Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

chunk of the PTA moms' snack supplies because "the team needs new uniforms and stuff." Once the game had started up again after the halftime break, Cam had given the box of Fruit Roll-Ups to the kid in the Railers shirt, who had proceeded to make friends with all of the other kids around him. Brad and Cam had then settled down with the rest of the haul. Cam had reached for the platter of brownies, peeling back the plastic wrap to grab a thick brown square. Taking his first bite, he had given a little unintentional food moan, which Brad had seized upon to tease him about for the rest of the night. Cam Hunter, it seemed, had a bit of a sweet tooth.
    On his part, Brad had picked up a bag of Cheez-Its. It'd been years since he'd eaten them, to be honest, but he'd figured, looking at his unlikely companion, that it was a night of firsts. Ripping open the corner, he'd stuffed a couple of the bright orange crackers into his mouth, crunching thoughtfully.
    "A little different from your usual meal while out on the town, huh?" Cam had been watching him surreptitiously with a slight smile on his face.
    Brad had considered the question for a moment before answering truthfully. "Different, but not bad."
    And that had been the theme of the night. Different, but not bad. During that second half, once they'd started talking about more than just the plays of the game, the conversation surprisingly had just seemed to flow.
    Brad might be a New Englander born and bred, and Cam might be a Southern boy at heart, but they had surprisingly similar tastes and hobbies. They both enjoyed fishing, Bruce Springsteen, and Mexican food. They were closet Star Wars fans, and they had refused to see the new prequels when they'd been released. They both were pleased that the NFL had finally allowed for some plays to be reviewable, but they also couldn't understand why loose ball fumble recovery wasn't among those plays. And, of course, they had their young mentees, Nick and Lock, in common, too.
    When the basketball game had finished with Nick's team taking the win, Brad had been left wondering why he and Cam Hunter had been at each other's throats all of these years. With their starting quarterback positions on high-profile NFL teams and with their coming into the league at the same time, you'd think they'd have more in common than what their terse exchanges over the past few years would suggest. It seemed like they could just as easily have been friends as they were rivals.
    It's because you've been such a dick .
    Brad could practically hear Cam's voice in his head. Huh. Well, yeah, maybe it was.
    "Ahem." Brad looked up to see Katja's pointed look and their waiter standing by the table.
    "May I interest you in coffee or dessert, sir? Mademoiselle? Our pastry chef has introduced a new creation this week– a Mexican chocolate beignet with a sour cherry glaze."
    Brad glanced at Katja's salad plate, which was still half-full. He wasn't surprised to hear her decline. Stifling a sigh, he followed suit and asked for the check. He couldn't help thinking that Cam Hunter's insatiable sweet tooth would've had a field day right now.
    On their way out, he and Katja were met with the flashing bulbs of paparazzi that camped out regularly at this particular hot spot. He kind of hated it, but Katja smiled her Madame cover smile, grabbing his arm with an adoring look. He gave a half-smile and wave as the valet pulled up with his Range Rover.
    Once they got in and he started the engine, Katja turned to him with a playful pout on her face.
    "Baby, I'm sooooo sorry, but would you mind if we just called it a night? I have a four a.m. call time tomorrow morning, and I don't want to be all puffy," she said with a grimace and a gesture towards her face. "I promise to make it up to you," she added in a low, suggestive voice.
    "Sure, yeah, no problem," he said, pulling into traffic.
    "Thanks, baby, you are the best," she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek with a loud smack.
    "You know it," he replied automatically, turning the SUV in the direction of her SoHo loft.
    She giggled and began chattering again, this time about tomorrow morning's shoot.
    Funny thing was, although he knew he should have wanted her to stay the night, it didn't bother him all that much that she wouldn't be.
    ****
    On Friday afternoon a few days later, Brad was leaving the locker room after a hard workout at the Diamonds' training facility when his phone chirped, alerting him to an unread text