The Coast is Clear (Breakaway Shores #1)

Izzy

Flag on the Play

Zander was taking me to a freaking football game. We were supposed to drive up to Seattle, but my late-night throw-up session messed up that plan. So, instead, we took a plane, which felt very strange. It was a forty-five-minute flight, and we landed just before lunchtime. The game started at one fifteen, and we had just arrived at the stadium. “I’ve never been to an NFL game before.” I’d said it already a few times, but I think part of me was in shock.

I kept thinking about how much Jack would have loved this. He’d always wanted to go to an NFL game. He’d been to football games when we were in college, but we’d never gone after that. “Well, it’ s going to be quite the experience. Seattle is playing my former team from LA. It should be a good game.”

We were walking toward the front entrance when Zander turned to the right. “Where are we going?”

There was a separate door, with a single guard, that Zander was walking right to. “Special entrance. It’ll take us right to the suite.”

I followed him inside as the male security guard checked my small bag and let us through. I was expecting the typical large concourse, with concessions and people milling about. But instead, we walked into an elevator bank. Zander seemed to fit in here, pressing the button to go up and leading me inside. He pressed the number three and leaned against the wall. “A suite? Does it have like a chef and stuff, too?”

Zander chuckled, and I let my eyes rake over him. He was wearing a dark blue button-up shirt with a tan canvas jacket over top. His jeans fit him like a glove, and I let myself replay how he looked while he pulled them over his muscular thighs this morning in our hotel room. “It is catered. My old teammate got me the tickets. Truthfully, I don’t go to a lot of games anymore.”

“Why not?” I held onto the cold metal railing edging the inside of the elevator.

He looked off to the corner like he was trying to think up an answer. “I don’t know. It’s just different now to watch them after playing in them for so long. I prefer to be at home, I guess.”

The elevator doors slid open, and Zander held out his hand. I grabbed onto it and let him lead me down a few twists and turns of the hallway. We passed doors that led into suites, a kitchen area directly inside, and the padded stadium seats past that. We stopped at one with the number thirty-seven, and he went inside. There were a handful of people inside. A man with a buzzed head rested next to the counter with a can of something in his hand. His eyes flickered over to us, and he threw a hand in the air. “Zand! So glad you’re here.”

Zander squeezed my hand before letting go, fully bro-hugging this guy. He then turned to me. “Eccles, this is . , this is Eccles. He and I were on the team together.”

Eccles nodded and flashed me a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, . I’ve heard a lot about you.” The statement made my stomach kind of twist in on itself. Did he really talk to his friends about me? Why did that make me so nervous?

“Nice to meet you, too. I’ve never been to an NFL game before.”

“Well, this is going to be a good one. LA is leading the AFC West.” He was talking to me like I knew more about football than I did. I knew how the game was played but Jack had really been the football fan. “Grab some food and sit wherever.”

“Zander?” A female voice asked from behind us, and Eccles’ mouth dropped open.

Zander stiffened beside me, and his hand found mine quickly. He met my eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry.” I didn’t understand, but as we turned around together, things became clearer.

She was pretty. Her blonde hair was long and perfectly styled. She was wearing a very fancy outfit for a football game. A glittery sweater that dangled off her shoulder, her lipstick dark red, and her black skirt shiny. My feet hurt just looking at the height of her heels. She was hanging off a tall man who had his lips pressed into a line. “Natalie,” Zander said flatly.

Eccles stepped up beside us and shook his head, “Hey Barker. Nice of you to show up.”

“I didn’t realize I needed to RSVP,” the man standing next to Natalie said. Barker, what a strange name.

Zander shrugged. “No big deal, everyone. Barker, Natalie, this is .”

Natalie eyed me and then smiled, but without any teeth, and I tried to keep my face flat. “Nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?”

I wanted to point to our hands held together and let her figure it out for herself, but instead, I leaned closer into Zander’s side. I opened my mouth to answer when Zander cleared his throat. “ is my girlfriend.”

“That seemed obvious,” Eccles joked beside him, and Natalie moved past the group, setting her tiny purse on one of the seats.

Eccles slapped Zander on the shoulder. “Sorry, buddy. I thought she and Barker were over. He told me they broke up a couple of weeks ago.”

Barker had his back turned, grabbing some of the food, which I had just then noticed. There were platters of everything. I saw noodles, sandwiches, sushi, wings, and even some burgers. Zander tugged my arm, moving over toward the door just slightly. His finger touched my chin, and he moved it up so I looked directly into his eyes. “We can go.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m good if you’re good.”

“Okay,” and then he kissed me quickly on the lips.

The game was exciting like Eccles had said it would be. We sat in the front row of the suite, with Natalie and her beau behind us. Zander didn’t seem bothered by her, and so I tried not to be bothered by her either. I also tried not to have to interact with her at all, just trying to ignore her presence. But then I needed more food. The food was great, teetering on incredible, and I just needed one more California Roll.

I was placing the sushi on my plate when Natalie came up beside me. “Sorry if we crashed your date.” I glanced over at her, and she was smiling in a strange way. It was a mixture of wanting to try to be nice but also wanting to let me know she knew Zander, too.

“Oh, okay,” I said, not sure I wanted to play the mean girl game. “It’s an exciting game.”

Natalie scoffed. “You actually like to watch this?”

And I could understand why the two of them didn’t work out in that instance. Not that you had to like the same things, but football had been Zander’s career. It would be hard not to be at least a bit into football. I grabbed a can of Diet Coke and took a step back. “I actually do. My late husband loved football, so I learned to love it, too.”

Her perfectly colored-in eyebrows pulled together, “You’re married?”

“I was,” I replied, unsure of why I even brought that up. I didn’t need to be talking to her. I glanced over her shoulder. Eccles had moved over and was talking to Zander, waving his hands around excitedly. I liked seeing him around his friends. It was a different side of him.

Natalie turned to the food and shook her head. “Sorry, it’s just weird. I don’t—” and then she whipped back around to me. “Zander never wanted to get married when we were together. That’s kind of why we broke up, so I guess it’s just weird. I guess I don’t know if you guys are even on that path, but I imagine you…never mind. I shouldn’t have even said anything.” My mind whirred, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. So, I didn’t. I just smiled awkwardly and walked back down to the seats.

Zander and Eccles let me squeeze past, and I sat down with a sick feeling in my stomach. Maybe Natalie was trying to start something, but the look on her face made me think she was telling the truth. But Zander had told me the opposite. Isn’t that how breakups always went, he said, and she said?