Chapter 16 #2
So I could buy her more expensive gifts, no doubt. I paced the hallway, passing a fake plant on a modern sofa table. “Ocean Club, so it has seafood, I take it.” Malik loved seafood. If we’d do this, I should go to a place he’d enjoy.
“Yes, they have this amazing seafood tower with lots of crab, lobster, oysters, you name it.”
“Let’s plan to go there then. I’ll make reservations for six o’clock that Saturday night.
” It would give us time to walk around the shops before dinner.
I stopped and rubbed my temple. How the hell would I drop her off at the end of the night without her wanting to hook up?
Maybe Malik would have some ideas. We’d have to plan this out beforehand.
“Great, so we can spend the day together shopping and then have dinner and maybe hit a nightclub? Tiffany told me there are some fun places in downtown Scottsdale.”
“Uh…” How could I escape this? “Let’s see how tired Malik and I are. We’ll be playing a big game the night before.” I strolled toward my room. I was ready to end this conversation.
“What are we doing after your game? What time do you think you’ll be done? I’ve heard the players go to a lot of parties after the games.” She snickered. “Tiffany is in a sorority, so I’m sure she’ll know where the best frat party is.”
Oh, good God. As I stopped at the door to my room, I pinched my nose.
“Sure, see what she can find out.” And here, Dad wanted me to take her to the best places.
A frat party wasn’t what he had in mind.
But if it kept her from complaining about me to him, I was up for it.
“Hey, Ella, I need to go. There’s a team meeting starting in a few minutes.
” There wasn’t, but she wouldn’t know. I only wanted to go back to Malik.
“A team meeting? Okay, well, call me tomorrow when you get home.” She freed a long sigh. “I’ll speak to Tiffany in the meantime.”
“Sure.” Fuck, why did I have to call her? A text would be enough. I brushed my fingers along the doorknob, resting my forehead against the door.
“Talk to you soon and play well tonight,” she said.
“I’ll do my best. Bye.” I ended the call, slipped my keycard from the pocket of my joggers and stepped inside.
“Done with your phone call?” Malik, lying on the bed with his back against the headboard, opened his arms.
“I am.” As my lips tugged into a grin and warmth crept through my heart, I crawled over the bed and lay next to him on my side, my cheek resting against his shoulder.
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head. “How was the call? What did she want?”
“She wanted to talk about our plans for Thanksgiving. I told her you’d be joining us, so she should bring her friend.
” I snuck my hand under the hem of his t-shirt and flattened it across his abs.
“We should talk about how to handle the evening with them. She wants to go to Ocean Club. Have you ever been there?” I lifted my head, my gaze meeting his.
“I’ve heard of it. It’s super expensive.” His jaw muscle bulged.
“My father’s paying, so don’t worry about that.” I skimmed my fingers up his stomach and across his nipple. It peaked under my touch. Only a few hours had gone by since we’d last had each other. I wanted only to feel close to him, to make certain he understood how little Ella meant to me.
His breath hitched, and his eyes darkened. “Grey…” Scraping his teeth across his lower lip, he said, “Tell me what else you spoke about.”
“She wants us to go to a frat party after the game. Then before the dinner at Ocean Club, we’ll walk the shops with them. I guess the restaurant is in a shopping mall?”
“Yep, Kierland. It’ll be decorated for Christmas that weekend. It’s a high-end area.” He peered toward the ceiling. “That would’ve been a pleasant date, just for us.”
“We can go again without the girls.” My heart ached for him. “Malik? I’m as unhappy about this as you are.” I spread my hand across the middle of his chest, brushing the stubble between his pecs.
“I understand. It’s just…what if you said no to your father? What if you told him she wasn’t the one for you?” His gaze fell on mine.
“I can’t do that without having at least one date with her.” I knew my dad. He’d say I hadn’t given her a chance. “Tell you what, after Thanksgiving I’ll tell him it didn’t work out.” I shifted higher on the bed, studying him.
“Yeah, okay.” His lips flattened. “But what if you hit it off with her?”
“That won’t happen. I’d already like her if that were the case.” Shit, what if Malik hit it off with Tiffany? No, I wouldn’t go there. I pressed a kiss against his cheek. “You have nothing to worry about. Please trust me on this.”
“Yeah, okay.” He turned to face me. “I like what we have, Grey. I’ve never…” As his gaze darted between my eyes, he sank his teeth into his lower lip.
“Never what?” An ache rose in my chest and spread to my limbs. I needed to hear the rest of the sentence. “Talk to me, Malik.”
“I’ve never felt so much for anyone before.” He hugged me to his chest. “Fuck, Grey. I’m a little scared here.”
“Don’t be.” Could it be he felt the same as me?
Had he fallen in love with me? “You have me, Malik. All of me.” I clung to him.
We had to make it work. “Let’s get through this season and end it with this stupid date and then we’ll be free.
Okay?” But would we? I’d still have to deal with my father and whatever new socialite he’d set me up with. But that was tomorrow’s problem.
“Free…” He choked out a chuckle. “I like that.”
We were well into the first quarter, and our thinking had proven correct—Mississippi was double-teaming Bailey, which left me with more than my fair share of runs.
But I’d only gained maybe twenty yards. It was slow going, and the score showed it, with neither team having any points on the board.
I had to play better, but Grady, the fucking defensive lineman covering me, was a fast fucker and was up in my grill with every play.
As I lined up along our forty-yard line on our third down, I peeked at the sideline.
Malik sat on the bench next to Coley, his hands fisted on his thighs.
