town, so the view was spectacular from here. Who wouldn't want to work out when they got a view like that from their treadmill?

"Good," Quinn laughed, and I frowned at how he prompted her to make that sound. I wanted to make her laugh. "I fell asleep on the way home. Woke up to August tucking me into bed."

"Aw, isn't he a sweetheart?" Finn chuckled, his amused gaze darting to mine to watch my reaction to his goading. "I hope he was a gentleman, too," he added, lips quirking.

"Is he ever not?" Quinn laughed again.

Yes. And I could show her if she wanted.

Finny struggled to keep his expression straight; he knew exactly what I was thinking. "I'm not the right person to ask." He cocked his head to the side, clearly reconsidering. "Although he did bail on our guys' night earlier this week. That was pretty fucking ungentlemanly if you ask me."

I didn't think it was possible to glare any harder, but I doubled down on the look I gave Finn.

"Fletcher." Quinn glanced over my shoulder, giving a reproving look. "How rude of you."

"I was busy," I said, clearing my throat.

"Oh yeah?" Finny hopped up onto the back of the truck. "Busy with what, Auggie?"

He was having way too much fun, and he was going to pay for it eventually. I just had to figure out the best way to fuck with him back.

"Had company," I grunted before changing the topic, not wanting Quinn to put two and two together. "The whole shipment came on the ferry?"

"Yep." Finn looked over the boxes of gym equipment and shrink-wrapped floor mats in the back of the truck. "The guys on the dock made quick work of loading it up, but I'm guessing it'll take the two of us a bit longer. I need to get the truck back to town by noon, though. My guys need it for another project."

I nodded. "Then we better get to–"

"The three of us," Quinn interrupted, and I barely swallowed a groan. Not this again.

"Castle, no." I shook my head. "You already did enough yesterday. Just hang out for a bit while Finny and I get this shit taken care of."

"You're in a time crunch. I would think another set of hands would be helpful."

"I don't want you getting hurt. We've got some heavy equipment in here, and–"

"Oh, lighten up, Auggie. I'm sure she could handle some of this stuff." To prove his point, Finn unloaded a smaller box and handed it to Quinn. "Pretty sure this one is just a bunch of deflated balls."

"I'm good at handling balls," Quinn quipped, a twinkle in her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at me. "Usually the ones I handle aren't deflated, but–"

"Castle," I groaned because I did not need to think about her handling balls. Especially balls that were not my balls.

She grinned broadly. "So where does this go?"

I sighed, feeling defeated. "Here, I'll show you."

"Bring this in while you're at it," Finny called before tossing me another light box. I caught it, shooting him a look that I was sure he understood perfectly. But he ignored it, smiling wide. "I'll be out here. I'm just gonna get as much off the truck as possible, so if anything, I can return it, and then we can get the rest inside."

"Okay, we'll be right back," Quinn said.

Finny waved us off. "Take your time!"

"Come on, Castle." I gritted my teeth as I walked toward the community sports complex entrance, wondering how much jail time I'd get for murdering my best friend.

"I know we're in a hurry today, but maybe another day you could show me around the facility," she said cheerily, hurrying to catch up with me. "It looks amazing so far."

"Sure," I said, clearing my throat. Because everything else aside, I was really proud of this place and what it was becoming. "Maybe another day."

"Or after we're done unloading the boxes?" she asked, sounding somewhat hopeful. "Unless there's something else going on today that I don't know about."

I frowned as I opened the door for her, letting her slip past me with her box of deflated balls. There was a slight touch of anxiety in her voice that I'd never really detected before, and I realized that maybe I should be better at letting her know my schedule and what was going on in my head instead of expecting her to fly by the seat of her pants all the time.

Although I hadn't really expected her to come with me today. And I hadn't expected she'd spend all day at Sunny's yesterday. But apparently, she would be connected to my hip until she got everything she needed for this article.

"Nothing else going on today, Castle." A few long strides through the front entryway, and I maneuvered in front of her, leading the way to the equipment room. "I was hoping to get in a workout later at the house, but that's it."

"Do you have a home gym?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to reply, but at that moment, all the lights in the building went out. Every single one, leaving us standing in a pitch-black hallway.

☀️

a/n:

oh no! whatever shall we do 😌

Wattpad adding this book to a list called "a Swift touchdown" was one of the highlights of my day lol 🏈🎵 august needs to start acting a little...swifter. 👀

xoxo amelie