Page 107 of The Striker (Gods of the Game 1)
There was nothing I could say to that because it was true. Most players will never win the World Cup. It didn’t matter how good an individual was; it was a team effort.
However, while this explained why Asher disliked Vincent, it didn’t explain why Vincent disliked Asher so much beyond basic rivalry.
“Long story short, your brother’s a dick,” Asher said. “That being said, I’m not the one you have to worry about if and when he finds out about us. You know him better than I do. How do you think he’ll react?”
“Um…” I gulped at scenarios playing out in my mind. None of them were ideal, to say the least. “Not well.Buthe’ll listen to reason.”I think. “He cares about his career as much as you do.”Fingers crossed he cares about it more than he dislikes you.“He’ll be angry at first, but he’ll get over it.”I hope.
Asher didn’t look convinced. “He warned me away from you during one of our training sessions.”
“What?”
“You were in the toilet.” The corner of his mouth tugged up at my indignation. “He said you were off limits but I wouldn’t have a shot anyway because you’d never date another footballer.”
I heard the implicit question in the second half of his statement, but I ignored it.
I wasn’t ready to talk about my ex yet.
“That’s just like Vincent,” I fumed. “He’s always butting in where I don’t want him to.” Sure, I’d wanted nothing to do with Asher at the time, but still. Couldn’t a girl make her owndecisions about her love life? “He told me to stay away from Clive too.”
That reminded me, I needed to follow up with him after our date. Given the way it ended, I doubted he was looking for a second date, but I liked to close all my loops.
Asher’s smile morphed into a scowl. “He was right about Clive. That guy is bad news.”
“Because he’s a fuckboy? Vincent said the same thing. You know, you two are a lot alike,” I said. “You’d probably be best friends if you didn’t despise each other.”
I laughed at Asher’s grimace. I wasn’t kidding. Theywouldmake good friends, but they were too hardheaded to set aside their differences and see that.
Hopefully, that’ll change in the future. Until then, I could only pray and hope Vincent wouldn’t lose his shit when we broke the news to him.Howwe’d do that was a problem for another day.
“So now that we’ve cleared the air…” I gestured around us. “Is this our first official date as an exclusive noncouple couple?”
“This is a pre-date.” Asher’s darkly amused stare crept under my skin, flustering me. “When I take you on our first date, you’ll know.”
Something hot and languid spread through my veins.
For the first time since we sat down, I wished we were eating at home instead of in a restaurant. I wanted?—
“Hi. I’m terribly sorry for interrupting, but—but are you Asher Donovan?”
Our heads turned in unison toward the breathless teenage boy standing next to our table. I hadn’t even heard him come up.
I witnessed Asher’s transformation in real time.
His relaxed posture straightened, and his mouth stretched into a polite, camera-ready smile. Shutters rolled down over his open expression.
It was still him, but it was a shiny, guarded version of him.
“Yes,” he said easily, his smile intact.
“Wow.” The boy’s eyes shone with star-struck wonder. “I can’t believe you’re here. Can I get your autograph?” He shoved a napkin and pen at Asher. “I’m ahugefan.”
“Of course.” Asher signed the napkin, and the one after that, and the one after that.
After the boy approached us, the rest of the diners realized who was eating in their midst and clamored for their turn.
The mood shifted so quickly and drastically that neither of us was ready for the onslaught. An overly enthusiastic fan nearly knocked me out of my chair in their eagerness to get to him, and I had to shield my face with a menu to avoid getting caught in the background of their pictures.
After ten minutes of chaos, the restaurant owner finally pushed through the crowd and forced everyone back to their seats. He apologized to us profusely, and then asked for a picture with Asher to hang on their wall.