Chapter 4
FOUR
PEARCE
The leather connected with my hands. With a tight grip, I flexed my fingers, darted to my left, slipped past Giles, dribbled, and took a shot.
I swore someone hit slow motion on the remote. I didn't dare look at the timer, sure doing so would make the shot miss.
The buzzer sounded, right alongside the final call for the end of the game. Immediately, I grinned, relief mixing thick and fast with joy. Winning this game meant finally, for the first time since playing in the League, we'd be going to the playoffs.
I didn't have time to search the crowds before the bedlam began. Lucas and Smith were on my back, Jax had scooped me up in a hug, and then there were the press and Coach, and cheers and chants.
I went with it, knowing it was no use digging in my heels. Sure, I wanted to see if Eddie was still in the crowd, but with the three mics in my face and the manager's arm around my shoulders, giving me a tight squeeze before he left me to it, I forced myself to be present.
“Great game, Malcolm, and congratulations on earning your playoff spot.”
I grinned at Tony, the local sports reporter I’d hooked up with for a while. He was one of the few good journos I'd met. “Thanks, Tony. We played a hard, fast game.”
“Last time we spoke, sixty was your magic number. This game, you blew your points scored out of the water. Seventy-nine points. That's the third highest in the League, ever. How do you feel about those numbers?”
My heart galloped in my chest. Seventy-nine was incredible. Knowing that made holding back from searching for Eddie even more of a challenge. He'd get such a kick out of it.
“Well, Tony, you know there was so much riding on tonight's game.
The Eagles have fought long and hard to get here.
I had a great performance, right alongside my team.
I wouldn't have been able to make those points without my boys. None of it would have been possible.” Tony's smile grew wider.
He was a legit fan of the Eagles, and since I'd agreed to give him, a small-time local reporter, the only interview about me coming out five years earlier, his fan status had become more hard-core.
Perhaps me liking him was more to do with how we'd hooked up a few times over the last couple of years, though we’d always managed to happily stay friends, neither seeking anything more.
Regardless of the bet my teammates had made.
“And the crowd tonight was intense. Every seat was filled, and a few interesting chants were going around containing your name.” There was a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke, and I dreaded to think what he was getting at.
“Was there anyone special in the crowd tonight, someone you played extra hard for?”
The asshole. Somehow I maintained my easygoing smile, though I hoped he could mind read, as I was going to nut punch him when it was safe to do so.
“All of our hard-core fans make it easy to give it our all for.”
“I saw a few former greats in the crowd tonight,” he continued mercilessly. The nut punch would only be the start of the level of pain I was going to throw at him. He was the only person who knew for a fact about my absolute infatuation with Eddie Phelps.
And apparently, Tony took great pleasure in torturing me.
“I expect some of those former greats have offered you so much inspiration over the years. Are there any in particular you want to give a shout-out to?”
And then Eddie was by my side, grinning and throwing his arm around my shoulders. I soaked in his touch and his happiness, allowing the pride evident on his face to wrap around me.
“Eddie Phelps, what are your thoughts on Malcolm's game?”
“Malcolm didn't hold back tonight, nor did the Eagles. They played like every team should. Seamlessly.” He squeezed my shoulder, and somehow I didn’t spring wood.
Movement next to Eddie dragged my attention to the left of him and down. A new smile formed, this one just for the little girl at his side. Complete with my numbered jersey and brown ringlets, Lottie was close to being my favorite person. It didn't matter that she was only ten.
I looked over at Tony and gave him a silent plea to wrap this up.
“I best leave you to it.”
Relieved, I grinned as he finished off his spiel before instructing his cameraman to switch off and head over to Lennon, then he gave me a quick handshake.
“I'll call you soon. Celebrate hard, and don't do anything I wouldn't do.” He followed up with a cheesy wink, and I rolled my eyes at him before turning my attention to Lottie.
I scooted down onto one knee and opened my arms for her. She almost flattened me as she charged into my embrace.
“You were brilliant. Did you hear you're now rated third for most points?” Wide-eyed, she pulled away. “Ever.”
Pride bloomed in my chest. Hell, having Lottie so proud of me was right on up there with finally heading to the playoffs. “I did. It's pretty awesome.”
She nodded, her eyes bright, her expression serious. “I was thinking this would open up new sponsorship deals. I'll start doing some research. Maybe you should tell Dad that I can have my phone out over dinner so I can do that.”