James called to the team, and our center snapped the ball to him.
I sprinted out and to the right, the lineman on my heels. My gaze caught James’s as he pumped the ball, faking a pass at Bailey and then shooting the ball toward me.
As I jumped and caught it, the lineman grabbed my legs, pummeling me into the turf. “Fuck!” I had to keep the ball, damn it. I hugged the ball to my chest as I went down, and my shoulder hit first, knocking the wind out of me.
“You’re going nowhere, Moore.” The lineman growled as he pushed off me and stood.
As I struggled to find my breath, I did a mental check of my body. My legs were okay, but my shoulder fucking hurt. I rolled onto my back and stared at the bright lights against the setting sun.
“Moore, are you okay?” Malik’s voice cut through the air.
Then Randy’s face came into view. “Moore, are you good or are you hurt?” He grabbed the football from me and tossed it to the ref.
I sat up and moved my shoulder in a circle, a sharp pain prickling through me. “I think I’m okay. But my shoulder—”
“Don’t move it. Let me look.” Randy held my arm and brought it forward. “How’s this?” He slowly moved it to the side. “It doesn’t seem dislocated.”
“Yeah, I think it’s okay.” The pain subsided. “I must have pinched a nerve or something.” My gaze swept to the sideline, where Malik stood at the very edge, his hands planted on his hips and his forehead wrinkling. “Don’t take me out of the game. It’s okay. Just a stinger or something.”
“Okay, well they’re punting now anyway, so you can recuperate before you go out again.” He stood and stretched a hand to me. “Come on.”
I took his hand, and he pulled me up. The crowd cheered as I walked off the field with Randy.
“Grey, are you all right? What happened?” Malik hooked an arm around my waist and guided me to the bench. “Can I get you something? Ice pack? Gatorade?”
After pulling off my helmet, I said, “I’m fine. Just a stinger.” I plopped onto the bench, watching the ball fly over the field after the punt. “Maybe a Gatorade.”
“Sure.” Malik departed briefly, then reappeared holding a filled cup. “Here.”
I took the cup from him and sipped. “Fucking hell, man, that linebacker is all over my ass.”
“Yeah, Grady’s got your number, and he’s fast. You need to outmaneuver him.” Malik dropped in beside me.
Coach Barlow stepped in front of me, eyeing me up and down. “You good, Moore?”
“I am.” I gulped the drink down. “I’ll do better next time out.” Was I letting him down? Hell, I was letting myself down.
Patting my shoulder, Coach glanced at Malik. “Thompson, tell him how to get away from Grady, will ya?” He smirked.
“Of course.” With a soft snort, Malik said, “Look, he’s too big for the fast stops and starts, but you’re not. Fake the guy out. Make him think you’re turning left and then turn right. You can do this. We worked on it in camp, remember?”
“I do.” He was right. I was so busy worrying about yards, I wasn’t focusing on my footwork. “Anything else?”
“Just…have faith in yourself. I’ve seen what you can do. Grab the fucking ball and run your amazing ass off.” He leaned in, his gaze falling on my lips. “I’d fucking kiss you if there weren’t thousands of people around.” He lifted the corner of his mouth.
“I know you would.” I patted his thigh. “After the game, you can kiss me all you want.”
We’d finally put some points on the board in the second half as Bailey caught a few passes and ran one in for a touchdown.
Otherwise, our kicker had been working overtime with field goals.
But we were ahead by three points and with Malik’s advice, I’d gotten past Grady and was finally seeing the open lanes in Mississippi’s defense.
As we lined up on the twenty-yard line with six minutes to go, it was time for my touchdown. I could feel it in my bones, and the play James had called would work. I was sure of it.
“How’s the shoulder, Moore?” Grady glared at me from across the line of scrimmage.
“Great. How’s the knee?” He’d gone down at the end of the third quarter, and their trainer had wrapped it for him. I could use this to my advantage too.
“Perfect. Never been better.” He peeked down the line as our center snapped the ball, and then he pounced at me.
I skipped away from him, rushed to James and grabbed the ball. After tucking it into my side, I scanned the players for a hole.
Tex shoved a guy aside, and the players parted.
I darted through them, sidestepping another lineman, and set my sights on the goal.
“Go Moore! You’ve got this!” Malik shouted from the sideline.
With my heart pumping wildly, I pushed faster. I couldn’t let him down. I had to get this touchdown and prove to everyone, including my father, that I belonged on the field. Playing football was my purpose. And loving Malik…
As I high-stepped across the goal line, a Mississippi safety grabbed my legs, taking me down.
The stadium erupted in noise, and the announcer said, “Touchdown Arizona.”
“Fuck yeah.” I jumped to my feet and sprinted toward the sideline where Malik waited with open arms.
“You fucking did it!” Throwing his arms around my waist, Malik picked me up and spun me. “That was the most beautiful touchdown I’ve ever seen.” As he set me down, his smile reached his eyes. “Perfection, Moore.”
“Come on.” With a sharp laugh, I cupped his cheek. Damn, this felt good, and I got to share it with him.
“No, really. You ran the route flawlessly. I couldn’t have done it better myself.” He slapped my ass. “I can’t wait until later.” He wagged his brows at me.
“Me neither.” I turned to Coach Barlow, who gave me a quick up-nod. We hadn’t sealed the game yet, but this touchdown would certainly help.
“Good job, Moore.” Coach Reid strolled by me and patted my back. “I like the teamwork I’m seeing from both of you.”
“Thanks, Coach.” Malik beamed at him. “It’s all about the win.” He gave me a sly grin.