Chapter 35
Fin
Saturday morning under the blankets, I held Vee in my arms. “You know, since you’ll be at the same hotel in Houston, I could sneak into your suite tonight.”
She giggled. My warm breath tickled her neck as she wiggled her round ass against my regrowing erection. I was ready for round two.
Vee spun in my embrace. Her beautiful emerald stare looked up at me. “I’d rather we don’t cause problems before the last regular season game.”
“We got away with it in Las Vegas.”
“Yeah, but you know what they say about Vegas.”
I smoothed rogue tendrils of hair away from her face. “I don’t want to pressure you.”
Her eyes opened wider.
“The lease on my apartment was for six months. It expires in March.”
Vee’s lower lip disappeared behind her front teeth.
“I know cohabitation was the straw with Clark. I can renew my lease.”
The intensity of her stare grew. “Why was your lease only six months? You signed a three-year deal.”
“It was originally a one-year contract. The season would be over by March.”
She exhaled. “You’re right. I was afraid you only signed a six-month lease because you had a contingency plan to leave the Coopers.”
I shrugged. “Maybe in the beginning.” I lifted my face to my fist, my elbow on my pillow, and looked down at Vee. “I had no idea how you and I would go. I never dreamt that by the first of the year, I’d be talking to you about moving in. I didn’t know if you’d even speak to me.”
Her smile curled. “We haven’t talked much this morning.”
“I didn’t dare to imagine we’d be where we are.”
“So, you don’t want to leave the Coopers?”
Slowly, I shook my head. “I don’t care if I spend the rest of this season, the postseason, and the next two years on the sidelines. I want to be here, in Lexington, with you and the Coopers.”
“Can I think about the official cohabitation thing?”
“Unless the thought makes you spiral. If that’s the case, I’ll keep my apartment forever. That way you always have the option to kick me out.”
Vee palmed my scruffy cheeks and brought our lips together. “It will be late Sunday or early Monday before we’re home. I’ll tell you then.”
“There’s no rush.”
“Okay.”
When we finally made our way out of bed, I pulled on nylon basketball shorts and went to the kitchen. Pouring Vee’s coffee, I took it to her in the en suite bathroom. She was inside the steamy shower. Enthralled, I leaned against the wall and watched as she coated her hair and skin with warm water.
Vee gasped and opened the glass door. “You startled me.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Voyeur much?”
“By definition, yes.” I stepped away from the wall. “I brought you coffee.”
A smile came to her lips. “You know, you’re too good to me.”
I walked closer and scanned from her wet hair to her toes. “I like taking care of you.”
“You’re spoiling me.”
Leaning in, I kissed her nose. “Your coffee is on the vanity. And I’m making omelets for breakfast.”
“If you’re trying to influence my decision, it’s working.”
Vee was stunning as she came into the living room and kitchen wheeling her overnight luggage. Her long hair was down. She was wearing blue jeans with wide legs that tapered up to her small waist, a fitted cream-colored sweater, and her cowboy boots.
When I saw the boots, I furrowed my brow. “I’m definitely sneaking into your suite tonight.”
Her laugh filled the air.
“Breakfast smells fantastic.”
“It’s the onions.”
We sat next to one another at the kitchen island as we’d done most mornings over the last three months. “You lied to me,” I said in jest.
“About what?”
“You said if I kept cooking for you, you’d gain fifty pounds. I don’t think you’ve gained an ounce.”
“Well, you see, Mr. Graham, your strategy appears to be working. Your cooking is balanced by your ferocious sexual appetite.”
“I think it’s a good balance.”
“If your libido ever decreases, I may need to look into running.”
It was my turn to laugh. “I’d take sex over running any day.”
“Me too.” She took a bite of the omelet and hummed. “So good.”
“Sex. I agree.”
Vee elbowed me. “The omelet.”
After breakfast, Vee and I cleaned our dishes. She disappeared down the hall. When she came back, her breath was minty fresh. As she put on her winter coat, I leaned against the wall and crossed my ankles. “You’ll be in Houston before the team.”
“What’s your schedule? I should know.” She shook her head.
“There’s been a lot going on this week.” She opened her eyes wide.
“Aunt Rachel and I met again with Janine Watson. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but if we can secure financial support for infrastructure improvements and additions, I think the Coopers have a real shot at a bid for the Super Bowl. ”
“First goal is to win one.”
“One game at a time.”
After she buttoned her coat, I stepped forward. “I love you, Vee Hubbard. I’ll be watching you on the sidelines.”
“I’ll be watching you too.” She brushed her lips with mine. “I love you.”
The team met at Maker’s Mark for light practice.
That meant no pads or helmets. It was basically flag football without the flags.
We ran plays and worked out options. The coaches spent the past week drilling the Texans’ defense into our offensive heads.
Unlike the Jaguars who played man defense, the Texans relied on zone defense.
In zone, the defenders read the QB’s eyes and anticipated throws—the tells Pickett told me about. Statistically, zone defense was more efficient with nearly ten percent lower expected points added—EPA—per play.
NFL rules required visiting teams to be in the destination city no less than eighteen hours before game time.
While there were no straight commercial flights from Lexington to Houston, the Coopers’ plane would get us there in around an hour and a half.
Since the NFL moved our kickoff time from three thirty to 7:20 p.m.—Central time—we showered and ate lunch at Maker’s Mark before heading to the airport.
Once we touched down, I sent Vee a text message telling her that the team landed and we’re on our way to NRG Stadium.
The Texans were one of the few NFL teams that used their stadium as their practice facility and headquarters.
They recently announced plans for a new 83-acre development in the near future.
The coaches had us run some walkthroughs at NRG Stadium before heading to the Houston Grand Hotel—River Oaks. I’d stayed in the same hotel when it was named St. Regis. After checking into our rooms, we met for a series of different meetings followed by a high-protein dinner.
Once back in my room, I called Vee.
She picked up on the second ring. “No.”
I laughed. “That’s no way to answer your phone.”
“I’m not telling you my room number.”
“I just wanted to hear your voice.”
Vee sighed. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. I know the Sunday Night game is a coveted time slot, but I would rather we play at one o’clock. We’ll be lucky to get back to Lexington before two in the morning.”
“Will you meet with Coach Tilson at seven?”
“Yes. I’ll probably collapse Monday night.”
“You can collapse,” I said. “I’ll catch you.”
“You know,” Vee said, “I asked Daphne a while back why Dad wasn’t at Maker’s Mark on time for his meeting with Coach Tilson. She said she didn’t know about the meeting and said he probably overslept. I’ve been thinking about that.”
“Did he oversleep because of the Benadryl?”
“If he did, how is Bre being blamed for it. He slept at home.”
“When do you think you’ll be questioned?”
“Trish doesn’t know. It depends on the attorneys involved.”
“I’m open for phone sex.” A laugh bellowed from my belly as Vee made sensual noises, moans, and whimpers.
“You’re not supposed to laugh.”
“I couldn’t help it,” I said as the sound of her yawn came through the phone. “I hate to hang up, but we should.”
“I want to curl into you in our bed and sleep for days.”
“Our bed,” I repeated. “I like the sound of that. Good night, Vee.”
“’Night, Fin. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”