Chapter 39
AMARA
It’s hard to be at this game and pretend that I can walk straight in front of his sister.
It’s Cooper’s first game back on the sideline supporting his team, so his sister and I are in Leo’s suite.
We clap as the game starts, watching Leo in his cropped Cobras shirt as Leo slaps his ass. It’s a ritual, apparently. Coop’s ass is lucky.
And of course, the cameras are here.
I really do wonder whether anyone will notice if I’m walking funky.
I’ll be honest, I never really knew if I had any kinks before. I never had anywhere to safely explore them, and even if the ones I have are fairly tame compared to some I hear about, it’s been fun to figure them out.
Despite our rocky history, if I were going to trust anyone with this at all, it would be Cooper.
I’ve also realized that, upon being thoroughly fucked by a six-foot-five God of a football player, I’m also starting to appreciate the game a little more.
I didn’t frown at the man wearing head-to-toe armor as we entered the building, and I’m not wishing I was wearing earplugs right now.
In fact, I almost wish that Cooper were playing so that I could learn to appreciate his ass in those tight little pants they wear.
His sister interrupts my daydreams.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as chipper as he was this morning,” his sister tells me.
I shrug. “I mean, I think he was just excited for the pastries.”
She nods, accepting the answer. I think.
I don’t think she wants to know the real one.
“I really love the catering company you went with,” she says as the visiting team misses a field goal. “I think it’s perfect for my place. I’m really impressed that you put in that much work to find it.”
The place is a few towns over and offers so many different choices that it was hard to narrow down.
But I knew that brown butter gnocchi would pair perfectly with her baked goods, and they use different flavors like sage and pear in their recipes, which, for whatever reason, is hard to come by around her.
“I’m really glad you’re excited about it! The place is beautiful, and I can’t wait to see how everyone loves it.”
The two of us settle into a comfortable silence. It’s been hard getting to know her again. While she didn’t hurt me like Cooper did, there’s a part of me that still gets upset that she didn’t call me either.
Heidi sits down next to us with a huff, a pastry shoved in her mouth. “These are literally the best things I’ve ever tasted in my life, Natalia. Thank you.”
“Anytime.” She smiles, looking around at everyone.
“Okay, so tell me who everyone is,” she whispers, leaning in.
I go through everyone that I know. Heidi, the one whose dad did cake Sundays, a tradition that she’s kept long after he passed. Isla, my artist friend who started the entire football player curse. Mila who was the entire reason I moved here in the first place.
Well, her dad was.
And finally, I point out Briar, explaining that she’s a newer friend, and that I met her because she’s Owen’s sister, and Leo’s now wife.
Natalia looks confused.
“Wait, so Isla, who’s Leo’s sister, started dating Owen, who is Briar’s brother, and then later on Leo started seeing Briar?”
“Ye—p.”
“That,” she pauses, leaning in. “I feel like this circle is a little incestuous.”
“Listen,” I lean in too. “You’re just saying what we’re all thinking.”
The two of us giggle, earning looks from the others.
“We’ve joked about that, too. When Owen first found out that Briar was even just involved with Leo, he thought it was to get back at him.
“You guys have lived really interesting lives,” she chuckles. “There’s not much that goes on back home. Well, except for the stupid lawyer’s office that moved in across the street. That guy is such a damn prick, and now I have to deal with him all the time.”
I frown. “And you just got that place, too. I’m so sorry.”
She waves me off. “It’ll be fine. I’ll win him over at some point. No one is immune to my baked goods.”
I shake my head with a smile. “Absolutely no one.”