After some initial awkwardness during which the boys got prodded to be polite by their mothers, Roxy won them over by showing them the jerseys she had brought them. They were masculine versions of the women’s Siege jersey she got for herself, but hers was an authentic Callan Murphy jersey with his last name and the number thirty-seven on the back. She had paid a pretty penny for it, but she considered it money well spent. She wanted Callan to know how much she supported him.
Rashied and Duane produced their first smiles of the day as they accepted the jerseys with several thank-yous and slipped them on over their T-shirts. As she had hoped, the jerseys were a little large for them, giving the boys room to grow.
“We can get Callan to sign them when we see him after the game,” she said.
“Thanks for thinkin’ to do this,” Cybel said.
“I have a feelin’ I’ll have trouble gettin’ Duane out of it,” Sherise joked. “Thanks.”
“Of course. We had to get into the spirit, right?” Turning to the boys, she asked, “You guys ready?”
After a chorus of “yes, ma’ams,” they all headed out. Roxy waved off Cybel and Sherise and climbed into her car with the boys. She did her best to keep her driving under control on the ride to the arena. Even still, at one point during a dicey left-hand turn, Rashied grabbed the chicken stick and shouted, “Mother Marion Barry!” It had Roxy and Duane in stitches as they parked and made their way into the arena.
It was Roxy’s first visit to the arena, much like it was the boys’. She had arranged it so they arrived a little over an hour before the scheduled game start. They walked the entire circumference of the arena to check out everything it offered and figure out where they’d have to go to find their seats.
After reviewing their options, they visited the concession stands. Roxy was proud of the fact that she could buy the boys everything they wanted despite the arena’s exorbitant prices. Thanks to a recent closing, Callan’s payment towards her commission for his home purchase, and the newly signed contract she had with Campbell Investments to manage all of their home purchases and sales for a minimum of six months, she was more flush than she’d ever been in her life. Although she hadn’t yet heard from Vivian regarding her proposal with The Siege, she felt confident she had finally hit her real estate stride.
What a difference a month could make, she mused as she headed to the seats with the boys. In that time, she had managed to smooth things out with her landlord by paying a late fee and the following month’s rent in advance. She now had money in the bank. She had food in her fridge.
And she had ironed things out with Arnie at the brokerage. They’d had a long meeting shortly after Darcy left where he apologized for not taking a more active role in her training or addressing her concerns. He reported Darcy’s actions to the state licensing board and had met with his team to help get the brokerage back on the right track. For the time being, at least, he was working at the office at least two days a week. Morale had improved as a result.
As part of her new agreement with Arnie, she was now earning sixty percent of all commissions she brought in versus the smaller percentage she initially signed to. That had already made a significant difference in her bank account even with only one closing since then. Because there wasn’t a seller’s agent involved in Callan’s home closing, the new commission structure also meant she would soon be getting another five-figure payment.
Life was good, she thought as they started walking down the aisle to their seats at center ice. And it was going to get even better once she revealed to Callan how she felt about him. She knew in her heart that he felt the same. Hearing him say it was going to be one of the most thrilling experiences of her life.
For now, she was enjoying polishing off some nachos and talking hockey with Rashied and Duane.
“I grew up watchin’ hockey,” Duane shared around a huge bite of his hotdog. “My uncle’s a huge New Jersey fan. He says Drake Davenport’s the best player in the entire league.”
Roxy had been cramming in as much hockey knowledge as she could over the past few weeks. Many people in the sports world shared the same opinion about the powerful New Jersey center. Thankfully, The Siege wasn’t playing Jersey. They were playing Carolina.
“Murph told me about him,” Rashied said. “Said he’s a scary dude. Ought to be fun to watch him when The Siege plays Jersey.”
The simple comment made Roxy smile. It pleased her that Rashied fully anticipated attending future games. The relationship with him was so important to Callan.
A few minutes later, the players took to the ice for warmups. A crowd of people left their seats to gather around the protective glass surrounding the ice, many of them kids. Seeing that The Siege was on the half of the ice to their left, Roxy encouraged Rashied and Duane to walk down with her so they could see things up close.
They stood behind the smaller kids, many of whom were holding signs up to the glass trying to encourage the players to interact with them. Roxy’s heart melted when she saw a little girl with a sign as big as she was reading, “How ‘bout a selfie with your littlest fan?”
The players started out skating laps around their half of the ice. Roxy found Callan and settled in to enjoy watching him. God, he was sexy in all that gear. He glided along effortlessly, like he’d been born in skates.
After their laps, the players separated and pucks were dropped. Some of the players worked on their own, maneuvering the puck with their sticks around their half of the ice. Others lined up to take shots on the empty net, Callan among them.
Roxy didn’t stop smiling throughout the warmups. She was so damn proud of him. He had texted her earlier to tell her he’d met with the coaching staff before the game and learned he’d be starting on the second line. She knew what a big deal it was. Her research had taught her how important the second line was, serving as the tag-team partners with the team’s top players on the first line to keep the team’s momentum going. Even more importantly, it was one step closer to his goal of making the first line.
As the team wrapped up its warmups, Callan glanced up into the crowd and spotted her. He smiled and skated closer to the glass. She saw his eyes drop to the little girl with the sign.
“Murph!” the girl cried. “Can I get a selfie?”
Roxy brought a hand to her chest. Callan motioned to the girl to encourage her to turn around. Her excited father handed the girl his cell phone so she could photograph herself with Callan posing behind the glass over her shoulder. The girl shrieked with excitement after she had taken the photo.
Other kids jumped and called out to Callan, whose gaze lifted to Roxy and the boys. “Nice jerseys,” he said loud enough to be heard over the crowd.
“You gotta sign ‘em later,” Rashied said with his hands cupped around his mouth.
Callan grinned and nodded. When he looked at Roxy, she did a full turn in her Murphy jersey, lifting her hair when her back was to him so he could see it. He blew out a heavy breath and made a heart-pumping motion with his hand on his chest once she completed the turn. She laughed over the exaggerated gesture.
“Good luck,” she shouted.
He saluted as he joined his teammates on their return to the locker room.
She was so glad she had the chance to see him before the game. Not seeing him since before his unmentioned team party had generated a feeling of uncertainty she hadn’t enjoyed. Yes, he texted her the next day to say he was thinking about her, but that just wasn’t the same as hearing his voice and seeing the sexy smile he reserved only for her.