Chapter 44
forty-four
. . .
Nick
It takes three weeks for the headaches to go away, and another week for Dr. Palmer to clear me. I don’t blame her for being cautious—I certainly am. It’s more than my career on the line. It’s my entire life.
And as the team plane lands in Austin, Bex sitting in the back with Vanessa, I have this strange sense of calm. Peace. Home.
It’s a rare daytime flight, so we land at four, and check into the hotel an hour later. Now that our relationship is officially declared, Bex and I get to share a room. We get settled, wash the plane off us, and get ready for dinner.
Elsy gave me the name of a nearby restaurant, and when Bex and I walk in hand in hand, my best friend shrieks and rushes toward us.
She looks between us, unsure who will get the first hug, when Bex and I wrap her up in our combined arms. Elsy throws one arm over my shoulder, the other around Bex, and rocks us back and forth.
“My two favorite people!”
“I take offense to that,” Whitney gripes from behind her.
Elsy steps back, rolling her eyes at her husband. “My favorites after you.”
He smirks as he embraces his sister, tugging at a strand of her hair. “Hey, B. You’re looking good.”
“Thanks, Wy.”
He holds out his hand to me, and when we shake, I’m surprised by how he tugs me into a half hug. “You’re doing better?”
“Good as new.”
“Still not allowed to punch him in the face,” Bex threatens.
Whitney exaggerates a sigh. “If you insist.”
“Here’s the deal,” she warns her brother. “You break his face, I break yours. With a baseball bat.”
He winces. “Damn it, Rebecca Lynn, you always take it a step too far.”
Victorious, she smirks at me. “Nah, I think I’m playing fair here.”
“How about we have dinner before breaking into violence?” Elsy suggests with a wry smile.
In short order, we’re seated at a table in a quiet corner. We place our drinks and food orders, and then we’re left in a stilted silence.
“This is weird, right?” Whitney says.
I cock my head. “What’s weird?”
“You’re dating my sister. And I’m married to your best friend. We’re all… family.” He says it like he has a bad taste in his mouth.
“It just means we’re going to spend a lot more time together,” Elsy says, patting his hand. “You get to decide who you invite into your family. It doesn’t have to be only people you’re blood related to.”
“She’s right. We’ll make our own family,” I declare. “The four of us.”
“I like the sound of that.” Bex smiles at me. She’s doing better than ever since she muted her mother, and I’m so fucking proud of her for that. “I’ll make sure there’s a dedicated guest room in our house for you guys.”
“About that…” Whitney clears his throat. “I’ve got three seasons left on my contract, and after that, I’m not renewing. Might even dip out early.”
I stare at him. “Seriously?”
We’ve dedicated our lives to this sport. It fulfills us as much as it consumes us. I know I’m nearing the end, but I still can’t fathom actually walking away. Giving it all up.
He nods. “I’m not quite done yet. But I’m getting there. I want to be around to see my kids grow up.”
My eyes rush to Elsy. “Are you…?”
She nervously twirls her wedding band around her finger. “Not yet.”
“Yet.”
“We’re not trying, but we’re not not trying,” she says. “If it happens, we’ll be happy.”
Bex lets out a little squeal. “Oh, I’m so excited for you!”
“Well, nothing’s happening yet,” Elsy rushes to add. “But if you guys want to stay in Boston, we’ve talked about it, and, well, we’re not opposed to moving there too.”
“We want to be close to you,” Whitney adds. “So if Boston isn’t the right place, I’m open to elsewhere. Just… not so close to the parents.”
Bex laughs. “Yeah, that’s not happening anytime soon.”
“Have you thought about what you want to do after?” I ask my once-rival turned future brother-in-law.
Elsy nudges her husband. “Tell him,” she hisses.
“I like the idea of a podcast,” Whitney finally says. “And if you maybe wanted to cohost with me…”
Hmm.
Now there’s an idea.
“I did study journalism in college…” My mind whirrs with possibilities—and logistics. “We’d need a producer. An editor. And someone to help market it…”
“But you’re interested?”
“Hell yeah. I’m definitely in.” Reaching over the table, I offer my hand, and he shakes it heartily.
“So we’re doing this,” Whitney says. “I guess you really can’t get rid of me now.”
“Don’t want to,” I tease. “You keep treating my best friend right, and we’ll have no issues.”
“Same. With you and Bex, I mean.”
My girlfriend grins at me. “Look at you two, getting along. Who’d have thought?”
“Certainly not me,” Elsy chimes in.
“Oh, fuck off,” Whitney says, rolling his eyes.
We make it through dinner without bloodshed, lingering over dessert until the waitstaff makes it clear we’ve overstayed our welcome.
Bex and I head back to the hotel, hand in hand. I’m eager to get her upstairs, to spend some quality time just the two of us, but when I see a cluster of my teammates in the hotel bar, and they summon us over, I know we’re not getting out of this.
