Free Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) by T. K. Rapp

Diego Swingers.
    “Crazy,” I muttered.
    The waiter walked over
and introduced himself before taking our drink order and disappearing so we
could continue our conversation.
    “I take it you like
baseball?” he asked.
    “Yeah, love it,” I
admitted. “But the rest of my family are football fans.”
    Tabor’s brows furrowed.
“And you?”
    “I just never got into
it.”
    He scoffed nervously as
he relaxed into his seat. “No?”
    I shook my head.
“Something about all those men just beating the crap out of each other seems
barbaric.”
    My eyes widened slightly
when I remembered I was talking to a football player. I should have tried to
cover, but I didn’t care that he was JT Hunter. He was fun and I liked being
around him. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about who he was until that moment.
    “My sister would like
you,” he said. He lifted his menu and began looking it over when I spoke again.
    “Why is that?”
    “Because you don’t…” He
trailed off and looked at his menu without finishing.
    He wanted to say it, I
was sure of it. But I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard for him to admit
the truth.
    “Like football?” I
asked, completing his sentence.
    “Yeah, something like
that,” he said. “Can I tell you something?”
    “Sure.” I closed my menu
and set it in front of me.
    “I wasn’t exactly honest
with you the other day,” he started. He took a sip of water and set the glass
down, his eyes avoiding mine. “It’s stupid, really.”
    “What were you not
honest about?” I pried.
    “About me. Who I am,” he
said in a rush. He tapped his fingers on the table and sat back, clearing his
throat, but was still refusing to meet my eyes. He ran his hand across his
forehead and appeared anxious.
    “You’re Tabor Hunter,” I
clarified and paused to take a sip of my water. “Or JT , as most people know you.”
    My gaze met his and I
felt a tingle run down my spine. I hadn’t planned on admitting the truth for him, but he looked so nervous and I
just wanted to take the pressure off. He blinked rapidly and I could tell he
was trying to piece together what I said.
    I kept quiet while he
thought about my confession. When I’d gotten home from Gracie’s I’d started
doing a few searches on Tabor, or rather JT Hunter. I was curious to see what
kind of guy he was. Since I wasn’t a football fan and couldn’t even name a
starting player on any team, I figured anything would help.
    Except that everything I
read made JT Hunter sound too good to be true. As much as I wanted to believe
all the great things, I found myself searching for the flaws. After all, no one
is perfect. Right?
    “You knew?” he finally
asked accusingly, his voice almost a whisper.
    “Not at first,” I
admitted with a sigh. “I was telling my sister about this nice guy who helped
me change a tire and asked me out. Long story short, she put it together and
then pretty much ridiculed me for not recognizing you.”
    He sat quiet for a
moment and I couldn’t tell if he was irritated, angry, or shocked. His brows
were pinched and he stared at the table as he processed my words. I waited for
him to say something or explain it, maybe even lash out. His expression was
hard to read until his eyes met mine and a small smile appeared.
    “What?” I asked.
    “You didn’t know who I
was,” he repeated.
    “Until today? No. But
it’s not like you were honest about it,” I said, crossing my arms over my
chest.
    “And you were talking to
your sister about me, huh?”
    I looked at the ceiling
and scoffed before looking at him again. He was watching me with an amused
grin, waiting for my response. I’d talked about him to Grace and Trevor. And if
my brother-in-law were a woman, I knew for a fact that he would be throwing
himself at Tabor. That thought alone was enough to make me smile.
    “That’s what the
take-away is here?” I asked before leaning forward and raising a brow. “Why did
you introduce yourself as