Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
I smiled sweetly up at him, pressing onto my tiptoes like I was going to kiss that smug smile off his face. “You’re hot when you’re cocky.”
“That so?” he asked on a smirk, his hands finding my hips.
Right before our lips met, I punched him in the gut.
Holden let out an oof of a laugh as he doubled over, and I turned just in time to catch his uncle Kevin walking in with a freshly changed and smiling Joanne on his hip.
He pointed at me as he sat down with a wide grin. “I love this girl.”
Conversation was easy as Nathan served dinner and we all ate. There was melt-in-your mouth shredded pork butt that had bathed all day in a tangy mojo sauce, an out-of-this-world potato salad, handmade-from-scratch dinner rolls, and watermelon. It felt like summer in the middle of holiday season, and it was delicious — the best meal I’d had in months. I ate every last scrap of my first serving before going back for more.
“So, what made you pick athletic training, Julep?” Nathan asked me halfway through the meal.
I swallowed the food in my mouth and smiled. “Well, originally? I just did it to make my dad happy.”
He frowned. “I hate to hear that.”
“Trust me, I hated doing it,” I admitted. “But, at the time, I was kind of a mess. Still am some days. Dad thought if I had a major in something where he could work closely with me, he could help me. So… I decided to try, if even just to get him off my back a little.”
Nathan smiled like he understood.
“But,” I continued. “Shortly after I declared it my major, I found pole.”
“Pole?” Kevin inquired curiously.
“Pole fitness. Tricks, dancing, all of it,” I explained.
“Stop it!” Nathan’s eyes grew wide. “I watch videos of pole dancers all the time. I swear, it’s mesmerizing. I could watch for hours.”
Kevin cleared his throat with a perched brow. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t worry, honey. They’re mostly females,” Nathan assured his husband. “Mostly,” he added, taking a sip of his wine and quickly steering the focus back to me. “Anyway, so you found pole.”
“I did,” I said on a smile. “And suddenly, I was really interested in my major. I loved learning about the way the body works, how it connects to different sports. There are certain injuries that flare up for every athlete, depending on what position or sport they play, and pole is no different. If we don’t work both sides, we can really mess up our spine, our neck, or develop muscles in a really unbalanced way. And so many of the tricks require an understanding of anatomy, of flexibility and mobility. So, what started as something I did for my dad turned into something I do for me.”
Holden grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, now you do.”
He smiled. “I love learning new things about you.”
My cheeks flushed, and his uncles shared a knowing glance before turning the conversation to one in-between just the two of them so Holden and I could have a moment.
The sun set as Nathan and Kevin opened their second bottle of wine — though Holden and I opted for water — and when Joanne was tucked in for the night, we moved to the sitting room and gathered around the fireplace, talking and laughing until my voice was hoarse.
It was different, seeing Holden around his family. He didn’t take on the stern leadership role that I was so used to seeing him in with the team. Here, he was relaxed, comfortable. He laughed — a lot. He played with his niece and threw jabs at his uncle. Every ounce of stress had melted away the moment we walked through the door. Even his posture showed he was at ease.
It was a nice change, seeing as how the last couple of weeks had been hard on him. He’d led the team to a win the weekend before Thanksgiving, which had secured them a bowl game. And now that they’d won another, all their focus was on waiting to hear the bowl announcements on Sunday, to see if they’d made the playoffs.
If the sports analysts were right, they were a shoo-in.
I knew that was all Holden wanted — the playoff bowl game, the championship win, and then, ultimately, to be drafted. But just because he was close to getting what he wanted didn’t mean the pressure was off. If anything, it had doubled, and I’d felt his tension mounting.
Of course, helping him relieve said tension had become my favorite pastime.
In a lot of ways, not much had changed since that night at the Pit. We still snuck away every second we could get to be together, and we still kept it a secret. Well, almost a secret, anyway. Riley, Giana, and Mary knew — though they still thought we were just hooking up. And apparently, Zeke had his suspicions confirmed that night of the party. Holden’s uncles were now also in that circle of trust, but that was exactly what it was — a tight, small ring of people we knew wouldn’t put either of us in jeopardy.