Chapter 20
brOOKE
On the evening of Jace’s away game, I had popcorn, guacamole with chips, and wine ready. In other words: everything that was bad for our hips but oh-so-good for our soul.
Franci arrived before the game began, and we carried the goodies to the living room together.
We called Dad, as usual, to wish him luck.
“How are my girls?” he asked.
“Ready to cheer for the Lords,” I said. “Go get ’um.”
We never spoke more than two or three minutes, because Dad was a man of few words. Yet, these calls were important to him.
“We’re really watching soccer, huh?” Franci wondered after Dad hung up.
“Well, no. We’ll be watching Jace… with some soccer on the side.”
I’d told her about him on the phone, but now I was going to give her all the dirty details.
We sat cross-legged on the couch as we’d done when we were kids.
The two of us had developed a love for binge-watching even before the era of Netflix.
I had missed Franci terribly once she’d left for college, feeling a little lost without my older sister there.
“Remember when Dad would try to rope us into watching?” Franci asked.
“Oh, God, yes. And Mom would come to our rescue. She was quite resourceful, coming up with excuses.” My heart tugged as I remembered my conversation with Jace, about how he felt as if he didn’t have enough memories with his parents.
My parents had divorced when I was a kid, but I had many good memories before that, and even afterward they both did their best to be good parents to us.
“You know, I think Jace is even hotter than last year.” Franci parked her chin in one palm, sighing at the screen. “That should not be legal.”
“I agree.”
“Well, hot or not, I am going to be impartial. Is he treating you right?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Does he know his way under the covers?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Franci wiggled her eyebrows. “When can I officially meet him?”
“Officially? Don’t be so old-school. I don’t know. We’re very relaxed about things.”
“Relaxed. Uh-huh.”
I grinned, even though I knew this would only bring another round of teasing.
It was good to see my sister cheerful, even though she was having fun at my expense.
Her divorce had been finalized three months ago, but she was still not over it.
I couldn’t ask how she was, because she’d agreed to join me for soccer night on the condition that I didn’t ask about her.
Maybe that was for the best. There was such a thing as over-discussing a topic.
Maybe what she needed was just some fun with her sister.
“Hmm… that Levi guy is a close second on the hotness scale,” Franci commented as the game went on.
“I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I don’t like him. He’s a bit arrogant and is jealous of Jace.”
“Interteam competitiveness is normal though, right?”
“To a degree, yes. But Levi is being an ass about it.”
Over the past week, he’d stopped by my desk a few times, inquiring about Carl Hill. I told him that Carl was considering only Jace or Andrew, but Levi wanted me to push him more. He wanted to be back in the running.
I told him his game had to improve first, because not only was Hill not even considering him anymore, other sponsors were worried about Levi as well.
Franci giggled before eating a mouthful of popcorn.
“What?” I asked defensively.
“You’re protective of Jace. It’s cute.”
Of course, I was. Not that Jace needed it, but I just couldn’t help my instincts. He didn’t need any crap from his own teammates. The strength of a team consisted in them being able to rely on each other.
“Ugh, I can’t wait for him to be back. He’s got another game away after this one.”
I jutted out my lower lip like a small kid.
“Ohoho, wait a second. I thought you said it was all very… relaxed.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t miss him.”
“So, let’s see. You two text during the day, regularly make plans, and don’t see other people, right?”
“Yes.”
Franci smiled but didn’t say anything else, which immediately had me on alert. Franci was one of those people who always voiced their opinions, and I appreciated her for that.
“What?” I prodded.
“It sounds like the two of you care about each other a lot.”
I sighed, bringing my knees to my chest. Of course, I cared about Jace.
I wasn’t sure if it was because he and I had grown close before, but I could feel my attachment to him deepening, transforming from a friendly bond to something else.
The shift was happening so fast that I didn’t even know how to find my balance.
If things didn’t work out, how were we supposed to go back to being just friends? My muscles strummed tight, as if my entire body was rejecting that scenario.
I was only half watching during the first halftime, but by the end of the second one, I was completely into it.
The score was 1:1, and the Lords needed this victory.
Our forwards were good (I’d go with excellent, but I might be biased since I had a soft spot for the MVP) but so was the opposition’s defense.
The last few minutes were brutal. Every move or scheme the forwards tried, they were blocked. When there were just two minutes left, the unthinkable happened: Jace scored… and then went down as two of the other team’s forwards smashed right into him.
“Oh my God.” I felt my heart crawl up my throat. I moved closer to the TV until I practically had my nose pressed against the screen. Everything around me faded as I tried to gauge how seriously Jace was hurt: the rest of the game, the presenters’ commentary, even my sister’s reassurances.
Jace
Victory was worth a few bruised ribs. I’d taken one elbow above the spleen, and a knee straight to the kidney. I’d had worse, and I had time to recover before the next game.
“Nice game, man,” Andrew congratulated as we entered the lobby of the hotel. “Meet you at Jim’s Irish in ten minutes?”
