False Start: A Fake Dating Sports Romance (Red Zone Rivals)

I had to admit — it was quite fun hearing Kyle’s friends tease him for being such an asshole in college.

“I don’t understand,” I said, sipping the white wine in my hand as we stood around a cocktail table. Giana and Clay were taking pictures with what was left of the sun, and the rest of the wedding party was — well, partying. “Why did you challenge her to a game of five hundred, anyway?”

“It wasn’t me who challenged her,” Kyle defended.

“He’s right, actually. I was the one who called the game,” Riley said, arching a brow at Kyle behind her own wine glass. “And I did it because he was a little prick who needed to be put in his place.”

There was a fizzle of laughter at the table, and for a second, I thought it might have hurt Kyle’s feelings. But he flattened his lips and rolled his eyes, seemingly fine.

“I found her on a dating app,” Kyle explained. “And I might have been a bit of an asshole when I did. Riley heard me making jokes, and then she challenged me. But she made all the terms. It wasn’t me who said if she lost, she had to sleep with me. That was her.”

Zeke gritted his teeth. “I’ve never come so close to killing someone.”

“Wait — why were you on a dating app?” I asked Riley, pointing between her and Zeke. “I thought you two were together.”

“They weren’t at that point. And honestly, they should fucking thank me — because it was crystal clear after that night that Zeke had feelings for Riley. I helped them get out of their own damn way.” Kyle pointed at Holden and Leo next. “Helped you two fuckers, too.”

Holden’s expression was level when he retorted, “You have a funny way of helping.”

“Oh, come on — admit it. Every time you saw me with Julep or got close enough for me to make a comment about her, it got under your skin. It made you move your damn feet instead of dragging them. You two would probably still be skating around each other pretending to be annoyed if it wasn’t for me.”

“Funny, Robbins,” Leo said, tilting his head before sipping his tequila. “I thought you were a tight end, but you’re awful defensive right now.”

Kyle flicked him off while everyone else laughed, but then he let out a long breath, his eyes falling to the table and then flicking over to where I stood beside him.

Something caught in his expression when our eyes met, his brows furrowing. He searched my gaze in a way that made me feel like maybe I wasn’t hiding my emotions as well as I thought I was. The conversation with my mother from earlier was still buzzing loud in my ears, and the weight of what I had to tell Kyle later sat on my chest like a pile of bricks.

“You know what,” he said, watching me for a moment longer before he turned to face his friends. “You’re right. I owe you all an apology.”

That shocked the table silent.

“Riley, I shouldn’t have been such an asshole to you. You were a great player from the moment you stepped on the field, and if I’m being honest, I was intimidated by you. I was also pissed to have to share the limelight when I felt like that media attention and those deals I was making were all that I had at the time.”

Riley’s jaw visibly slackened at that admission, and she looked at Julep and Mary with questions dancing in her eyes before looking at Kyle again. “Thank you.”

Kyle nodded, his mouth tugging to the side before he looked at Julep. “I’m sorry most of all to you, Julep. That night at The Pit when you were drunk… I shouldn’t have had you in my room — not even if to prove a point to my stupid roommate who couldn’t get his head out of his ass,” he added with a pointed glare at Holden. “But I promise you, I never would have hurt you or done anything to cross the line. I was just… fucked up, if I’m being honest.”

He paused, sucking in a breath with his eyes on his drink now.

My throat tightened the longer that silence stretched, the more I realized how hard it was for him to say all this. I wanted to reach for him, to comfort him in that moment, but everything about his body language told me he needed space to get through what he needed to say to his friends. So, I stayed by his side, my gaze steady, letting him know I was there for him without saying a word.

“I didn’t have the best family life,” he admitted, and he swallowed hard before his eyes found me.

I nodded softly, keeping my eyes locked on his.

“But no one knew that — not at NBU, anyway.” He looked at his friends. “I may have shown it in an asshole way, but I care about you guys. I always have. And if I ever annoyed you, if I ever pushed you, if I ever made you want to punch me in the jaw — it was because I was desperate for someone to recognize my existence.” He tongued his cheek. “Sometimes, I just needed to know that someone still knew I was alive and gave a shit.”

I covered my mouth with my hands, closing my eyes and hoping like hell that I didn’t let a tear sneak free.

For a long time, no one said a word.

Then, finally, I heard a clap on a shoulder, and I opened my eyes to find Holden embracing Kyle in a fierce hug.

“There’s a reason you were invited to my wedding,” he said, pulling back but still holding onto Kyle’s arms. “And to this one. There’s a reason no one ever tried to kick you out of The Pit.”

“We saw you,” Leo filled in. “Even when you tried damn hard to make that impossible to do. I’ll never forget when I fell apart over Mary, and you were right there for me.”

Kyle nodded, his eyes sliding to Mary on a grin. “I don’t have anything to apologize to you for,” he said with a wink. “Still think your tattoos are sick. Still think you’re one nasty girl. And would still call you Daddy if I didn’t think Leo would break my jaw for it.”

The tension at the table shattered, everyone laughing as Mary side-stepped Leo and threw her arms around Kyle’s neck. She kissed his cheek, and one by one, I watched Kyle’s friends embrace him.

I felt like I was snooping on a private moment, and at the same time, like I had been a part of everything they’d just talked about.

Like I was already in the family, too.

“Alright,” Julep said with a clap of her hands. “Now that we’ve had our cry for the night, I think it’s time to dance.”

The rest of the wedding night was magical.

I audibly gasped when we walked into the reception area, seeing how beautifully everything was decorated. It was a large cabin-like venue with A-frame windows larger than anything I’d ever seen showing off the mountains in the distance. The sun had set, Edison lights hanging from one end of the room to the other, and every detail was elegant and refined.

