Epilogue
1 month later
“Come on! I’m dying to know!” I pull on Xander’s jacket sleeve as we walk toward Spanky’s.
Xander sports that sly grin, saying nothing.
“Are you really not going to tell me?” I whine.
He stops in front of the door and looks at me, still flashing that mischievous smile. “Nope. Just be patient, gorgeous.”
I stick out my bottom lip and he leans down to kiss me. It’s slow and teasing and insanely hot.
When we break our kiss, I notice an elderly couple frowning at us as they walk by.
“Guess they’re not a fan of PDA,” Xander jokes as he opens the door for me.
We walk into Spanky’s and head for our usual table toward the back. Xander’s teammates are already there with their significant others. Ingrid’s here too.
The Bashers just won their latest game, meaning they’re that much closer to the playoffs. They wanted to go out and celebrate at their favorite spot.
I greet Maya, Ingrid, Theo, Dylan, Isaac, and Blomdahl with hugs. When Xander and I sit down, Maya slides him a drink menu. He starts to read it, which is weird. He never reads the drink menu here. He and his teammates always order pitches of beer or shots.
“So what’s the surprise?” I ask Xander.
“You’ll see.”
A minute later, I notice the menus. They look new. Instead of the ratty paper ones they had, this one is a slick-looking laminated one.
“Did they redo the drink menu?” I ask.
Grinning, Xander hands it to me. “Yeah. I think they did.”
I skim it, pausing at the section near the bottom of the menu.
Non-alcoholic beverages
The Sophie Splash: rosewater, lemon juice, simple syrup, sparkling water
I gasp and look at him. “Wait, did you…Xander, did you ask them to create a drink for me?”
He nods. “I want you to have something good to drink when you’re here so you don’t always have to drink water.”
I grab his face and kiss him. “This is so sweet. Thank you.”
One of the servers comes by and I order the drink.
“I can’t believe you were able to convince this place to change their drink menu,” I say. “We all know how resistant to change they are.” I chuckle as I gaze around the dimly lit bar that’s outfitted with rickey furniture and decades-old carpet.
The corner of Xander’s mouth quirks up in a sly smile. “They didn’t mind. Especially when I offered to pay to print new menus.”
I shake my head, still wowed by my boyfriend’s thoughtfulness. He is so romantic. He has pink roses delivered to my office every week. He still brings that stuffed bear I gave him to all his post game press conferences. And he started learning how to bake croissants and makes them for me whenever I come over.
We’ve only been together a couple of months, but it feels like forever, in the best way. I spend most of the week staying at his condo. He’s given me half the drawers in his dresser and cleared out most of the space in his closet for me to keep some of my clothes there when I stay over. When he orders groceries, he makes sure to order my favorite foods too.
I know he’s working up the nerve to ask me to move in with him, and as soon as he does, I’m going to say yes.
The server drops off my drink. When I see it’s pink, I let out a soft squeal.
“It’s so pink! I love it!” I grin as I pick up the glass.
“My favorite color.” He winks at me, his gaze hungry. I know he’s thinking about the way my skin turns pink when I blush…and when I’m turned on.
My clit pulses and I squeeze my thighs together.
I lean in closer to him. “Don’t look at me like that,” I whisper. “You’re turning me on.”
Heat flashes in his eyes. “Good. I want you ready to go for later tonight when we head home.”
“Home?” I raise my eyebrow. “We’re calling your place home now?” I tease.
A flustered smile tugs at his thick lips. “Yeah. That’s what it feels like when you’re with me, Sophie. Home.” He swallows. “Will you move in with me?”
Joy blooms in my chest. I smile wide before kissing him. “I’d love that.”
He grins before kissing me again. I can’t get over how giddy he is at the thought of us moving in together.
I go to take a sip of my drink, but Theo stops me. He raises his beer glass. “We gotta toast first. Hell of a win tonight, guys. Let’s keep this momentum going into the playoffs.”
We all raise our glasses and cheer.
Ingrid gives Theo a knowing smile. His brow hits his hairline. “Oh! I almost forgot, cheers to Ingrid too. She just got hired to take over the Bashers social media accounts.”
Theo tells us that Ingrid’s idea to have a date auction at the charity gala was a huge boost for the fundraiser. Because of how well she promoted it on her social media, donations to the fundraiser were double what they were last year. And the Bashers social media accounts got a big boost too after Ingrid featured them so much on her own social platforms.
We all tell Ingrid congratulations and clink our glasses with hers.
She beams. “Thanks, guys. I’m excited.”
“The team should be excited.” Maya nudges her best friend. “You’re the social media queen. You’re going to make these guys internet famous. That’s way better than sports famous,” she teases.
Blomdahl frowns like he’s confused. “What’s sports famous?”
“When only sports fans know who you are,” Ingrid says without missing a beat. “Internet famous is when non-sports fans start paying attention to you. That’s when you know you’ve made it.”
Blomdahl nods like Ingrid’s said the wisest thing he’s ever heard. I laugh.
A while later, Dakota walks into the bar. I wave at her as she makes her way to the table. When she sits down next to me, I notice the worried look on her face.
She says hello to everyone and congratulates the guys on their win tonight. Blomdahl pours her a beer and she says thanks.
She takes a long gulp, breathing hard when she finishes. She sets her glass on the table and wipes her mouth with her wrist.
“Hey.” I touch her hand and she looks at me. “Are you okay?”
She nods, then moves closer to me. “I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t react, okay?” she whispers. “And you can’t say anything to anyone. Not even Xander.”
Worry slices through me. “Okay, I promise.” I glance up and see that everyone is busy laughing and chatting, not paying attention to us.
“I think Del is going to get traded to the Bashers.”
My eyes start to widen, but I rein it in instantly. Holy crap.
“Are you serious?”
She nods. “He called me a few minutes ago to tell me. His agent is wrapping up negotiations right now. It sounds like it’s ninety-nine percent certain. The announcement should go out tomorrow.”
My head spins at what this means. The trade deadline is next week, before playoffs start. A lot of teams and players scramble during this part of the season to see if they can leverage their contracts for better deals or play for a different team.
If Del joins the Bashers, it’s going to be rough. All the guys hate Del. He’s a dirty player who’s fought with almost all of them hundreds of times.
I swallow hard as I look around at the table, observing how happy Xander and his teammates are right now. They’re going to be pissed when they hear the news tomorrow.
I turn back to Dakota. “What made Del want to play for the Bashers again? He talks trash about us all the time. And I thought he hated living in Denver.”
Dakota takes another long pull of her beer. She shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
I nod and take a sip of my drink. We’ll find out soon enough.
* * *