Henry, Gonzo, Logan, and MacGregor sit at a table, each with a paperback in front of them. They didn’t even invite me to this meeting of our book club—how rude!
“Date night?” Henry asks with a cocky smirk.
“Seeing my brother,” Bex says.
His face falls. “Mine are shitheads. They won’t even call me back.”
“There, there.” Gonzo pats the top of his head in mocking consolation. “Most brothers are shitheads.”
“Are you including yourself in that?” Bex teases.
“Oh, yeah. For sure.” He looks so proud of himself, too.
She kisses my cheek. “Stay and hang out with your teammates. I’m going to head up to bed, maybe read a little myself.”
“You sure?” We haven’t been alone together in what feels like forever, nearly fifteen hours.
“I’m sure.” She squeezes my arm. “Just don’t keep me waiting too long.”
Henry sighs. “I wish Auds could travel with the team.”
“Same, but with Riley,” Gonzo adds.
I don’t rub their faces in it… but my satisfied smirk is probably enough of a taunt, because he flips me the middle finger.
As she walks off, I can’t keep my eyes off her. My stare falls to her ass, clad in tight-fitting denim, and a groan falls from my lips.
“Oh, fuck off,” MacGregor snaps. “If you want to go after her, do it.”
“No. She needs time alone.” I shake my head, as if to clear my thoughts. “Book club. Woo-hoo. What are we talking about?”
Henry stares at me for a second, before he too shakes his head. “It’s MacGregor’s turn to pick the next book, and he chose a fucking baseball memoir. Baseball.” He sounds personally offended by the concept.
“I like baseball,” the captain says, his ruddy cheeks pinkening further.
“You can’t score on defense. What’s the point?” Henry counters.
I have to admit, I agree with him. At least in football, the defense can get a pick six. In basketball, a defender can steal the ball and run it to the opposite side of the court.
“Why do I even hang out with you?” MacGregor throws his hands up.
“Because you looooove us,” Logan sings.
“I don’t love you,” his best friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law counters.
“Because you’re our captain, and it looks bad if you don’t hang out with us.” Gonzo laughs, a sharp bark. “Would you rather hang out with Sinclair and Jenkins, picking up barely legal girls in bars?”
“They’re barely legal themselves.” MacGregor shakes his head. “I don’t miss my early twenties, that’s for certain.”
“You never picked up girls back then, either,” Logan says.
“Fuck off.” The captain blushes more.
“I’m just saying, if you need a wingman…” He looks around the table. “Well, fuck. None of us are single.”
“We can still help him out,” I offer. “Bex knows I’d never disrespect her. If it means giving MacGregor a leg up with the lucky lady of the night…”
“That makes it sound like he’s looking for a prostitute.” Henry grins. “I mean, I’m not judging. But the press might.”
“I’m not looking for anyone,” MacGregor shouts, drawing some attention from a nearby table. His shoulders bunch up around his ears, and he grimaces. “I’m not interested. Period.”
“You ace?” Gonzo asks, his voice lacking judgment.
Asexual. No interest in a sexual relationship. Whittaker, my teammate in New Orleans, identifies as ace. When we went out to bars, he wasn’t interested in taking a woman—or man—home. We usually hung out together, since I was still hung up on Bex.
Hmm. Maybe I should text him again. I haven’t heard from him since our brief conversation after my injury. It reminded me of the good times, not only the bad.
“Not ace. Just… too much baggage.” MacGregor sighs. “Can we change the subject, please?”
“Consider it dropped,” Henry says.
“So baseball, then?” Gonzo adds.
Henry sighs. “Baseball it is.”
We hang out for another half hour, shooting the shit and talking about last month’s book, until Logan yawns, and I’m not far behind.
“I think I’m done,” I announce.
“Me too. Going to check on Riley and Emmy, and call it a night,” Gonzo says.
“I should check on Audrey and Cora,” Henry adds.
Logan shrugs. “Hailey texted me an hour ago that she was going to bed.”
“How the hell am I the only single one?” MacGregor mutters, shoving back his chair.
As a group, we head toward the elevator bank. We’re all staying on the eighteenth floor, and as we walk down the hallway, the captain falls into step beside me.
“Hey.” He catches my arm, his face red. “I know you’re going to do whatever you’re going to do, but can you keep it down?”
He’s in the room beside mine.
I can’t smother my chuckle. “I’ll do my best.”
He nods. “Thanks, man.”
“And seriously. If you need a wingman…”
“Nah. I’m not interested. Thanks, though.”
“Anytime.”
I swipe into the room. The main light is off, the room cast in a soft glow from the bedside table. I toe off my shoes in the entry and discard my jacket as I round the corner, and then I stop in my tracks at the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever seen.
Bex.
Naked.
In our bed.