Eddie's snort drew my attention to him. “How about wait till after dinner when we're back in the suite?”
I dotted a quick kiss on Lottie's cheek and stood, loving it when Eddie got into dad mode like this. He had the whole loveable stern vibe going on. When I'd first witnessed it, I was introduced to a whole new side of him.
I liked it a lot. Loved he was so caring and open with his daughter.
“But Dad, if I'm going to be Pearce's agent one day, we need to talk through these things in real time.” I bit my lip when she rolled her eyes at her dad.
“Ten going on twenty-five,” Eddie grumbled, his gaze connecting with mine. “I blame you.”
I laughed. “Me? What did I do?”
In response, he quirked a dark brow. I followed the movement, working hard to remind myself that panting after the man was all levels of wrong.
While I didn't care he was over ten years older than me, he’d mentioned once that he didn't understand how relationships lasted with age gaps. Wasn’t that a fun conversation to be a part of! Talk about crushed.
But more significantly, he was in a relationship. That was the biggest punch to the gut.
When he'd told me a couple of years ago that he'd met someone, I'd been devastated. When he'd told me he was dating a man, I could have cried.
I wanted to be the man he dated, fell for, become a family for Lottie with. Instead, he'd settled on Wankface Wayne, a realtor who was a sleaze, but apparently, Eddie didn't see that side to him.
“Okay,” I finally admitted, happily squeezing Lottie's hand when she placed her palm in mine. “I may have encouraged her a little.”
“That's right. Pearce did, Daddy, ’cause that’s what you do when you love someone. You encourage them and want them to be happy and follow their dreams.”
My heart filled. I loved this girl—and her manipulative ways—just like I loved her father. A quick glance at Eddie, and I froze. How he looked at me and Lottie was enough to take my breath away.
“And that includes using my phone during dinner and then Pearce coming back to the hotel with us so we can talk about it more.” She paused a beat. “And I think we'll need cocktails.”
I snorted, and Eddie rubbed a hand over his face.
“Dinner. No phone till dessert,” he said. “And Pearce might want to go and celebrate with his friends tonight after dinner.”
“We're his friends. He can celebrate with us,” Lottie said, an edge of defiance in her voice.
“You are definitely my friends,” I said, stopping Eddie from saying more. “Dinner, then hanging with my two favorite people seems like the perfect way to celebrate making the playoffs to me.”
Lottie's grin was victorious. Making eye contact with Eddie, I shrugged.
“You spoil her.” There wasn’t an ounce of accusation in his tone.
“Because she's awesome and is going to make a kick-ass agent one day.”
He studied me for a beat. “You sure you don't have plans after?” His smile lost some of its shine before he said, “Tony’s here. If you have plans…”
Surprise sparked to life in my chest. We rarely discussed my personal life—aka my sex life—me deliberately keeping my cards close to my chest. It had slipped out about a year back that I'd hooked up with Tony, though.
“No, not at all. We don't see each other very often,” I clarified.
Eddie nodded and then slowly smirked. “You sure?”
“Gee, Dad. He said he loves us and wants to hang out.”
Loud laughter burst free. While I had absolutely not said those words, she definitely wasn't wrong. Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I focused on Eddie. “You heard the girl. Give me thirty.”
I turned on my heel and dodged the crowd, studiously ignoring the reporters, and headed for the locker room.
Once there, I took in the boisterous team, accepting and giving a few back slaps. At my locker, I nodded at Jax. “Good game, man.”
“Playoffs, baby.” He smacked my ass for good measure, and I grinned at his antics.
“You know it.” I shrugged off my clothes, confident in this space of guys, something I refused to ever take for granted. From the moment I'd come out while at Montview Academy for the college summer workshop I assisted in, my team had been phenomenal.
It wasn't the case for other guys in pro sports.
Minnesota Eagles were fucking epic, though.
And this moment right here, ass slaps, even more than the qualifying game, were the reason I'd stayed with them, not pursuing the tempting offers my agent waved in front of me, and hoping like hell I wasn’t traded.
Once undressed, I headed to the shower.
I stepped into the cubicle, waited till I could hear Jax’s shower running, and then went in for my stealth attack. I extended my arm, shampoo in my grip, and squeezed gently. Just enough to not give away the extra liquid I was adding to his head.