They’d issued plenty of challenges in their day, but they’d never gone the R-rated route. Curiosity drifted to the surface. Perhaps she’d finally managed to loosen her grip on a few of those good-girl limitations that’d held her back before.
The ride home flew right by, with a lot of yammering from everyone but Julie. A little odd, considering she was usually a total chatterbox. He preferred it that way, honestly. There wasn’t any what are you thinking, where is this going, and why don’t you ever share your feelings with me?
He’d never understood why so many people—women, especially—asked for his personal thoughts and emotions to be shared all the time. There was a reason why they were called personal.
But he digressed. If there was ever an awkward silence, Julie would fill it with even more awkward stories.
Before he could contemplate her silence during the ride too much, they were stepping into the foyer of his childhood home. A big-ass Christmas tree with twinkling lights and a blinding amount of glittery ornaments greeted them, along with the scent of pine, cinnamon, and peppermint, and three sets of grandparents.
Gavin hugged Grandpa and Granny Frost first, smiling at their banter about watching him on TV and how proud they were. Also, was he dating anyone, and the Stangs were gonna win the Super Bowl this year, right?
Both pairs of Julie’s grandparents crowded in for their turn, echoing the questions in rapid succession.
He answered honestly—he didn’t have time for dating right now, they had a good shot at making it to the Super Bowl, and he certainly hoped so. But he remained mum on his fears over whether or not he’d be playing.
It’s just a minor tear. That tendon’s still on there, so surely my body’s already hard at work mending itself.
Wasn’t that what pain meant? That the body was signaling it needed help at the site of the injury so every organ and cell would chip in? If so, he’d gladly welcome the throbbing ache.
Just as he’d finished making the rounds, the front door swung open, revealing the one person he was about to ask after.
His little sister swept inside, a cool puff of air following in her wake, and threw her arms around him. Gavin attempted to lift Nikita off her feet, same way he’d done with Julie, but with her being only an inch shy of six feet, the tips of her toes remained on the hardwood floor. “Hey, Niki. Good to see you. When did you get in?”
“Late last night. Denver traffic was horrible as usual, and the mountain roads were pretty snow-packed so I had to drive slowly, but other than that, it was smooth sailing.” Niki jabbed her thumb toward the door. “I just got back from hanging with my friends, and they all insisted I say hi to my famous brother for them.”
Gavin grinned.
“My college teammates are all annoyingly impressed, too.” Her smug grin revealed the pearly whites that’d spent a few years behind braces, the flash of the tip of her tongue between them a sign she was about to take a jab at his expense. “It’d be a real blow to my ego if I wasn’t Dad’s favorite.”
Already, Gavin was shaking his head. “What? No way.”
“Uh-huh. I play basketball, just like he did. You’re the one who chose to go the football route—it’s the inferior sport, in case you didn’t know. Isn’t that right, Dad?”
Both of them spun toward their father.
“Go ahead and tell him.” Niki batted her eyes, same way she did when she was little and wanted her way. “Now that his ego is so huge, he can handle it.”
“Oh yeah?” Gavin shot back. “When’s the last time anyone saw your games on TV?”
Niki shoved him, and he shoved her right back. Then they graduated to sticking out their tongues at each other—what was it about siblings that turned you into a kid?
They returned their gazes to Dad, who wrapped an arm around Julie’s shoulders. “Uh, my actual favorite kid and I are gonna go check out the food options.” As they walked by, Dad clapped Gavin on the back and kissed Niki on the cheek. “For the record, I love you both very much.”
“Just not as much as me,” Julie said, the dimple in her cheek popping. She leaned in and greeted Niki with a hug, and then slipped her backpack halfway off and fiddled with the zipper. “Before we grab dinner, can Kylo Ren run around for a while? He’s gonna get grouchier than usual, and trust me, no one wants that.”
Niki extended her arms, the tips of her fingers wiggling in a gimme motion. “Ooh, I’ll put him in my room. I’ve always wanted a kitty.” She told Julie she’d already eaten dinner anyway, and assured her she’d take care of him as she took the proffered backpack.
After heading into the kitchen and stacking his plate with cold cuts, crackers, cheese, and veggies, Gavin paused at the entry to the living room. He leaned against the archway, observing his family as they talked and laughed, the fire roaring in the background. With the scent and nostalgia of Christmases past hanging so heavily in the air, he wished that the niggling thoughts swirling through his brain would leave him alone already.
“Just enjoy being home,” Coach Bryant had said, and Lance Quaid echoed it. Most owners weren’t as hands-on, but Coach and Lance were on friendly terms, and he often showed up at practices, loosened his tie, and tossed around the pigskin.
“I was a lot like you when I played,” Lance had said to Gavin. “If you’re out here on the field, you’ll start pushing it. Go home, rest up, see that physical therapist you mentioned, and soak in those hot springs. It won’t do us any good for you to hurt yourself worse.”
“But what if after a day or two of icing—”
A simple raise of an eyebrow from Coach was all it took for Gavin to swallow the rest of his sentence. “I believe you and I both heard the part about how if you push it, that minor tear could rip the rest of the way, and you’ll be dealing with a separated shoulder. Then we won’t have you until next season, and we haven’t put in all this work for that to happen, have we?”
“No, sir.”
“Go home. Heal. We’ll loop you in to practices via video, and I know you’ll be doing your PT exercises.”
“Yes, sir,” Gavin had said, and he’d sworn to do his best.
He straightened, intending on walking into the room, but the wall of pictures to his left caught his eye. There were the stiff school photos of him and Nikita through the years, along with snapshots of his high school team and a picture from junior prom.
Warmth wound through him as he studied it. Julie had gone with her lab partner, Marlin Williams, and Gavin had gone with Claudia, his girlfriend at the time. In the picture, instead of talking to their dates, who they were posing with, he and Julie were looking at each other and laughing. He couldn’t remember over what, but the photographer had obviously been done with their shenanigans, snapped the picture despite their lack of focus, and called it good.