Chapter 20
Covey
I'm sitting at my cubby, more than ready for the game to start. I feel like I came in too early today, but I got here just as early as I always do. I just can’t stop thinking about my girl.
“You good?” Wyatt eyes me as he walks past.
“Yeah, just wishing I didn’t get here so early. I feel like I'm about to crawl out of my skin and we still have an hour until the game starts.” I grip the back of my neck as tension fills the sore muscles.
“Go walk around.” He glances around the locker room to make sure no one can hear us before he lowers his voice. “Text Cici and see if she’s here. Have her come down and see you for a few minutes.”
“Why…” I begin, but with one word, his eyes narrow on me.
“I'm not stupid, man. You’re dating.” Wyatt rolls his eyes.
“We’re not-”
“Don’t insult me.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “I know what new love looks like. You and Cici have that look in your eyes every time you glance over at each other.”
“Cord-”
“Doesn’t need to know yet. Neither does Owen.
Cici’s a grown adult. She can make her own decisions…
I don’t think anyone else noticed, Cov. Charlie and I did, but that’s it.
We won't say a word. Cord might be one of my best friends, but so are you and Cici. Plus, let’s be honest, his hands are full right now.
He doesn’t need to worry about who she’s dating. ”
“Thanks, Wyatt. I think I will text her.”
“No problem, man.”
Covey: Are you here yet?
Beautiful: Just pulled into the player’s parking lot. What’s up?
Covey: I just need to see you.
Beautiful: Meet me outside the locker room. I’ll be there in a minute.
I practically jump out of my chair and rush towards the door. I can’t hide the smile on my face. Wyatt’s a smart man. Cici’s exactly what I need to get out of this funk. She’s what I was missing.
Cici’s walking down the hallway when I exit the locker room. I take off at a sprint, closing the distance between us as quickly as I can. I'm about to pull her into my arms, when I hear a voice behind me.
“I hope you run that quickly out on the field today,” Owen’s deep voice has me dropping my arms to my sides and spinning around to face him.
“I mean, I’ll try my hardest.” I swallow hard. Owen’s watching us carefully. He’s criticizing my every movement and I have a feeling his attention will be on me and only me the rest of the day.
“Maybe I need to put Cici at every base and then you’ll get there quicker.” He folds his arms over his chest, making me feel about three inches tall.
“Daddy,” Cici growls.
“You said nothing was going on, Cici.” He marches towards us, each step he takes has my stomach rolling, making me wonder if I’ll even make it onto this field for the game or will Owen kill me now.
That would be dumb on his part, right? Without Cord and me, they’ll never win… Does he even care?
“And like you pointed out, I have a history of lying when it comes to boys.” Cici arches a brow, giving Owen the most disappointed woman look I’ve ever seen.
“What’s going on, Cici?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Yes, it is. You’re my daughter and he’s my employee. I can fire him in a second.” He snaps his fingers, making me jump.
“You cannot.” She rolls her eyes. “If you do that, he can sue you and I’d encourage him to do so.
Plus, what will that accomplish? He’ll get a new position on a new team in days.
You’ll lose an amazing player because you don’t know how to keep your emotions in check. That’s kind of dumb on your part.”
“Cici,” he growls.
“You can’t control who I date, Daddy. If you mess with my boyfriend, you’ll regret it.”
“Oh, yeah? Who’s going to make me regret it?” He narrows his eyes, daring her to make the threat I can see on the tip of her tongue.
“Me. You’ll get to explain to Mom why I don’t come to family things. You can be the reason Cord needs to pick between inviting me or you to events for Emmett. I’ll never speak to you again if you mess with Covey’s career because you want to control my dating life.”
My eyes are practically bulging out of my head by the time she finishes ripping into Owen. There’s no way she just picked me over her dad. We’ve been dating for like twenty-four hours. Man, this is getting out of hand.
“C’mon, Covey. Let’s go talk before you have to get out on the field.” She takes my hand in hers and has to physically pull me down the hallway. It takes me stumbling a solid ten steps before I'm able to figure out how to make my legs work.
My brain is trying so hard to process what just happened. I'm having a hard time with all of it.
By the time we get to a private room, I’m finally able to speak. I shake my head and grip the back of my neck. This can’t be happening. I'm going to lose her and I know it.
“Cici, you can’t do this,” I whisper, my heart already breaking.
“I can’t do what?”
“Pick me over your family. You love your family. I don’t want to come between you guys.”
“You’ve overreacting.” She grins, shaking her head.
“I'm overreacting? You just told your dad and my boss, you’ll never speak to him again. You said you won't come to family gatherings anymore and Cord will have to pick between the two of you! How am I the one overreacting? We’ve been dating for less than twenty-four hours and you’re walking away from your family for me! You can’t do that.”
My chest is rising and falling quickly, my lungs desperate for the oxygen I can’t seem to suck in fast enough.
“I think you need to sit down and put your head between your knees. I think you’re hyperventilating.” Cici leads me over to a chair and helps me slowly lower into it. She places a hand on my back, pushing my torso down until my head is forced between my knees.
She rubs a hand up and down my back, doing her best to calm me down. But it’s not working. I can’t be the reason her family falls apart. Owen’s going to fire me and Cord will never talk to me again.
