Chapter Twenty-Six
~DEX~
The Blaze pulled out a win but that wasn’t the best part of the night.
The best part was spending the entire ninety minutes of the game holding her hand.
I could tell she was itching to be out there on that field.
Her little foot would move like she was kicking an imaginary ball.
It was adorable. I could watch games with her all day long. I wish it wasn’t because she was hurt.
Amelia’s with the team now, listening to the after-game speeches from coaches and the captain. I came in here to take care of a few things before we head home for the night. I’m startled by a knock on my door. I look up and it’s August.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?” August asks, coming into the office.
“It’s going alright, congratulations on the win tonight. The team looked good.”
“They sure did. How was Amelia during the game? I noticed that the two of you were sitting together really close on the bench.” He grins at me like the cat that ate the canary.
“What are you getting at, August?”
August laughs at me. “Relax, there is nothing to hide here. I like to give you shit about it. Unless there’s something that you’re not telling me.”
I sigh and look back at the door; I can still hear the sounds of the team talking. “I’m worried that it’s too soon after my divorce to be jumping into something with her. What if I hurt her the way I did Elise?”
August looks over his shoulder, checking for the same thing, I think, “Do you think it’s too soon to be dating her?”
“I’m not sure. But I know it’s hard to stop now that I’ve started. August, she’s fucking amazing. She is the furthest thing from Elise that you can get,” I admit.
“And do you think you would ever do that to Amelia? Do you think you honestly could look at another woman while you’re with Amelia?”
“No, I don’t.” There’s conviction in my tone. “I know that, for the first time in a while, someone else’s happiness is more important than my own. That fact scares me a little bit.”
“I’ve been told that if you’re scared, it just means it’s worth doing. So, I think you’re going to be just fine, Dex. You’re seeing the error of your ways, and I don’t think you’d hurt Amelia the way you did Elise. Understanding that if you did, everyone in this facility would kick your ass.”
I chuckle, knowing he’s not kidding. “I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“Then I say let it be. Continue to do what you’re doing, because I think it’s working for you and don’t hurt her,” August warns me.
“I won’t,” I promise him.
He nods, “I’ve been texting with Jase and we’re thinking about heading over to the Backwoods for some drinks. Bringing the girls along too. Would you want to come?”
“Umm, yeah, as long as Amelia is alright with it. We can go.”
He grins at me and chuckles. “Alright, check with the missus and let me know.”
“Please don’t call her that, that brings back bad memories.”
“Sorry! I won’t do that again.”
The clinking of crutches causes my head to snap towards the door. “What won’t you do again?” Amelia asks as she makes her way into the training room.
“Hey you, how are you?” I ask her, ignoring her question.
“Backwoods tonight?” August asks her.
Amelia looks between the two of us. “Fine, don’t tell me what you two were talking about. The Backwoods sounds like fun. As long as Dex is in, I’m in.”
“Oh, so this is going to be one of those two-for-one deals?” August teases.
“No, he’s my ride to the bar because he drove me to the stadium.”
“Yeah, I’m in, if you’re up for it,” I tell her.
She grins. “Yeah, I think it will be fun. I wanna go and celebrate with the girls.”
“Great, well, then I will see you all there in a bit. I have to check in on a few things, and I’ll meet everyone there,” August says before leaving the office.
“How was it being in the team room?” I ask her. I could tell when I drove her across the field and Watts told her he expected to see her in the room, that she didn’t love the idea. But she went anyway.
“It was actually nice. Such great energy and happiness in there. I’m glad we won. I think it would have been harder if we’d lost because then I would have felt like there was something that I could have done to make this a win.”
“Makes sense. I’m glad it was a win too. It was a good game.”
“It sure was,” she says, smiling brightly at me. “So, tell me, what are the rules while we are out with our friends? Am I allowed to hold your hand? Lean on you or kiss your lips in their presence, or would you like me to be more restrained.”
I smirk and walk over to her, take her face in my hands, I lean and, kiss her gently.
“I would like you to do whatever you are comfortable with, Amelia. I am not ashamed to say that I am with you. I will proudly let you kiss me, hold my hand, or, fuck, you can mount me on the bar if you would like. Just be careful, peach, because getting up there with your knee could be tricky.”
