Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Jealous?” He waggled his brows playfully.
“Tuck pulls all the ladies,” Cross teased.
They started wrestling around while I headed for Coach’s office, hoping it wasn’t obvious that I felt like I was gonna puke. What would I do if they didn’t want me? Like my mom and brother…like Houston.
Fuck, I was being a mopey bastard.
“What’d I do this time?” I teased, closing the door behind me.
“Stop being so negative. I see right through you, Atwood. You’re not as cocky as you show the world.” He quirked a brow.
Totally hadn’t been expecting that.
“Okay…”
“I can’t say this on the record, and I’ll deny the shit out of it if you let it out…but we love you in Denver. You’re exactly what we didn’t know we were looking for. You can expect another contract offer…a good one, and I hope we have you as part of the team next season.”
My pulse jumped, spiking so high I thought it would burst through the roof. “I…no shit?”
“No shit.” He grinned. “You’re a good player, son, and an even better man. It’s an honor to coach you.”
I opened my mouth, but words wouldn’t come out. My chest was tight, full. This was—fuck, this was exactly what I wanted. I rambled out a thank-you, promising to keep my mouth shut until the official offer came from my agent.
It wasn’t until I stepped out of the office that I remembered Houston would be in Los Angeles again next year. Even if he decided he wanted me, it would be impossible for us to ever work.
“Shit, that bad, huh?” Tuck asked. “You look like Coach just took your favorite toy.”
I forced myself to chuckle. “Nah, man. Everything’s how I knew it would be.” At least the part with Houston was.
I’d done nothing but think about this game—partially because I was so happy for Houston but also because it was just one step closer to us having to figure out how to break up publicly. Hey, at least this time, I knew what was going to happen. I’d agreed to do this so I couldn’t go getting all butthurt about it now…though I wouldn’t mind other stuff with butts and Houston.
I flew out to LA with Tucker, Ramsey, and Garrett. Houston’s parents came out, too—one big, happy family all there to support the man we all loved. I couldn’t figure out why Tucker was there. Houston was his boy, but as far as I knew, they weren’t close enough for him to want to sit through a Royals game. But what did I know? The only thing I was sure of was even though I was new to the Rush, I hated the Royals like I’d been living this rivalry as long as the Rush had, only now it was all complicated for us because as much as we wanted them to lose, we wanted Houston to win even more.
Jesus, this guy would always make me feel stuff I didn’t want to feel. And as they went into the locker room for halftime, my feelings were even more obvious as I was filled with so much fucking pride that Houston and the Royals were up by fourteen points.
“Fuck yes, Houston! You got this!” I cheered, pumping my fist in the air, even though he couldn’t hear me.
When I felt a gaze on me, I looked over to see Connie watching with something in her eyes that I couldn’t read…and everyone else in our group was gone. “Where did they go?” I asked.
She chuckled. “To get a beer. They tried to ask if you wanted one, but you were too busy watching Houston to notice anything else.”
Story of my fucking life. But shit, now I was slightly embarrassed. “He deserves this.” I shrugged and looked away, but I could tell she didn’t.
“You love him, don’t you?”
Her question bounced around in my head, making everything sound echoey. My eyes darted around to make sure no one was paying attention before I softly said, “This isn’t real. It’s just a game with an expiration date.”
“That didn’t answer my question.” And I wasn’t going to either. She must have been able to tell because she sighed. “You’re a good boy, Cullen. You got a bad rap in the league, but I don’t believe any of that is your fault. And I know you and your family have some troubles, but I want you to know that whatever happens, you’re important to Houston, and I appreciate how much you care about him. I don’t think he even realizes how much happier he is with you. I know you guys have this whole thing planned out—Houston’s now in LA, and you’re in Denver—but I want you to know that whatever happens, you always have family in us. There’s always room for you at our table.”
“I…” Shit. What did I even say to that? This woman who hardly knew me offered me more than my own family, other than Charity, ever would have.