My personal favorite was the book wall, where mine and Kyle’s names were written in gold script on the spine of a fake book. When we opened it, it had our table number in it.

Each table also had photos of Clay and Giana, as well as a chapter or two from Clay’s hideously written “book” about their love story. Apparently, it was part of what he called his “grand gesture” to get her back after he messed up, and each table told a little of the story — photos included.

We ate dinner with all the tension from cocktail hour completely gone, and then everyone was on the dance floor. Clay and Giana left only long enough to cut their cake and visit with the older guests of the wedding who were sitting along the perimeter of tables.

The bouquet toss happened about midway through the night, and though I pretended that Mary and Riley had to pull me out against my will, I didn’t miss the way Kyle covered his laugh with one hand as he watched me gain my stance and prepare for the throw.

That thing was mine.

I hiked up my dress in both my hands, ready to dive like I did for the volleyball last night, if necessary. But I didn’t have to. Giana tossed the bouquet of flowers made from book pages up in a perfect arc —

For Riley.

Shit.

I thought about losing the bet with Kyle for a split second, but my pride won out, and I jumped in front of Riley — who was somehow even more petite than I was.

She blinked in surprise when I snatched the flowers, and then all the other girls cheered and surrounded me.

The guys joined us then, and Leo poked Mary’s side. “You didn’t even try!”

“When are we going to have time to get married?” she barked back at him. “I’m running the shop and you’re about to play your first season in the NFL.”

He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her close, his mouth against her ear. I don’t think he realized I could still hear him when he said, “Am I going to have to put a baby in you to tie you down the way Clay did with G?”

Mary flushed a deep red, and so did I, tearing my eyes away from them.

“Riley, you didn’t try too hard either,” Kyle assessed. “After all, I know how you fought for the ball when we played five hundred.”

Riley shrugged, looking over to Zeke. “Bouquet toss is for women who aren’t already married.”

There was a long pause.

And then a chorus of demands for her to explain.

She laughed, leaning into Zeke before holding up her left hand. “None of you idiots noticed the ring?”

Giana and Clay had run over at this point, and Giana gasped before clutching Riley’s wrist in her hands and studying the dainty yellow sapphire.

Immediately, she started sobbing.

“Oh, my God! I’ve been so focused on the wedding I didn’t see! I’m the worst friend ever!”

Clay consoled her with a chuckle as Riley leaned into Zeke again. He put his arm around her, and she looked up at him like he hung the moon. “We eloped.”

“Of course, you two would elope,” Julep said. “Is this just because you didn’t want to have to wear a frilly dress, Novo?”

Zeke sucked his teeth and leveled a look at his friends. “This girl wore her damn leggings.”

“We were hiking!” Riley defended.

The chaos continued through the night, and I found that I really had started feeling better. Everything that had happened earlier with my mom was compartmentalized and shoved away for the moment. Kyle and I danced and laughed, and when the guys pulled him away for shots, the girls tugged me over to the photo booth.

The night was winding down when the DJ put on a slow song, and Kyle slid his hand into mine, dragging me out to the middle of the dance floor. We smiled at each other as his hands found my waist and mine threaded around his neck, both of us finding rhythm in a slow sway.

“It’s kind of crazy,” he said, shaking his head as his eyes washed over mine.

“What is?”

“Two weeks ago, you were just a memory. And now…”

I swallowed. “I can’t believe how fast this has all happened. I mean, I hated you. I never wanted to see you again. And then you showed back up in my life, and… it just feels like a whirlwind. One moment I’m just your agent, then I’m your fake girlfriend, then you’re meeting my son, and then I’m here and nothing feels fake anymore and I just… I don’t…”

“I know,” Kyle said, thumbing my jaw with his brows furrowed. “We can slow down. We can pull back. We can be just friends, whatever you need.” He paused, chewing his bottom lip. “Are you ever going to tell me why you hated me?”

I closed my eyes, my throat impossibly tight.

“Is it because of what happened with my parents that night? Did… did your parents make you say what you did?”

I frowned. “What do you mean say what I did?”

His jaw tightened. “That you wanted me to stay away from you. That you never wanted to see me again.”

My breath caught in my throat.

Because that confirmed what I suspected.

His parents never told him I was pregnant.

They told him I wanted him gone.

And then, he left.

I felt myself hyperventilating, each breath harder to take than the last as it all sank in.

Oh, God.

“I know you were mad at me before the party though,” Kyle added, speaking faster like he was onto something. “You were off that whole week. I tried to talk to you, but you wouldn’t let me in. And then—” He framed my face. “What did I do? What happened?”

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. I was so overwhelmed, so devastated, so… angry — but that emotion wasn’t strong enough to trump the others, not right now.

I buried my face in his chest, trying and failing not to fall apart.

“Mads,” he croaked, holding my head to him. “You’re breaking my fucking heart right now.”

“Not as much as I’ve already broken my own.”

“Talk to me,” he begged.

I shook my head on a sob but held onto him just as tightly. “Not here.”

Kyle pulled back, holding my gaze a moment before he nodded. Then, he wrapped his hand around mine and tugged me off the floor, leading the way to our table where my clutch and his jacket still were.

“Where are you going?” Mary asked when we whizzed past her and Leo, her brows furrowing when she saw my no-doubt blotchy and tear-stained face.

“I’ll see you all in the morning,” Kyle promised, and then he hooked his arm around my waist. “I need to get my girl back to our room.”

My girl.

Our room.

My head spun with it all as much as my heart squeezed with what I was about to have to tell him.

And I only had a short car ride to figure out how.