Chapter 21
EMMIE
“I’m about to meet his family tomorrow.” I paced the length of my room, nibbling on the side of my thumb while Erin sat on my bed watching me. “We’ve only known each other for a month. It’s too soon. Hell, I haven’t even told my dad yet.”
“Em.” Erin’s voice didn’t even break the barrier in my mind.
“What if they don’t like me? They could take one look at me and think I’m not good for him. Oh god, what if Mateo realizes he doesn’t even like me?”
I was full-on word vomiting now, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“Em,” Erin tried again.
“I like him, E. I really like him, which is scary in itself, and then adding in his family and my dad?” I whirled around to face her.
“Did you know he’s extremely family oriented?
He calls and talks to his mom and brothers like twice a week.
He FaceTimes his nieces and nephew all the time. It’s incredibly sweet.”
And it really was. Knowing how much Mateo cared about his family made him ten times hotter in my eyes, but it also gave the pressure of wanting them to like me. If they were all so close, then welcoming someone new into the fold wasn’t going to be easy.
“Add on the fact I woke up this morning with him going down on me like I was his last meal on earth! How can I face his family knowing he bent me like a pretzel just hours before?”
I raked my hand through my hair, fingers getting snagged on tangles.
“See, getting involved is hard. Having feelings is hard. Yet, my dumbass had to go and start falling for Mateo Boone of all people. Fuck my life.” I fell back onto my bed with a loud huff. “What do I do?” I mumbled with my hair covering my face.
“Okay, first off, that was an incredible freak out. Probably one of your best,” Erin remarked. I blew the hair from my face and sent her a glare. “What? It was.” She moved until she was facing me, sitting crossed-legged on my bed.
“Second, take a deep breath with me.” She breathed in deeply, sending me a glare when I didn’t immediately do it. “And exhale. Inhale…” We did it a few times until my heart rate slowed down.
“Meeting Mateo’s family isn’t that big of a deal. As you just pointed out, he’s extremely close to them, which means you’re bound to meet them sooner or later. He’s willing to show you a whole different side to him, a side that is important,” Erin said.
“What if this doesn’t work out between us, and I’ve already met them?”
“The world won’t collapse if that happens. Plenty of people have met their partner's family and then broken up. It is what it is. You can’t control it or what the future holds, Em.” The way Erin said it brought to mind what Mateo said to me at the rink a week ago.
“I know.” My voice was soft. “I guess I’m just scared. Things are going really well, and I don’t want anything to ruin it.”
“Nothing will. Look,” Erin shifted forward, putting her hand on my knee, “you can go into meeting Mateo’s family already thinking they won’t like you, having walls up, and ready to bolt at any given moment—which might ruin things between you two—or, you can go in a little cautious but open.
Meet the people that have made Mateo who he is and just enjoy yourself. ”
Her words buried themselves in my chest. She was right, even if that stubborn part of myself that liked to self-sabotage disagreed.
“You never know, maybe you’ll find that they’re amazing and you fit right in.”
I closed my eyes and let out a groan. “Why do you have to be so wise?”
“Because I just am.” I didn’t have to open my eyes to know Erin had a grin on her face. “I just want you to be happy, Em, okay?”
With a sigh, I sat up on my elbows and gave her a soft smile. “I know. Thank you for talking me off the ledge.”
“That’s what best friends are for.” She squeezed my knee. “You got yourself one of the hottest athletes on the planet, like hell I’d let you ruin it.”
I laughed, completely agreeing with her. Mateo really was the best.
“Plus, I’m still enjoying Jake and Perry. Can’t let you get in the way of that.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you still seeing both of them?” I didn’t typically see Erin shy, but she dipped her head, a giddy smile taking residence on her face. She tucked a stray brown curl behind her ear.
“I am. It’s been…fun.”
“Fun?” I prodded. If I told her about my love life, sex included, she had to spill hers.
“I knew athletes had great stamina but…” Erin shook her head. “These two are on another level. It’s like they never tire out. As soon as one is done the other takes his place. I was surprised that I could walk the other day,” Erin admitted.
I chuckled. “It sounds like you’ve had a great time with them.”
“Yeah.” Erin smiled, but there was something in her expression that made me sit all the way up. Doubt? Apprehension?
