Lemon Cake (Naughty Desserts)

Rider

stood, staring at the dozen sets of sparkling eyes looking back at him. The boys were all between seven and nine years old, eager to meet their idol.

“So, who’s your favourite player?” he asked, trying to break the ice.

“You’re my favourite linebacker,” a few announced here and there while others called out the names of his teammates. Only one little boy stayed silent, hovering near the back of the group.

“And yours?” asked him.

“My Aunt Gemma.”

cocked his head, curious. “And who is your aunt?”

The boy hastily pulled a photo from his pocket and proudly presented it to him. took it, and couldn’t help the goofy grin that plastered his face. A young girl in her teens smiled at him with a baby boy in her arms. What stood out the most, though, was her football gear.

“Ah, I see. I don’t think anyone can hold up to that,” chuckled .

“She was a safety—and the best one!” the little one announced to everyone.

The other boys crowded around, and he proudly showed them the photo too. He even pointed out his aunt on the bleachers, waving at her excitedly. followed his gaze and saw a woman sitting in the far back. She was grinning and waving back, her auburn hair up in a loose bun. Even from this distance, he could see her gorgeous ocean-blue eyes sparking.

“She stopped playing when she lost her leg, but she has a super cool one now that she can take off.”

’s gaze slid down to her loose-fitting jeans, but he couldn’t quite tell what the boy meant. kicked himself for trying to find a difference between the two legs—what a jerk move. At the same time, however, he was curious to know more. Not wanting to lose the boys’ attention, he quickly handed out footballs and let them play.

He always enjoyed these community events his team liked to organise. Since joining the Bullriders two years ago, he was always the first to volunteer.

They’d split the kids up, and each of his teammates had a small group that they entertained for a while. The teachers around were every bit as excited as their students. Even the parents ran around, taking pictures and videos—of both the kids and players. It was fun as usual, and the time passed quickly. At the very end, they took a few group pictures with all the kids, players, teachers, and of course their cowboy mascot, Muse.

After they’d taken all the pictures, the players waited in a back room for the gym to empty. It was late afternoon by the time they left the school, walking across the parking lot.

“Anyone wanna grab food?” Braiden, their wide receiver, asked.

“Maybe you should focus less on your next meal and more on your fitness,” Jake teased. He was their cornerback, and a talented one to say the least.

“You know what? Maybe you should be less cocky,” Braiden barked back.

Their bickering faded out, because ’s eyes had landed on a new subject of focus: the boy from earlier. Trying to remember the boy’s name, he watched him argue with his aunt. Gemma—if remembered correctly. Still curious about the woman, his legs carried him towards the couple, almost of their own accord.

“Please? Just a little,” the boy begged.

“No, Dan. You already had an exciting afternoon. We don’t need to drive to the park.”

“You always take me!”

“No, I don’t. Especially not when you’ve already had a treat like today.”

“And here I thought you were a good boy,” interrupted.

Gemma’s eyes found his, and she flushed a beautiful rosy pink.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude but Dan told me about you earlier and showed me a picture of you two. I was curious to meet you.”

That pink darkened to a cherry red. “Oh. Yeah he made us print out like a thousand copies of that picture because he wanted to make sure he didn’t lose it.”

“It was only ten,” Dan corrected her with an eyeroll.

“He’s very proud of you.” offered her a hand. “I’m .”

She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Gemma.”

“Can you sign it?” Dan asked and held out his picture with hopeful eyes.

“Only if you have two so your aunt can have one too.”

He quickly pulled another one out of his bag along with a pen. signed both, leaving his number at the bottom of Gemma’s. He wasn’t sure if that came off cocky or not—he’d never done anything like it—but she intrigued him enough to at least try.

He handed each of them their picture before offering his award-winning smile. “Dan said you used to play ball.”

“Oh, that was ages ago,” she said barely able to hold his gaze.

“Maybe we can meet up one day and you can tell me all about it.”

Dan, oblivious to the conversation happening right in front of him, beamed down at his signed photo, then held his new treasure to his chest. “Thank you.”

“Hopefully we’ll meet again.”

His words were directed more to Gemma, who looked down at her photo with her cheeks darkening again. Not wanting to make this more awkward than it already was, he walked back to join his teammates.

“Are you going to tell us what that was all about?” Braiden asked, waggling his eyebrows .

“She used to play ball. I was curious.”

“And when is the date?”

“Whenever she wants.”

“Ah, the waiting game begins,” Jake chuckled.

“I guess.” And with a shrug he walked off and got into his truck.