CHAPTER 40 #2
A smile tugs on my lips. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before? Can I get a weekly subscription sent to him?”
She laughs. “We’ll set it up when we get back to…well, your place, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah, I just got some toys that I want to try out on you.”
“Toys?” she asks just as our drinks are placed on the bar. I stick a twenty in the tip jar and hand Maple her drink.
“Yeah, you nervous?”
“With you? Never.”
“Good answer,” I say as I take her lips with mine, leaving it as a simple kiss but letting everyone in the room know she belongs to me.
“Aw, it’s about time.” I pull away just enough to see Scarlett, Hutton’s wife, walk up to us wearing a pair of skinny jeans, white sneakers, and a white tank top that shows off her toned midriff.
Hutton is right behind her in a matching outfit, which makes me smile.
“I’ve been asking Hutton to set up a dinner so I could meet Maple, and I can’t believe it’s taken a team dinner to make it happen. ”
Scarlett pauses and then studies Maple for a second. “Holy shit.” She laughs. “Oh my God, why am I so stupid?”
“Do you know each other?” I ask, feeling confused.
Scarlett pulls Maple into a hug and holds her tight.
“Girl, why am I so dumb?” Scarlett asks as she pulls away.
Maple chuckles. “Uh, no, why am I so dumb?”
“Kind of feeling dumb as well,” Hutton says, raising a hand.
“Babe, this is Maple.”
“Yes, I know,” Hutton says. “She’s been at training camp all week.”
“No, this is Maple, one of Everly’s bridesmaids from her wedding.”
Hutton pauses, scratches his head, and then laughs. “Oh fuck, you’re right.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together. I even follow Flock and Tackle.” Scarlett shakes her head. “Babe, I might be losing it.”
“I want to say you’re not, but…this is pretty damning.”
“You know what? I blame Everly,” Maple says. “I don’t know why she didn’t say anything. You work with her, and I’ve gone to her several times about—ehhhh.” She glances at me, and I question her with a look.
“What have you gone to her several times about?”
“Oh, you know.” She smiles cutely. “How to handle a broody defensive end who used to scowl more than smile.”
“You know, he is smiling a little bit more. It’s a little freaky,” Hutton says. “Don’t know what to do when he’s flashing his teeth all the time.”
I glare at my friend, who laughs.
“Ah, there it is, the murderous expression I’ve come to love.”
Ignoring him, I say, “So you two know each other?”
“We do,” Maple says. She turns to Scarlett. “I guess I kind of forgot that you were married to a football player. You don’t really talk about it.”
“Oof, can’t hear that enough,” Hutton says, hand to chest. “My wife not talking about me feels really good.”
Scarlett rolls her eyes. “Please, you get enough attention.”
“Not from the right person.” He snags his arm around her waist and kisses her neck. She leans into him for a moment before pulling away but keeps close as she slides her arm around his waist as well.
“Okay, so we are both dense, didn’t put everything together, and are now here with someone we know. Looks like it all worked out.”
“You know the other wives,” Hutton says.
Scarlett scoffs. “I know them, but that doesn’t mean I like them.
” She winks. “I like Maple. She takes care of flamingos, and now that she’s here, we can get to know each other better.
I’ve only ever really seen her in passing, so this is exciting.
I can hear all about the flamingo keeper who has put a smile on our nasty friend’s face. ”
“Nasty?” I ask.
“Well, you know…you don’t have the best bedside manner.”
“She’s right.” Hutton claps me on the shoulder. “You’re kind of a dick.”
Maple kisses my shoulder and smiles up at me. “But he’s my nasty dick.”
“Can you not call me that?” I ask as everyone laughs.
“She’s a keeper if she’s claiming you as her nasty dick.” Hutton chuckles. “Shit, I should have that put on a jersey for you. Instead of your last name, it will just say Nasty Dick with your number.”
“Ooh, maybe that’s the jersey I can wear at your first game,” Maple says, looking far too excited about it.
“You’re not wearing ‘nasty dick’ on your back.”
“I don’t know, has a bit of pizzazz to it,” Scarlett says with a shake of her shoulders. “And the chants.” She cups her hands over her mouth and says, “Bury their heads, nasty dick. Bury them.”
“Okay.” I take a step back. “If this is how it’s going to be, I think I’m going to go talk to someone else.”
“Great,” Scarlett says, looping her arm through Maple’s. “We will just take this little gem with us and get to know her better. Have fun.”
Scarlett waves, and before I can stop her, she directs Maple toward a high-top table where they both take a seat.
“Well, that idea backfired,” Hutton says as I keep my eyes on Maple and how she so effortlessly fits right in with Scarlett.
“Yeah…it did,” I say absentmindedly as a lightness fills my chest.
I’ve been to several of these kickoff party dinners. I’ve stayed for no more than an hour and made an appearance just to make it seem like I’m a team player, but I’ve gone home alone, annoyed and irritated that I had to go in the first place.