“Is this a temporary thing or…” I trailed off.
“I don’t know.” Her voice was soft. By the way her shoulders were slightly hunched, I wondered what happened in the last two weeks since she started seeing them. Have I been so consumed by my own love life that I haven’t been paying attention to my best friend’s?
“E, is there anything you want to talk about?” While we did tell each other everything, I knew when not to push her to talk. Erin was the type to deal with things internally first, to get a hold of her emotions before she talked about them.
“No… I…” She hesitated enough to make me reach out and squeeze her knee this time.
“I’m okay. I need to think through some things, and then I’ll tell you.
” When she met my eyes, a silent plea to let it go was there.
I’d respect her wish, even though I wanted to know what was making my friend act unlike herself.
“Okay, I’m here whenever you’re ready.” I gave her knee a pat and offered a reassuring smile.
“How about we order some Thai food and watch The Great British Bake Off?” Erin suggested.
“Sounds good to me. Mateo is having dinner with his family tonight since they flew in a few hours ago, so I’m yours all night.”
“Wow, all night long, huh? Can have my wicked way with you,” she teased, a bit of her sparkle coming back now that the conversation about Jake and Perry was pushed to the side.
“You know it. You can show me all the stamina you’ve built the last two weeks.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her, earning me a laugh.
“You have no idea.” With a grin and a shake of her head, she slid off my bed and headed for the door. She paused before she left, glancing at me over her shoulder. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Only a handful of times. Could start saying it more, though,” I remarked.
“Noted. I’ll go order our usual while you text your boyfriend.”
“I wasn’t going to text him,” I sputtered.
“Yes, you were.” Erin rolled her eyes. “Tell him hi.” With that, she turned and left my room.
I stared after her, the word boyfriend rolling through my mind. We didn’t have that conversation yet, but I couldn’t deny the giddy feeling that washed over me at being able to give him that title.
I nervously played with my lanyard as I stood outside the Titans’ locker room. The jersey I was wearing seemed heavy, but only because of the last name that was on the back. A last name I was about to go into that room wearing that my father would easily see and question.
I could have easily worn my usual jersey with my last name on it my dad got me years ago, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to wear the jersey that Mateo surprised me with the other day at his place. I liked knowing it was his name on my back.
More than likely, my dad wouldn’t even notice, too caught up in the season's first game happening in under an hour. At least, that’s what I was banking on. Today wasn’t the day to have the conversation about Mateo and me.
Knowing I needed to go in and wish my dad luck before they got on the field, I took one last deep breath before pushing open the doors. For a split second, I questioned if I should be in here, but I knew this was where I’d find my dad, not in his office a door down.
While it may have been a while, I still knew my dad’s pregame routine. He’d spend a bit in his office, but then he’d be in the team's locker room. He said it helped get him in the zone being with the players before the game.
The door was quiet as it shut behind me, but a few players glanced my way, surprise written on their faces. It’s been a long time since I came into the locker room like this before a game, but if my dad was making an effort to bridge the gap between us, it’s time I did my own part as well.
The farther in the room I got, the more sets of eyes landed on me. I gave them all a close-lipped smile and a nod. My own gaze searched for one person in particular. I should have been looking for my dad, but my brain had other ideas.
Unlike the locker room layout of the practice facility, the stadium's had one long section, almost like a hallway with locker cubbies on either side before it opened into a big rectangle farther down.
The design was weird but fit the fifty-three players and then some. I stepped around players and their gear on the floor as I made my way toward the middle of the room.
I spotted Jake and Perry, the two sliding their shoulder pads on in front of their cubbies. I had half a mind to ask them what they were doing with my best friend, but I knew it wasn’t the time or place to do so. Soon, though.
It only took another second before I spotted the person I was searching for. My heart stuttered in my chest at the familiar mop of dirty blond hair. A bare muscular back filled my vision, muscles flexing in a way that had my mouth watering. Oh, how I wanted to run my nails down them.
I blatantly checked Mateo out as he stood in front of his own cubby, shirtless with just his football pants on.
Pants that hugged that nice ass. The same one I grabbed just two nights ago as he fucked me.
I was starting to understand men’s obsessions with asses because I wanted to sink my teeth into his.