Chapter 34 #2
When he turned and jogged over to the D-line coach, that’s when my mind registered all the other people around us. The kiss had lasted for three or four seconds, but I felt it for at least five minutes afterward.
“Oop!” Nina elbowed me before we walked up the steps. “Somebody is about to celebrate this win right.”
I laughed. “I cannot believe you said that with all those people around.”
Aaliyah made a face. “I can absolutely believe she said it.”
The men chatted while the three of us cackled behind them.
“We need to get on the road,” Aaliyah announced, checking the time. “But I’m so glad we did this. I’m proud of you.”
“So proud,” Nina echoed.
“Thank you both for doing this with me.”
“We should do this more often,” Nina proposed.
Aaliyah nodded. “Yes.” She hugged us and then called Ahmad over.
When both men stepped over to us, all of us hugged and exchanged goodbyes. Aaliyah and Ahmad left to get to Darius’s birthday dinner. I started to tell Nina and Russ goodbye as well, but Russ gave me a look.
“We’re going with you down to link with Lamar,” he stated, pressing the elevator button. “We’re making sure you’re good.”
Nina smiled up at him, and I saw so much love and adoration in her eyes. “He’s so protective.”
I couldn’t help but grin. This man has changed her.
“Well, I appreciate that,” I said as the elevator arrived.
We found where we were supposed to be, and we were stopped by a security guard immediately.
Fortunately, Lamar was there.
“They’re with me!” he bellowed, and everyone looked.
“They still need passes,” the man grumbled as he waved us on.
Lamar jogged over to us. We were away from the cameras, the press, the majority of the people.
“Hi!” I greeted him excitedly.
Grabbing my face, Lamar crashed his lips into mine. Heat spread from the meeting of our lips through my entire body. When he pulled away, he smiled.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he uttered, staring at me. Tearing his eyes from me, he turned to Nina and Russ and dapped them up. “I haven’t taken a shower yet, so I don’t want to get too close.”
After they exchanged pleasantries, he shifted his attention back to me. “I got your messages right before the game. Thank you.”
“Anytime.” I grinned.
He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “I finished with the press, but I need to shower and change. I’ll find a pass and get it to him”—he pointed to the guard—“and then you can walk out the back with me.”
My stomach fluttered. “Okay,” I murmured.
He looked over at Nina and Russ, and while Russ was at least pretending not to listen, Nina was just staring at us and grinning.
I almost laughed out loud.
“Y’all coming by the house?” Lamar asked.
Nina flashed a cunning smile. “We’re going to let you two”—she wiggled her eyebrows—“celebrate in private.”
“But next time, we in there,” Russ replied, dapping him up again.
Lamar nodded. “That’s what’s up.” He gestured to Russ’s shirt. “Is this you?”
A proud smile stretched across Russ’s face. “Yeah, man. It’s not out yet. Hits stores in a few weeks.”
“I’m gonna have to cop one if you make them in big and tall.”
“I got you.”
Nina and I shared a pleased look as the two men shared a joke and a laugh. Russ traveled a lot and didn’t have any local friends. And even though Lamar had teammates, his closest friends weren’t local. Nina winked at me as a reminder of our plan to get Lamar, Russ, and Ahmad to become best friends.
Lamar returned to the locker room as I hugged Nina and Russ goodbye. Then I went to the guard and waited. Five minutes later, someone brought a pass for me.
Nervously, I made my way toward the crowd—a mix of press, photographers, Monarchs staff, players, and players’ families. It was a bit overwhelming, and when a woman walked by in six-inch heels and a tiny Monarchs jersey dress, I hesitated for a moment.
Now she is camera ready.
Women all around were in varying states of dress.
But the ones who were garnering the most attention looked like the woman who’d walked by—slim-thick, glam makeup, and an overtly sexy outfit.
They looked fantastic. And even though I also looked good, I knew what the WAGs who were in the spotlight typically looked like and wore.
People would assume Lamar was with someone like her before they would assume he was with me.
And that was their problem, not mine.
But as I saw the flurry of camera flashes and reporters, my stomach churned. Being with a public figure meant an influx of attention.
And I hated attention.
But I realized I didn’t hate it more than I loved Lamar.
Twenty minutes after I had successfully faded into the throng of people, closer to the players than I’ve ever been before, my phone vibrated in my bag.
“Hello?” I answered.
