Chapter 26
brEAKING: STAR WIDE RECEIVER TAKES DEVASTATING HIT One woman’s reaction changes everything
Tanner
“Hey.” Gage elbows me. “Your family’s here.”
Panic strikes. Swift and hard. My family is here? At training? There’s only one reason they’d be here – to try and control me. To force me to give up football. Too force me to start medical school. To force me to give up Alaia.
No one’s forcing me to give up Alaia.
I glance toward the bleachers. But instead of finding a group of five people who are clearly not comfortable at a football stadium in stiff suits and ties, I find Alaia and her family.
They spot me and wave. The panic disappears and is replaced by joy. Pure and utter joy. These people barely know me, yet they support me. They showed up to a practice because I asked them to come. Unlike my family, none of whom have ever watched one of my games, let alone a practice.
“Someone’s in love,” Gage sings.
He’s right. I am. I love Alaia. I love her family. Her parents and sisters made me feel welcome from the moment I met them. They didn’t judge me. Or try to control me.
Although I could do without the memes of what Beth and Anne will do to me if I hurt their sister. Those two are scary.
I give Gage the finger before jogging over to the fence to greet my family. My family? I wish. I wish Alaia’s family was mine. I wish she were mine.
I need to man up and tell her how I feel. But what if she rejects me? What if she doesn’t feel the same way? After all, she did make me agree to the whole ‘no feelings’ rule. A rule impossible to comply with when Alaia’s involved.
I kiss her cheek before greeting her parents and sisters. “Thanks for coming today.”
“Of course, we came, son.”
At Dan’s claiming of me, happiness explodes inside. Does he seriously think of me as his son? I would love to be his son. I’m probably smiling like the goofball the fans believe I am.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Beth and Anne say in unison.
Alaia squirms. She thinks it’s freaky when they speak in unison. Which is probably why they do it all the time.
Sally scans the field. “I didn’t realize football players were this large.”
I puff out my chest. “I’m six-foot-three and a half.”
Alaia giggles. “And a half. What are you, eleven?”
“Don’t worry. I enjoy an older woman.” I wink at her and her cheeks turn pink.
She’s gorgeous in her jean shorts, worn Bootlegger t-shirt, and flip-flops. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail, and she’s not wearing any makeup.
She’s real and natural and all mine. As soon as I tell her I want this relationship to be real. And I will. As soon as I find the perfect moment.
“Tanner! Stop flirting and get your ass over here!” Coach Knox yells.
Beth’s eyes widen and she licks her lips. “Who’s he?”
Anne scowls at her. “He’s too old for you, is who he is. Plus, he has a girlfriend.”
“Who? I can steal him away.”
“You can’t break the girl code.”
“Why not? Finders keepers.”
“Now, now, girls. Let’s not fight,” Sally says.
Alaia snorts. “Good luck with them not fighting.”
“I need to go. I’ll see you after?” I ask.
“You promised me dinner afterwards,” she reminds me.
“For all of us,” Dan adds.
“Family dinner afterwards, but first.” I nod toward the field.
“Go.” Alaia pushes me away. “You don’t want to get into trouble.”
“But trouble is fun.” I kiss her quickly before jogging away.
As I place my helmet on my head, I watch them settle in their seats. I want them to watch all of my games. I want to know they’re in the crowd cheering me on. Supporting me in my chosen field of profession. I want them as my family. Not the biological family I was born into.
I jog back onto the field and shake out my arms, forcing my focus where it belongs. Football first. Always. But it’s harder than usual today. Because they’re here. Because she’s here.
“Line up!” Coach Knox barks.
I drop into position across from the corner. He smirks at me. He thinks he’s got me figured out. Cute.
“Don’t embarrass yourself,” I mutter.
“Don’t get distracted,” he shoots back.
Too late. I glance toward the bleachers. Alaia’s leaning forward, elbows on her knees, her gaze fixed on me as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. Her family is talking around her, but she’s locked in on the field. On me.
Something tightens in my chest.
“Set!” Nolan yells.
I force myself to focus. The ball snaps and I explode off the line. Five yards. Ten. I fake inside, cut hard right. The corner bites. I’m open.
“Ball!” I shout.
It’s already in the air. I track it, adjust my stride, leap—
A safety comes out of nowhere and drives straight through me midair. Helmet to shoulder. Shoulder to ribs. Everything slams together at once. The ball hits my hands but I can’t hold on. It pops loose.
I hit the ground hard. Air punches out of my lungs. For a second, there’s nothing. No sound. No breath. No movement. Just heat and pressure and the dull throb of pain spreading through my chest.
“Long’s down!” someone shouts.
Voices rush back all at once. Footsteps. Whistles.
“Don’t move!”
“I’m fine,” I try to say. It comes out as a wheeze. I suck in a breath and pain slices through my ribs. Okay. I’m not fine. I roll onto my back and blink up at the blinding sun.
“Stay down,” the trainer says, dropping to his knees beside me.
“I said I’m—” I cut myself off with a sharp inhale. I’m definitely not fine.
“Easy,” Nolan mutters, crouching near my shoulder. “You took a hell of a hit.”
“I’ve had worse,” I manage.
But even as I say it, I know the hit isn’t what’s rattling me. It’s the silence from the stands. I turn my head and find her. Alaia is already halfway down the bleachers. Not walking. Running. Her ponytail coming loose, her flip-flops slapping against the steps, her face pale. Terrified.
My chest tightens and it has nothing to do with the hit.
“Alaia—”
“Long, you need to stay back—” the trainer begins.
“Move,” Alaia snaps. I’ve never heard that tone from her before. It’s not teasing. Not playful. It’s sharp, panicked, furious.
She drops to her knees beside me, hands hovering like she doesn’t know where to touch without hurting me.
“Are you okay?” she demands. Her voice shakes. Her eyes are wide. And fuck— She looks as if she’s about to fall apart.
“I’m fine, gorgeous,” I say automatically.
“Don’t,” she snaps. “Don’t you dare pretend everything’s fine. It’s me.”
I blink at her. She’s shaking. Actually shaking.
“I saw that hit,” she continues, her voice breaking now. “You didn’t get up. You never don’t get up.”
Something shifts inside me. It’s deep. Probably permanent.
“I’m okay,” I say again, softer this time.
She presses her hand carefully against my shoulder, like she needs to feel that I’m solid. That I’m still here.
“You scared me,” she whispers.
And her words—
They hit harder than the tackle. Because Alaia Jackson doesn’t scare easily. She argues with everyone. Stands up to everyone. Even my parents.
But right now? She’s scared for me.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
Her gaze snaps to mine. “Don’t apologize. Just—” she swallows hard, “—just don’t do that again.”
I huff out a weak laugh. “I’ll try to schedule my hits better next time.”
She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t tease. She merely stares at me as if I matter. Like I matter more than anything else on this field.
And suddenly I’m not afraid anymore. Not of telling her how I feel. Not of what happens next. Because this?
This isn’t fake. Not for me. And definitely not for her.