But this year…it’s different.
Because I have Maple.
And she brings light to the dark life I’ve been living. She makes the colors around me brighter, the heaviness in my chest weightless, and makes me think of a future rather than just the day-to-day grind.
“Oh shit,” Hutton says, pulling my attention back to the present.
“What?”
“I know that look.” He shakes his head. “Graydon, you’re into her, really into her.”
I slowly nod, my eyes trailing over my girl. “Yeah, I fucking am.”
“Graydon, it would be great if you could come over to our house sometime and wash our dishes since you’re so good at it,” Scarlett says as she and Maple walk up to us, each of them holding a plate of food.
Hutton and I found a four-person table, but only with three seats, so I take Maple’s plate, set it down in front of us, then have her take a seat on my lap, where I circle my arm around her waist and hold on to her.
“And deprive you of watching Hutton slip on rubber gloves to clean them himself? I would never.”
“Do you really wear rubber gloves?” Maple asks as she stabs her fork into some of her salad.
“My hands get pruney quick,” Hutton says as he takes a bite of his cheeseburger.
The Foghorns have dinner catered by multiple local restaurants from a variety of cuisines.
A dessert bar spans three tables, including a make-your-own sundae bar for the kids.
The drinks are all free—the least they can do—and now that I have a date, it’s honestly one of the best kickoff dinners I’ve ever had.
“How did you two become friends?” Maple asks, motioning between Hutton and me. “Because you’re offense and defense and, frankly, don’t seem like a likely pairing.”
“We’re not,” I say as I slip my fingers under the hem of Maple’s dress.
I already ate and am now just picking at my plate.
“It’s really a stupid story,” Scarlett says.
“Oh? I like stupid stories.”
Hutton wipes his mouth and places his napkin on the table. “I was new to the team, was unaware that Graydon was—as we have established—a nasty dick, and started sitting next to him in the cafeteria because no one was sitting near him. Didn’t think much of it and started talking to him.”
“And he talked back?” Maple asks, surprised.
“No. But then I saw it as a challenge, so I kept sitting next to him and talking. Bonded over our favorite flavor of Gatorade. And when I say bonded, I mean I talked about how his choice of lemon-lime was the same choice as mine. He didn’t start budging until one day on the airplane when he forgot his headphones, and I had a spare.
I let him borrow them, and from then on, we were besties. ”
“Headphones, that’s all it takes?” Maple asks.
“My dad was on the plane, and his voice was grating on my nerves. Hutton saved me.”
“You heard it here first,” Hutton says, sitting taller. “Graydon said I saved him.”
Maple chuckles. “Why do I feel like he’s going to make a T-shirt that says that?”
“And why do I feel like I’m the one who will have to make it?” Scarlett asks.
“Because you’re so good at it,” Hutton says while kissing Scarlett.
I press a kiss to Maple’s shoulder and then lean my chin against it as Maple asks Scarlett and Hutton, “And how did you two meet?”
“College,” Scarlett answers. “We went to Brentwood University in Chicago. He played football there.”
“Yeah, and she played the field.”
Scarlett scoffs, playfully swatting Hutton. “Oh my God, as if you have room to talk.”
“Listen, I was ready to settle down with you. You were a hard one to catch.”
Scarlett rolls her eyes dramatically. “That’s not how it went.”
“That’s entirely how it went. I was desperate for your attention. You were not desperate at all, and it took a whole lot of convincing on my end to get you to commit.”
Scarlett shrugs. “Can’t blame a girl for wanting a man to prove that he actually wants her. Right, Maple? Did Graydon prove to you that he wanted you?”
Maple glances at me and smiles softly. Her thumb tugs on the corner of my lip. “He did. Although, before that, I thought he was toying with me because he would text me thirst traps.”
“No way,” Scarlett says, eyes wide. “Graydon St. John sent you thirst traps?”
“They were not thirst traps,” I answer with a heavy sigh.
“Uh, you were shirtless, and you angled up so I could see your entire chest and abs.”
“Really?” Hutton asks with humor.
“It was the angle that I found to be most flattering.” I shrug, making the table laugh.
“Wow, thirst traps from Graydon St. John. Did you save them?” Scarlett asks.
“I might have.”
“Really?” I ask.
Maple’s cheeks blush. “How could I not? It was a thirst trap from the nasty dick.”
“Jesus,” I grumble while Scarlett laughs.
“Well, maybe you can show me later.” She wiggles her brows, only for Hutton to playfully pinch her side.
“Hey, you can get thirst traps from me. You don’t need to see his.” He then looks at me and Maple. “See what I told you? A wandering eye, this one.”
“Oh my God.” Scarlett turns to Hutton and cups his face. “You really are annoying.” Then she plants a big kiss on his lips, only for him to cup the back of her head and pull her in closer.
Yeah, it’s doubtful Scarlett is going anywhere with that “wandering” eye.