“Cici, we can’t date. You can’t lose them,” I whisper in a gutted voice.
“Look at me.” She drops to her knees in front of me and takes my hands in hers. “I'm not going to lose any of them. My dad thinks he can rule everything that happens in my life and he can’t. Trust me, my mom and Cord will side with me. They’ll make him see he’s being ridiculous.”
My phone vibrates several times in my pocket. I pull it out to find text messages from Cord staring back at me.
Cord: You’re dating my sister?
Cord: Are you kidding me right now?
Cord: I’ve told everyone she’s off limits.
Cord: Are you really going to throw away our friendship like this?
I blow out a long breath as my stomach sinks even lower. How did I go from having the best morning of my life to this? I don’t want Cici to go through all of this.
I toss my phone on the table and scrub my hands over my face. I don’t want to give her up. She’s my dream girl and I know I’ll never find someone else like her… but I can’t let her do this.
“Are you kidding me?” Cici mutters under her breath. A moment later, she places a phone call on speaker and the ring fills the air.
“Seriously, Covey?” Cord’s deep voice flows through the line, making me feel like I'm going to throw up.
“Not Covey, idiot,” Cici growls. “Who do you think you are? You don’t get to make any decisions where I'm concerned, do you understand that? If I want to date Covey, I will. If I want to marry him and have twenty-five babies with him, I will. You have no say!” She’s practically yelling at him and I wonder what happened to my sweet, calm, loving girlfriend.
“Why are you on Covey’s phone? I texted him, not you.” Cord’s voice is emotionless. Something he does when he’s really angry.
“Because Covey’s having a panic attack thanks to you and Dad!” She shrieks.
“He should be! I told him to stay away from you! I told every one of my teammates you were off limits! Apparently, he’s not as good of a friend as I thought he was,” he hisses.
Cici sucks in a deep breath and blows it out slowly. Her eyes fill with tears, but she refuses to let them fall. I watch as she lifts her chin and pulls her shoulders back.
“I'm disappointed in you, Cord. More disappointed than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
“Are you kidding me right now? What did I do?”
“Apparently, you get to have the life you want. You got to date my best friend and almost ruined our relationship when you broke up. I didn’t say a single word to you through any of it. You two made it so hard for me and yet I kept my mouth shut.”
“Cici,” Cord’s voice softens and I can tell he feels bad.
“No! I thought you of all people would be on my side with this. All I’ve wanted is a man in my life who actually cares about me.
Someone who will risk everything to be with me and Covey’s doing that!
I don’t need to worry about him only dating me for money.
There isn’t a chance of him dating me for my last name.
He’s here because I mean something to him.
Why is it that you can have the perfect life and yet I can’t?
Am I supposed to be single forever? Don’t I deserve to have a husband and family?
It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Cord. You know that.
But I guess none of that is in the cards for me because you and Dad are immature idiots and only care about yourself. ”
“Cici, I’m sor-”
She doesn’t even give him a chance to finish his sentence. She ends the call as the first tear slips down her cheek.
I pull her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her. As much as I feel like I'm the cause of all of this and her life would be easier if I walk away, I'm not sure it will be. I don’t want to let her go and if she wants to be with me, I’d be an idiot to shut this down.
“What do you want to do, baby?” I murmur, pressing a lingering kiss to her temple.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want us to break up?”
“No!” She cries even harder, gripping my uniform with both hands. “Please, don’t break up with me. I don’t want that.”
“Hey,” I whisper, gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I tilt her head back until she’s forced to meet my gaze. “I'm not letting you go unless that’s what you want.”
“I’ve wanted to date you for so long, I'm not giving you up now.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to resent me because of the tension this will create in your family.”
“I’m not letting them dictate my life. I’ve fought for years to get people to respect what I want. I’ve battled men at work who think they know better than me. I'm not doing it with my family.”
She checks her phone, finding a text from her mom waiting for her. A soft smile spreads across her face.
Mom: I'm so happy for you, Cici! Covey is such a sweetheart. He’s perfect for you and you guys would be absolutely adorable together!
Mom: Ignore your father. I told him if he messes with Covey he’ll have to deal with me.
Mom: Ignore Cord too. Macy’s already texting me about how ridiculous Cord is and how he might need a place to sleep when she comes home with the baby because she’s not living with a jerk.
A giggle breaks free from Cici as another text comes through.
Macy: Love you, sis. Don’t listen to the big jerk. I’ll deal with him. Just go kiss Covey and forget about everyone else. I’ll deal with Cord and Owen. Right now, I’ve forbidden Owen from coming near Emmett and me until he opens his eyes and realizes how ridiculous he’s being.
“We’ve got two people on our team.” She smiles at me through her tears.
“Wyatt and Charlie know. Wyatt says he could tell by the way we were looking at each other last night.”
“Wyatt won't let Cord get away with this either… Will you still be my boyfriend?” She stares up at me with big, vulnerable eyes. Nothing would kill her more than me turning her down.
“I want nothing more than to remain your boyfriend, baby.” I close the distance between us and kiss her.
The last thing I want to do is head down to the locker room for this game. I don’t want to deal with Owen’s disapproving glare or his anger. I’d much rather stay with my arms wrapped around Cici.