“I’m not coming tonight.”
“You’re hurting?”
“No, just not feeling it.”
Jim’s Irish was a sports bar just across the hotel. We went there after every game here, but tonight I wasn’t in the mood.
I bid Andrew good night before heading to my room.
The first thing I did was charge my phone, since the battery died sometime during the game.
As soon as the screen lit up, I had to grin.
I had about one million messages from my family, asking how bad my injury was.
I replied to each before discovering Brooke had also messaged me.
Brooke: Are you okay? I couldn’t tell on TV.
Brooke: Are you hurting?
Brooke: Jaaaace, don’t leave me hanging like this. Are you hurt?
I smiled as I stretched on the bed to call her. I felt oddly happy that she was so worried about me.
“Oh, thank God. I was starting to panic.”
“Starting? Sorry to tell you, but you panicked before you even sent the first message.”
“Smartass. How are you feeling?”
“Looked worse than it was. I’ll have some bruises, but there’s nothing broken or torn.”
“Then why do you sound so strained?”
I’d straightened to rearrange my pillow, and I’d automatically sucked in a breath—it was easier to deal with the pain that way.
“I am in some pain but nothing major.”
“I don’t buy that.”
I wanted her here. The thought of Brooke being in my hotel room after a game… I liked that. One of the reasons I hadn’t gone to Jim’s Irish tonight was that I just didn’t like the general vibe, which included women coming onto us.
But this, lying in bed and talking to Brooke… this was just what I needed. I wanted to give her what I hadn’t been able to give anyone else—and I’d better be able to do it.
I almost asked her yet again to fly with me to a few away games but stopped myself just in time. I was pushy, but I remembered how wary she’d been last time I brought this subject up. I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away.
“Bet those lips could make me forget any kind of pain.”
“You’re so predictable, Jace Connor.”
“What can I say? I’m easy to please. Brooke, seriously, don’t worry. I’m gonna be good as new before our next game.”
“You’re playing in the next one?” She almost screeched the sentence. Something heaved in my chest. Was it bad that I liked how indignant she was on my behalf?
“Yep. As I said, not much damage done.”
“Will you stop saying that? The more you say it, the less I’ll believe it. It’s like when someone keeps telling you they’re fine to hide that they’re not.”
“I’ll have you perform a full-body check when I’m back.”
“That’s in five days.” We were flying to San Diego to film a promo spot.
“Would you like to do one via video chat? It’ll be less fun, but I’m adaptable.”
She laughed and didn’t stop for a few seconds. “Oh my God. What am I going to do with you?”
“Be very thorough in the checkup when I’m back. I’m warning you, I’ll be very demanding.”
“You always are, Jace.”
“I don’t remember hearing you complain.”
“Mmmm… that’s because I like it. You make me discover new things about myself. Listen, my sister’s here. I have to go back to her. Can we talk later?”
“Sure. Tell her hi from me.”
“I will.”
Despite the pain, I smiled as she hung up.
I couldn’t wait to be back in LA. Damn away games.
I couldn’t believe I had to wait another five days until I saw her.
We spoke every day and exchanged texts. I liked sending her short messages throughout the day, even if it was just to share a funny picture, or to tell her what I was having for lunch.
Her replies always cheered me up, made me feel as if I wasn’t so far away.
I called Val next.
“Tell me nothing’s broken” were the first words out of her mouth. The hushed voices in the background were loud enough for me to realize I was on loudspeaker.
“Nothing’s broken.”
“I told you,” Will said. “He’s tough.”
“Yeah, but that looked bad,” Hailey supplied. Someone agreed with her, and I thought it sounded like Paige.
“Dinner going on so late?”
“Landon and Maddie already left, and so did Lori and Graham.”
“Next time, call right after the game, man,” Carter said. “Val was crazy worried.”
“I will. Sorry, Val. Didn’t want you to worry.”
“Want to have dinner together when you come back?” Hailey asked.
“Can’t. I have plans with my girl.”
There was a pause, and I imagined my sisters exchanging furtive looks.
“I want details,” Hailey demanded.
“You don’t deserve to know any details. Payback for your lack of faith in me.”
“That was not lack of faith. Merely a strategy to increase your chances of success, but hey, I get it now. You have your own style.”
“Damn right I do. You still don’t deserve too many details.”
I moved through the room to the small fridge.
We always asked hotels to store ice packs.
I retrieved one, putting it on my sore ribs after lying back on the bed.
I couldn’t wait for Brooke and me to go public.
Except for Graham, my family knew, because Hailey had spilled the beans, but I wanted everyone to know.
I wanted everyone to see how proud I was of Brooke, and just how wrapped up I was in her.
“But how about the rest of us?” Val pressed.
“Brother, be smart and don’t open this can of worms,” Will advised.
“I’ll take your advice.”
“Now you’re taking Will’s advice?” Paige asked incredulously. “He’s outnumbered. I’m with Val and Hailey.”
I laughed, giving in to the interrogation. They’d leave me no choice anyway.