One Night with a Quarterback Read Free Page A

meet you, Trey Who Judges Dancing.”
    â€œIt’s a gift,” he said somberly, and made her laugh again.
    Cute, intuitive, and funny. Trifecta.
    She turned to Anya. “You’re tired?”
    Her friend nodded immediately. “Exhausted. You ready to call it a night? Let’s catch a cab.”
    â€œA cab? Our hotel’s not even four blocks away.” That was the beauty of staying in a hotel in downtown Santa Fe. Everything they needed for fun was walking distance away. Although Anya had argued for staying outside the city, Cassie had pushed and won. “Not ready to call it a night, yet. But ready to bust outta here, I think.” She glanced sideways at Trey. “Know a place where a girl can get a good stack of pancakes at one in the morning?”
    His smile was contagious. “Can’t Dance Cassie, I’ve got just the place.”
    * * *
    Trey waited while Cassie conferred with her friend about meeting back at the hotel where they were staying, then a few more private details he couldn’t quite make out but weren’t his business.
    She didn’t recognize him. She had no clue who he was. That might be shot to shit when they left the club and walked into the decently lit diner, where she could get a better look. But he was ready to fully test it out. Plus, he was positive the little diner a few blocks down served breakfast all day, and knew this late at night, it’d be nearly empty.
    Stephen’s theory had been that people mentally place faces in context. Seeing him on the field or in his Bobcats jersey wearing the fake glasses would be worthless. But him in the glasses in a darkened club? He could just blend.
    The theory was worth testing out. And thus far, Cassie seemed like the perfect subject. Hot, sure. But she also could laugh at herself, and wanted to have fun for fun’s sake. Not attention.
    Even if she recognized him eventually, Trey had a feeling she wasn’t the type to bust out her iPhone and tweet the details right then.
    And if she figured it out, he was no worse off for having had a night out.
    â€œReady?” Cassie walked back to him with her friend in tow. “I promised Anya we’d walk her back to the hotel first. It’s just a couple blocks south of here.”
    â€œYeah, sure. The diner’s about eight blocks south, so we’re heading that way anyway.” He waved at Stephen as they made their way toward the door. His friend blinked in surprise, then smiled and waved, adding a thumbs up when Cassie’s back was turned.
    Trey knew what that meant. His horn-dog friend thought he was scoring a threesome. So let him think it.
    They walked in near silence until reaching the revolving doors to a decent, mid-range hotel. Not top of the line, but safe and reasonable. He stood back and watched as the friends parted again. Women, in his experience, always took about five times longer than men to say good-bye. What could be accomplished with a back slap and a
See ya
in the male world required conversing, hugs, reassurances, and more talking with women.
    Finally, Cassie disengaged from her friend, who headed inside with obvious reluctance.
    â€œShe could have come with,” he offered.
    Cassie shook her head and walked beside him. “She really is tired. We’re not often out clubbing. Her stamina’s lacking. Thanks, though.”
    â€œWant to catch a cab from here?”
    She shook her head. “You said it’s just a few more blocks, right? I want to see the area a little.”
    He took her arm to guide her around a good size crack in the sidewalk. Her skin was soft and warm, and he held on just a second longer than necessary. “How do you guys normally spend a Friday night, if you’re not out badly dancing?”
    â€œOh, the usual. Pillow fights in our underwear, practicing kissing on each other.” She grinned when he stumbled a little. “Sorry. I’ve got a smart mouth. My mother