Playing to Win

humidity, sweat pouring down his back and getting in his eyes, he was focused on seeing this house take shape.
    Besides hanging out with his teammates off the field today, which made him realize they were all pretty nice guys, he got to spend time with Thomas and Selena Rogers, the soon-to-be owners of this house they were building. They were great people. Enthusiastic, dedicated, and willing to give back to their own community.
    They were also huge football fans, so they were ecstatic the Traders had showed up today to help work on their house. When the guys signed a football for them, gave them all jerseys and ticketsto one of the games, Selena was touched and Thomas was as excited as their two boys.
    It made him realize Savannah was right. He hadn’t spent a lot of—okay, any—time in the communities he’d been a part of all the years he’d been playing. Other than writing checks to a few charities here and there, he hadn’t taken the time to get to know any of the people who were his fans.
    That sucked. And needed to change.
    He was beginning to see a lot of things needed to change.
    “Feel good?”
    He turned toward Savannah, who’d come up to stand next to him. She’d worn jeans and a Traders T-shirt today and had pulled her hair up in a ponytail. With her tennis shoes on and very little makeup, she looked fresh and sexy and gorgeous. And she had dirt on her nose. He used his thumb to swipe it away.
    “I feel great, though I’m hot and sweaty and I probably stink.”
    “I hadn’t noticed. Everyone probably stinks.”
    She still smelled like peaches. He had no idea how she managed that.
    “I need a shower and a beer. Want to come over for burgers?” he asked.
    “Sure. But I need to take a shower, too. I’ll do that and meet you at your place in an hour.”
    “Sounds good.”
    He stopped at the store, then went home and jumped in the shower, scrubbing off the sweat of the day. He felt a lot better after he changed clothes and downed a couple bottles of water.
    Savannah arrived about thirty minutes later. She’d changed into a tank top and very sexy shorts, her hair down and loose around her shoulders. That peach smell made him hard. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and lick the scent from her skin. All her skin.
    He took a step back. “How about a beer?”
    “Sure.”
    He pulled two beers from the fridge and popped the tops off, handed her one and took a couple long swallows from the other. The icy cold brew tasted like heaven after the hellish day. “Now that’s good.”
    “I thought you didn’t drink once the season started.”
    He set the beer on the counter. “It’s beer. It doesn’t count, and I’m only going to have one or two.” He frowned. “Are you going to monitor my drinking now?”
    She laughed. “Not in the least. I was just curious.”
    “Good. I’ll go grill the burgers.”
    “What would you like me to do?”
    “Uh…nothing.”
    She frowned and pursed her lips. “I can’t do nothing. How about a salad?”
    “Sure. I think there’re salad fixings. See what you can scrounge up out of the fridge.”
    He took the burgers out and tossed them on the grill, taking a long swallow of his beer after he’d flipped the meat. He could see Savannah working in his kitchen, mixing up the salad and slicing tomatoes.
    He was getting used to having her around, seeing her in his kitchen. Kinda weird considering he usually didn’t like people at his house.
    And okay, he wanted to get in her pants again, so there was that objective. One night wasn’t enough with Savannah. But he liked what she had to say, and she didn’t take any of his bullshit. He pushed, she pushed back. He didn’t always agree with her or her methods, but that didn’t really matter. She wasn’t one of those pleaser people who kissed his ass. Mostly she kicked his ass. He liked that about her, too.
    He finished the burgers and brought them inside. Savannah hadthe table set and was leaning against the counter, staring off into his living room.
    He set the burgers on the counter. “What are you doing?”
    “You have such a nice, open place here. You should have a party.”
    “Huh?”
    She turned to him. “You should invite your offense over. Have a party.”
    He frowned. “I don’t do parties.”
    “You should. You’re the new guy. It would be a chance for you to bond with the players.”
    He took the burgers into the dining room. “I don’t think so.”
    They fixed their burgers and he