Her cheeks flush and I feel her lean into me. “Oh really, is that something you’re okay with, me mounting you on the bar?”
I chuckle, “Well, most of them are your friends, so I don’t want to embarrass you in front of them. But if mounting is acceptable by all parties, then let’s do it.”
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” she giggles. “I think I’m going to like bringing you around everyone.”
I follow her out of the office when she stops to adjust her crutch, I lean down and whisper into her ear, “Do your worst to me, Amelia. I’m all yours.
” I see her shudder at my words. I like that I have this effect on her.
I can’t wait to see how she responds to me when I put my lips on somewhere other than her mouth.
We make it into the Backwoods, and I can see that August, Jase and the girls are at a table. August sees us first and waves us over.
“Come on, guys, we have some beer and a bunch of apps coming,” he calls over the crowd.
“He’s always the life of the party,” Amelia says, laughing as she makes her way through the crowd.
“He always has been,” I tell her. Ever since I met August, he has always had a crowd around him. People are often drawn to him like gravity. It’s nice to see that the August I knew in college still exists even if sometimes his father wished it didn’t.
When we reach the table, I help Amelia sit down beside Hendrix, and I take the seat beside August. Thankfully, those seats are next to each other.
“Is she taking pills or can she drink?” August asks, holding up the bar glass.
“I can have a beer or two,” she tells him. Before August pours he looks over at me. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, he is not my mother. Just poor the damn beer.”
The girls all howl with laughter and August shakes his head. “Just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to mess her up with a beer.”
“Appreciate it, man,” I tell him.
I sip on the darker amber liquid that August poured me. “Let me guess, you selected this one?” I say, turning to Jase.
“Dark beer is the only type of beer to drink. This light shit tastes like warm piss.” He shakes his head. “I’ll educate the table if it’s the last thing I do.”
I nod and tilt my glass in Jase’s direction. Cassie is sitting close to him, and I see her arm wrapped around his, keeping him close. It’s cute. Poor Mac is sitting alone between Cassie and August.
“No Danny tonight?” I hear Amelia ask her.
“Nope,” she says, shaking her head. “He’s on his way home from a meet. The team did well, and I think he’s happy with the results. I should see him in about two hours.”
Cassie leans over and hugs her tightly. “I’m sure that he’ll be home as soon as he can.”
Mac nods. “I know. I wish he could have been here.”
“Well, I sent him your goal, so he got to see it,” August tells her.
Mac’s head snaps in his direction. “You actually did that?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“No, he didn’t mention that you were the one who sent it to him. He saw it and he was super proud of me,” she tells August.
There is the man I know, I think to myself. The man who sends highlights of his friend’s girlfriend so that he doesn’t miss a game or an important moment.
“I hope he can make it to the playoffs,” Mac is saying. “I’m not sure what the schedule looks like and until we lock that down, I have nothing to give him.”
“We’re well on our way to locking that shit down,” Hendrix tells her. “You’ll have a schedule to give him before you know it. And if I know Danny, he will move heaven and earth to be at as many of those games as he can.”
Mac nods. “I know, I thought when he went to a job as a coach for a separate sport, one that I thought was happening during the winter, that my game schedule wouldn’t be impacted.” She looks around the table and adds, “I know I sound ungrateful but damn, I miss looking up there and seeing him.”
“I can get you a Danny cutout if you would prefer,” August teases her. “That way it’s like he’s always there.”
“That won’t be necessary, but I appreciate you offering to buy me a Danny cutout,” Mac replies.
The food that was ordered shows up and we all begin digging in.
“Damn, this is quite a spread,” I say looking over all the mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, sliders and pretzel sticks that are around the table.
“Yeah, we give up on eating healthy for a bit after a win like that one,” Hendrix says, looking over at me. “Sorry if this is not what our trainer would want us eating.”
“You’re not playing right now, so what do I care what you eat?” I wink at her.
“Oh goody, here I was worried that my spread would be a problem,” August says, grinning at me.
“I have no issues with it, as long as I get a mozzarella stick.”
“Well, here, let me help you with that,” Amelia says, lifting the fried goodness to my lips. I take a bite, and she pulls it away so that I can see the delicious mozzarella pulling out from the fried breading. She pops the opposite end into her mouth and goes to separate it.