Blitzed (The Alpha Ballers #3) by Lucy Snow Page B

Patriots modesty. I swear we put something in the water around here to make people downplay their accomplishments.

    “Yeah, great team effort.” I took a step closer. “I meant you, though. Great game, Hud.” That last part was almost a whisper, but by how I saw him perk up, I knew he had heard me.

    He turned all the way around. “It was just the first game, though, Mackenzie.” The way he said my name sounded formal and almost rehearsed, but then I remembered we weren’t alone, and this wasn’t a place we could be familiar. No one else knew that I had woken up in his bed a few mornings earlier, even if we hadn’t done anything together.

    “I know, but it’s a good start.” The room got emptier as I looked around. “Listen,” I started, “about dinner.”

    “Oh right, yeah, dinner.” He sounded tired and a little wary, but I pressed on.

    “The first playoff game is over, so…” I trailed off.

    Hud hesitated before answering. “Right. Let’s do this. When and where?”

CHAPTER 08 - HUDSON

    One night later, after the Patriots had our customary one day off after a victory, Mack and I went out to dinner.  

    For the first time since I could remember, I was even a little bit nervous about having dinner with a woman. I walked around my house the entire day, did a light workout, watched a movie, and relaxed by cooking some food, and the entire time my dinner with Mack loomed in my head.

    I really didn’t know why it worried me that much. I figured she just wanted to thank me again for saving her from her date a few nights ago, nothing more. Sure, she seemed to have a little bit of a crush on me, but there was no way that could go anywhere - not with how we more or less worked together.

    Maybe the dinner was work related? Mack was pretty much the general manager of the Patriots, and my contract was nearing its end - if my previous contract negotiations had been any indication, it was around the right time when the team started making their first overtures toward getting a new deal done.

    Could there be anything more? Nah, I shook my head, couldn’t be. Mackenzie Mayfield was a high society girl - she had college degrees and stuff, and she dated high finance types. Not football players, not meatheads like me. I had nothing I could offer her.

    She was incredibly gorgeous, though. I couldn’t help but get turned on whenever she was around, it was almost automatic, and I hated it.

    Despite all that, despite how much I wanted to tear her clothes off and ravage her all night, and every night, I had to treat this like a work thing. Nothing could come of it. I would play it cool, treat it like a contract negotiation, and go from there.

    I’d be the perfect gentleman - if that were even possible around curves like that.

    I cleaned up nice, knowing the restaurant where Mack had made reservations for us - crisp and pressed slacks and a collared shirt. For a guy who made a living wearing tight clothing and pads, it was weird to walk around in clothing that was so loose yet so formal.

    Still, as I walked from the car to the front of the restaurant, and checked my watch to see that I was a few minutes early, I did notice some heads turning along the way. That was a nice feeling.

    The restaurant itself was definitely more fancy and formal than I was used to - I was much more a burger and friends kinda guy - I liked it when the menus were in English. This was not one of those places.

    Mack arrived a few minutes after me, and when she tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around and saw her in the slinky deep green dress she wore, my breath caught in my throat. A little voice in my head laughed at me, wondering why it was so easy for a girl to bother me when I dealt with giant men trying to separate my limbs from my body all day.

    The truth was girls didn’t bother me. This girl, however, did, and I couldn’t explain it, and that was just one of the reasons this girl in particular mesmerized me. I