“I promise I’m coming,” Lamar responded. “You okay?”
“I’m okay.” I put my hand to my stomach. “Hungry but I’m okay. Are you okay?”
“I’m going to feed you. Give me five minutes.”
I grinned, thinking about all the ways I wanted to be fed. “Okay, five minutes,” I confirmed.
We said goodbye and my stomach fluttered.
When he emerged from the locker room, he bypassed the people waiting around and came directly to me. I watched him approach in his green-and-black Monarchs sweatpants and a black shirt that hugged his biceps beautifully. I couldn’t help but smile.
The man is gorgeous …
“You are so beautiful,” he complimented as he wrapped his arms around me. “This outfit is sexy.”
I squeezed him back. “And we match!”
Intertwining our fingers, we made our way out the door to a parking lot.
“You were excellent today,” I gushed. “I know everyone is going to talk about your coverage during that first drive, because that was amazing. But your stop on fourth and one in the third quarter was a game changer. Truly. That shifted the momentum. That was the play that sucked the morale out of them.”
“You have no idea how sexy it is to hear you talk like that.”
“You like it when I talk football to you,” I said flirtatiously, rolling my shoulders for added effect.
“You’ve known that since the moment I met you.” Lamar’s smile grew as we approached his car. He opened the door for me to get in. “But it’s not just the way you say shit that’s sexy. It’s the way you pay attention to what I’m doing.”
“It’s very easy to pay attention to things I love,” I said as he closed my door.
The grin that spread across his face made my stomach flutter.
He tossed his bag in the backseat and then climbed in on the driver’s side. Grabbing my face, he kissed me hard. “I know I probably shouldn’t have kissed you in the stadium. But I—”
“No, I leaned down specifically for you to kiss me,” I interrupted.
“So when you said fuck them people, you didn’t just mean the people around us…?”
“I meant everybody. Are people going to take shots at me and talk shit for a while?” I made a face. “Unfortunately. But Aunt Addy came to me in a dream and reminded me that because I’ve been through this, I’m prepared for this.”
“I hate that you’ve been through it at all.”
“Me, too. But if growing up in Chance was to prepare me for a life with you…” I lifted my shoulders. “It’s worth it.”
“A life?” He started the engine and then gave me a look. “You want to spend a life with me?”
Grinning, I rolled my eyes. “Stop!”
“Nah, I like the sound of that. I like it way better than you saying you don’t want to do this.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I apologized. “I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to choose between me and football.
I kept thinking about how affiliating with me was putting your job on the line.
I knew there might be a couple of comments here and there.
But when they were coming at me so hard, I worried it would make you want to distance yourself.
But I never thought it would result in you losing money or opportunities.
I never wanted that. And the fact that they did that because they thought you were involved with me …
I just wanted to protect you.” I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I’m sorry. Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. ”
His hand gripped my thigh, and when I opened my eyes, a small smile tugged at his lips.
“I appreciate you wanting to look out for me. But if I lose my position, if I get cut or get replaced, that’s the nature of the game.
I’ve been preparing for that. My business, which you helped me bring alive, is in motion, and when I’m done playing football, that’s what I’ll be doing.
” He took my hand. “But if I lose you, I don’t have a plan for that.
That’s not something I’m prepared to do. ”
My heart slammed into my chest. “What?” I breathed.
“You’ve been mine in my head since we met.
But I want you to be mine out loud. The only reason you came up in the meeting was because they figured if I hadn’t come out and said we were together, it must not be real.
And losing money over some shit that isn’t real doesn’t make sense.
So I set them straight. And they were good with it, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they weren’t.
And I’m about to set everyone else straight, too. Okay?”
My stomach flipped. “Yes, okay,” I murmured.
“Good,” he said as he kissed me slowly, sexily. “Even though it’s nobody’s business what I got going on in my personal life, I will be making it known that you’re mine.”
Heat crept up my neck, and I smiled against his mouth. “I like that.”
A lot.
My entire body was on fire.
He pulled his phone out and flipped through the pictures of us he had saved. “You like this one?”
It was from the night of our double date.
I smiled. “I love it.”
He opened one of his social media apps and uploaded the photo. Right before he hit SUBMIT, he looked at me. “Are you sure? You don’t love attention…”
“But I do love you,” I assured him softly.
With a grin, he posted the photo and then dropped his phone. “I love you, too. Come here,” he uttered just before crashing his lips into mine.