Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
I didn’t know why anger was licking its way so fiercely up my spine. Maybe it was my father’s voice in my ear, how he pointed out the manipulative tactics I never realized she used against me. Or maybe it was Giana, how she made me promise to put myself first and not be shy about it.
Either way, I had zero interest in playing this game any longer with my ex.
“I highly doubt we’d sit there in silence,” Maliyah countered, still trying to laugh it off. I saw in her eyes that she was about to reach out and touch me, but before she could, I ducked away and headed for the door.
She was hot on my heels.
“What the fuck is your problem?” she demanded, catching me by the arm and turning me to face her. I could have easily shrugged her off if I wanted to, but maybe part of me was ready for the fight.
“My problem?” I asked incredulously, and I didn’t care if half the guys left in the locker room had stopped celebrating now and were very tuned in to our conversation. I stepped into her, towering over her as she sank away. “I’m happy, Li.”
I paused, letting those words sink in as I breathed over her. Her narrowed eyes softened, something like pain flashing in those blue irises.
“Can you accept that and just… fucking let me be happy?”
I waited for only a moment to see if she had anything to say to that, and when she didn’t utter a word, I just shook my head and turned, leaving her and the rest of the team behind as I headed for the bus.
I waited until most of the team had gone out, until all the coaches had retired to their rooms and put Holden in charge of letting them know if anything went wrong. I almost felt bad for our QB, our captain, our most responsible leader. He wore a lot of weight on his shoulders.
But he wore it proudly.
“You sure you don’t want to come?” he asked me at the door of our hotel room, and I knew he was asking less because he wanted me to party, and more because he didn’t want to be alone with the motley crew we called a team — especially after such a win.
I smiled. “Sorry, man. I’ve got other plans.”
Holden smirked at that, but he didn’t make to head out. He just watched me, his eyes assessing.
“What?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. I just… I’m sorry, about what I said earlier this season. About Giana being a rebound. I can tell she’s much more than that for you.”
I grabbed the back of my neck. “Well, honestly… you weren’t wrong. At least, not at first. But now?” I shook my head. “I’m so far gone for that girl it’s fucking terrifying.”
Holden laughed. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t know what that feels like. But I trust you. And I’m happy for you.” He pointed at me then. “Just stay focused on the season, okay? And don’t let your grades slip. You can spend all spring doting on her, but I need you for a few more months.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I said with a salute. “You really have never been like this with a girl?”
“Come on, Johnson,” he said, thumping his chest. “You know football is the only love of my life.”
I arched a brow. “Yeah… we’ll see how long that lasts.”
He just smiled on his way out the door, and as soon as he was gone, I texted Giana to make sure the coast was clear.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to share a hotel room the way the guys on the team did — she and Riley were the only ones afforded that luxury. Even when Charlotte came, she was too bougie to share a room with an employee. But she hadn’t come to this game at all, leaving it completely in Giana’s hands while she attended a friend’s wedding on the other side of the country.
That, alone should have told Giana and everyone else how good she was at her job.
I snuck quietly down the hall to the elevator, taking it two floors up to where Giana’s room was. She opened the door before I could even knock, pulling me inside and immediately melting into my arms.
Her scent invaded me, hair freshly shampooed and smelling like raspberries as she kissed me deep and long. I inhaled that kiss, that woman, wrapping her up as tightly as I could as I blindly walked us inside her room.
“I’ve missed you,” she breathed against my lips.
“You saw me this morning. And all game.”
“Shut up and tell me you’ve missed me, too.”
I chuckled, still kissing her as I laid her in the bed, and everything about her was comfortable and pure. Her wet hair, her warm skin, her oversized t-shirt and tiny sleep shorts that I loved so much — it all felt like home.