“One can only hope,” Garrett said. “Fans like that turn into assholes later in the afternoon.”
“Hopefully the heat will help them pass out faster.”
Lizzie wasn’t kidding.
“It’s brutal,” I agreed.
“I hear ya,” she all but moaned and her hands settled at the sides of her belly. She was wearing a maternity Las Vegas Vipers T-shirt that might have been glued to her stomach. Six months pregnant with twins and she looked like she could deliver at any moment. “I’m pretty sure I already have sweat in places where sweat doesn’t belong.”
“I don’t know how you’re going to last all day.”
She laughed. “On a prayer and with an IV drip of water to stay hydrated probably.”
“I’ll make sure the bus has everything you need,” Garrett assured her. “Trust me, there will be plenty of snacks on board so you don’t get hangry, either.”
“You try not being hangry when you have two demon souls sucking the life out of your body,” she grumbled.
Joey laughed. “Demon souls,” he snickered. “That’s what I’ll be calling your kids from now until eternity.”
“I dare you,” Garrett snapped.
To say he was still pissed at us for getting married would be an understatement. I still hoped he’d get over this, at least after seeing how well Joey and I were getting along. But he was toeing the line of being a massive jerk to his friend.
I’d feel guilty for creating this fissure if I didn’t think Garrett would eventually get over it.
For now, Joey and I were both riding his pissy wave of protectiveness. I squeezed his hand still clasped to mine and he grinned down at me with an understanding look.
“He’ll get over it,” he murmured.
“Like hell I will.” Garrett side-stepped us, tugging on Lizzie’s hand and so they entered the lounger area first.
She shot me a sympathetic look as she passed.
We were stopped by security, needed to show our IDs for the third time since we pulled into the parking garage. The security even the team had to go through upon entering the arena was shocking. Our car had been stopped and searched before parking in the private underground garage. Then our bags went through x-ray before we walked through scanners. Now, as we reached the corridor that would take us to the Vipers’ lounge area, we were all required to show our IDs and sign in electronically, our names previously given to security.
“You’re all clear,” the man said, barely glancing at us.
Garrett and Lizzie were quickly surrounded by a small crowd of teammates. Braxton and his wife, Sophie, first to reach out and give hugs and handshakes. Next to them, Paige, Seth McCabe’s wife, was holding their three-month-old little girl, Ilsa, in her arms, all decked out in a gold skirt with a Vipers onesies.
To everyone else, Garrett was smiling, playful. But every time he caught my gaze on him, that smile dimmed.
I sighed. “I feel like I’m ruining what should be a really exciting week for him.”
After all, he’d just gotten married too. Helped his team win by some ridiculous saves that were still being played on a loop on ESPN.
“It’s not your fault if he can’t look at all the good he’s been giving in recent days and wants to focus on you. Frankly, I’m feeling pretty damn important to him for him to be so fixated on us.”
He smirked down at me.
“You’re a fool.” I grinned at him, playfully shaking my head. “How can you make this all about you?”
“Because I’m awesome and everyone wants to be me.”
I shoved him and he stumbled, letting go of my hand while he recovered. “Not nice.”
“I’m plenty nice,” I teased and stuck my tongue out. Inside, nerves were bundling together, creating a knot that grew by the second.
“I know you are. And I’m also wondering when you’re going to let me kiss you again, just so you know.”
My jaw fell. He hadn’t brought it up. As soon as we left the interview yesterday we’d returned to his house. I’d laid out by the pool and swam for a bit, he’d said he had work to do in his office. I’d found him there later, on the phone, making reservations for our trip and we worked through the rest of the plans.
Then we’d ordered dinner from a local Italian restaurant, had some wine, and I’d eventually gone to bed.
I hadn’t caught sight of a single, lingering look from him that told me he was interested in a repeat. Almost as if the kiss had never happened.
Oh, but what a kiss it’d been. Hell, my body had lit up like a live wire so quickly I was terrified one small spark from static with my shoes on the carpet would burst the room we’d been into a massive fireball. I’d gone to sleep last night, down the hall from him, in a bed that carried the softest hint of his scent somehow, and it’d taken all my self-control not to slide my hands down my stomach, beneath the yoga shorts I slept in.
“I… I didn’t know you wanted another one,” I said lamely.
His lips curled into a wicked smile. “Every single second I’m around you, I want that. I wanted you to be sure.”
“Oh.”
He laughed, kissed my temple, and dragged me toward the crowd of players, and I veered off to Paige McCabe. Her husband Seth was a second line right winger but more importantly, she had recently given birth. I stole Paige’s little baby, Ilsa, from her in a second, and oohed and awed over the tiny fingers and listened to her rattle on about poor sleep schedules and needing to eat so often Paige was starting to feel like a dairy cow.
More than once, I caught Joey glancing at me, then Ilsa in my arms with a soft expression that made my limbs sizzle.
He wanted to kiss me and based on the way he looked at me holding a baby—he wanted a hell of a lot more than a kiss.
The answer to the question I had to figure out was whether or not I was ready for more.
“Oh my gosh. Look!” I grabbed Joey’s hand and pointed to a woman standing near the front of the crowd-lined streets.
She had blonde hair, a Vipers jersey bearing Joey’s number six in gold on the front that matched the one he’d made me wear to the parade, but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was her sign. “If I can’t have Joey Taylor, show me how he kisses!”
She caught sight of me pointing at her sign and jumped up and down. Even over the raucous noise, her shouts cut through the mayhem like a whip. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
Joey laughed, his arm settled at my lower back where he’d placed it once we stepped onto the top level of the double-decker bus an hour ago. “That’s insane.”
I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said earlier. I flashed him a wink, as others in the crowd caught wind of her chant—hard to be missed with her high-pitched voice. What the hell. I already knew his kisses curled my toes, and if he was waiting for my sign… “You might as well give the fans what they demand.”
“Yeah?” But his hand was already moving, resting at my jaw, thumb brushing the soft skin of my throat. He felt my swallow, dropped his gaze from my eyes to my mouth.
“Yeah,” I agreed, and closed the gap between us, pressed to my toes. He met me before I reached him and sealed our mouths together. The kiss was soft, teasing, and if he was putting on a show for the crowd that roared with approval as we passed, he could have won an Emmy.