Page 77 of Offsides

“There’s nothing to explain.”

“What happened between you and the pretty lady reporter?” Gunnar asked. His voice was teasing, but his eyes were serious. He knew there was something eating at him, and Cowboy could feel his resolve starting to break down.

No one knew him like Gunnar did. Except maybe Cullen. Fifteen years of friendship did that. Hadn't he just been through this with Gunnar? It wasn’t that long ago that he’d stood outside of Archer’s Green Country Club, listening to Gunnar rant and rave about Felicity and how she’d walked away from him. Listening to Gunnar then, Cowboy hadn’t been able to fathom that much hurt—knowing that the one person on this planet you loved more than anything wasn’t choosing you. Now he did.

And it fucking sucked.

Heaving out a sigh, Cowboy crashed back down in his seat, letting himself slouch down. It was a defeated pose, but if he was being honest with himself, defeated was exactly what he was feeling right about now.

“I thought she was different,” he offered up. No use in holding back now. “Turns out, she’s not.”

Gunnar nodded, waiting for him to continue. Glancing over at Felicity, he saw her slip an earbud in, not looking up from her laptop. He knew she was faking her disinterest, but he appreciated the gesture.

“I asked her to leave Dash out of her story, and she refused. We had words. Apparently her story and the ‘truth’ were more important than me,” he continued, mockingly making quoting gestures with his fingers around the word truth. He felt ridiculous admitting this out loud. Any second now his best friend was going to tell him just how stupid he’d been to ever trust her.

“Well, that was dumb,” Gunnar answered without hesitation.

“I am aware. No good comes from involving a reporter, and yet here I went—”

“No, you Muppet!” Gunnar cut him off. “Why would you ask her not to include it?”

“To keep the story from getting out!”

“The story was out! It was all over the Internet!”

“She wanted to interview him. Spread the story even further.”

“Did she say that?”

“What?”

“Did she say that?” Gunnar repeated.

“She didn’t have to.”

“Because you just assumed. Rather than thinking that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to interview him to get his side of the story. To use it as a chance to defend him and the Rising, rather than smear our name.”

Well, fuck.

Cowboy closed his eyes, throwing his head back. He hadn’t thought of that. Never, not once. Hell, he hadn’t even given her the chance to tell him what she wanted. He’d jumped straight down her throat, accusing her of not having a soul. Of sleeping with him just to get the story.

Well done, Britt, well done…

Theo was different. She’d shown him that every step of the way. The sweet, caring woman who had taken the time to get to know and understand his team, as a whole and as individuals, was who she really was. He should have trusted that. There was a reason he loved her—because she was the genuine deal.

He on the other hand…

“Fuck.”

“It’s fixable,” Gunnar said, nodding his head confidently.

“Ehhh, after some of the things I said, doubtful.”

Gunnar held up his left hand, showing off the white gold band. “I promise, it’s fixable.”

“You did not accuse boss lady over here of sleeping with you just to get ahead.”

“No, Jonah did that,” Felicity commented, removing her earbud. “I think you are going to want to see this.”