18. Chapter 18
Saint
Two of the touchdowns are mine. It’s a good performance, but a voice deep within my skull nags me that I need to push for more.
Nothing less than exceptional sportsmanship will convince the team to keep me.
I better break a couple of records or I won't get a chance at the MVP award, and that's a risk I can't take.
I don't let myself worry too much about it tonight. With this win, we're basically guaranteed to make the playoffs. I let myself celebrate it with everyone in the locker room, before heading up to the suite.
Ames will be there, and I can ignore my fears of a trade for a bit longer, if I can focus on her.
I follow the guys to the top-most floor, and I enter the room last. Bear and Pen already laugh over a joke I didn't hear, and he takes her face in his hands and kisses her forehead.
For a quick second I assume they're about to kiss, but no.
It's a sweet, tender moment, and I look away.
Logan and Evie embrace and do in fact kiss, but I skip over them too. I seek the sight of Ames .
She stands near the TV, gazing at me with nerves and expectation. The voice in my head disappears. Warmth infuses my blood. My chest opens, ready to welcome her into me.
I take slow steps toward her, our eyes locked. I gaze at her, thankful she's here, and hungry for a reaction— anything— from her. Eventually, I stop less than a stride away. It gives her room to decide the next move.
It's a good move. She takes a step closer to me. Like she assessed our distance and deemed it immense. Like she wants to fix it, only I'm not sure what that entails. I cock my head and smirk, watching her make up her mind.
Her eyes glint. "Congratulations, Gael."
She gives me a slow kiss on the cheek. It lingers.
I take a deep breath. The simple praise grabs me by the heart and adds a few extra pumps to my system. It's the kiss, of course, but also…
"Stop using my first name," I rasp.
"But I like using it."
I like it as well. Too much. I give her a dubious look because I can't encourage her to use my name if it's going to make me weak for her like this.
I've always preferred people to call me Saint. It's the easiest pronunciation and it goes with my brand. But my name on her lips… fuck.
"I love that I'm the only one who uses it," she adds. "And I feel like I deserve the special treatment, after I put myself through the stress of watching you play."
"Uhm, I played wonderfully, thank you very much. Did you see me score two touchdowns?"
"Uhm, yeah," she mocks. "I also noticed the tackles."
"Oh, Amy. Were you looking very closely?"
Tell me you were watching me closely.
"Don't call me Amy," she complains.
It only makes me want to tease her harder.
I step closer to her. "Amelia. How closely were you looking at me?"
"Very close." She blinks twice. Slowly. "I didn't look at anyone else. "
It's a bigger win than getting the team into the playoffs. The need to jump and fist bump the air invigorates my limbs, but I pull back. I give her one of my boy-next-door smiles.
"I like that," I say.
"I was worried about you. Are you okay? That last tackle looked awful."
"Everything is very okay now."
Her phone rings and she takes a step back.
"Yeah?" She retrieves her phone from her pocket.
She gets a half-worried, half-annoyed look, and groans. I steal a glance. It's Aidan.
"I might have a bruise on the left side of my chest," I add. "It hurts a bit at the moment."
And my heart, too, but I don't mention that. I know her attention is half on the call already.
"Sorry," she says. "I just— there are a few questions I've been meaning to ask him."
My stomach drops to the bottom of my belly. It's an icky feeling. I nod.
She scurries to a corner and answers the call. Joy isn't anywhere to be seen, which comforts me. She looks anxious at first, then royally irritated.
I purse my lips and keep track from afar.
"You okay there?" Evie shows up by my side.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I steal a glance at my friend, but return to Ames right away.
She's still on the phone. She rubs her eyebrows, and the gesture broadcasts her anger.
"You had a great game." Logan stands next to Evie, holding her hand. "But your face looks more like mine at the moment."
I stare at him. It takes me a second to first notice I frown, and to belatedly smooth my brow.
"I'm fine," I say .
Bear and Pen join us. I check on Ames. Yep, still angry.
"Clearly," Pen smirks. "You're okay."
"How are you enjoying your living situation?" Evie studies me closely. "It's a big change, getting a roommate so suddenly."
"It's great."
"Are you ready to go back to the club?" Bear asks.
I know what he's implying. Dating has been my way of life for a long time, and I stopped all at once. It's got to be confusing for them.
To me it hasn't been a problem in the least. Any sexual frustration I feel has to do with having Ames on the other side of a wall every night, and not being able to do anything about it. I haven't spared a thought for other women.
Maybe there's a world where I can please every one of my friends, and get to enjoy myself, too.
"I'll see if Ames wants to go to the club," I say. "We'll join you tomorrow."
"She might," Pen says. "We were talking about the club earlier. When it was clear you guys would win the game, we told her we should go celebrate."
"Let's do it, then."
"So back to normal… but not really." Bear grins. The scar on his top lip goes white and stark against his dark beard.
"Things are normal," I argue.
Ames finishes her call. I perk up and watch her come to us.
"Absolutely the same," Evie teases.
I pretend like I didn't hear it.
"Everything okay?" Pen asks.
"I'm getting Aidan off my list before I forget again." She taps on her phone several times. "So annoying. Someone from the late night show recognized me on TV during the game and told him I was here. I didn't even know we'd end up on the screen!"
"Sorry," Evie says. "They started doing that last year when they realized we're fun to watch. Our reactions, the gossip, et cetera. "
"It's all the show around the game," Logan explains.
"Well, it pissed Aidan off." Ames puts her phone in her pocket and crosses her arms. "Good. All I wanted to know was why he cheated, which he never explained last time, remember?"
Bear, Logan, and I nod.
She continues with her justified rant. "He couldn't answer a single question this time either. I still didn't get an explanation why he did it. All he did was tell me I should forgive him. As if."
"Do you want to go to the club with us?" I ask. "It would piss him off more."
"We have to go." She smirks. "I told him I was going with you guys. Pen mentioned you all like going, often on a Monday since Tuesdays are your day off. Please don't let me look bad. I made a hundred assumptions."
"Of course we'll go tomorrow," Bear says. "It'll be fun. Like old times."
"Ready to go home now?" Evie asks Logan.
He nods and Evie busies herself saying goodbye, and chatting with Ames about the mate and their next get-together. Logan gives them his back to talk to me inconspicuously.
"Last year you said you'd place a bet on Evie and I," he says. "You said we'd be together within a month."
I narrow my eyes at him. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing. Just thinking I get it now."
"Get what?"
"You make this face when you look at Ames. I bet I looked at Evie the same way."
"Would I have won that bet?" I purse my lips.
"We started things that same night."
"I'm not starting anything with Ames." I shake my head. "Definitely not tonight."
"You respected it when I said not to put your bet on the Hypersquare, so I won't either." He raises an eyebrow. "But a month sounds about right. "
"That would put us near the big game. I don't think she's into me that way, and I don't date. This is wishful thinking, my friend."
"Maybe," he says. "But you know I'm calling it."
"Okay," Evie takes Logan's hand again. "Let's go."
"Good night," I tell her. "And blessings. You deal with a lot, being with this guy."
"Oh, I love dealing with him." She smiles and they leave.
"Let's go home?" Ames asks.
She does not take my hand, but we leave together. Twenty-two year old me would be confused that it's happening, and overall thrilled regardless.
I focus on that on the way home.
Standing right outside her bedroom door, we say goodnight.
She smiles. "I'm looking forward to going out dancing with you tomorrow."
Despite myself, I am too.