Chapter 23 #2
Last night, I snuck away to the bathroom while the guys were sleeping and spent hours poring over football guides for beginners on my phone.
I crammed so hard that there's zero chance of me retaining everything I learned, but the most important thing was to remember enough to pass this test that no one else even realizes I'm taking.
Finally, Ronald slaps his hand down on the table. "Exactly!"
Everyone resumes talking at once.
"Spencer, I didn't realize your omega is so familiar with the game already."
"She gets it."
"That drive was textbook."
"I knew you all would end up with a huge football fan."
Ronald, a running back, points his fork in my direction from across the table. "Six for six and calm in the pocket. That's exactly what I said." He nods as he regards me with a smile that suggests genuine admiration.
I smile like I didn't just almost black out from holding my breath in terror that I might get called out for being a fraud.
Spencer's thigh presses against mine under the table, and I can feel the question he can't ask right now buzzing under his skin.
Once I survive my first test, my confidence ascends to a dangerous level.
I compliment Anthony's yards after a catch.
I mention Devon collapsing the pocket early in the second half.
I congratulate the line on only allowing one sack.
Eventually, I dissociate to the point that I'm only vaguely aware of my lips forming the words "red zone execution" while the entire table stares at me in absolute awe and appreciation.
Why was I so nervous about meeting the team?
So silly.
They totally love me.
Hours after arriving for the team party, my cheeks ache from smiling so much.
Spencer is so impressed by the way I dazzled his teammates that he assigns Freddie and Zak to the backseat, giving me the passenger seat in their car for the first time.
We barely finish buckling our seatbelts before Freddie leans forward and tugs my hair gently to get my attention.
He waits until I turn in my seat to look at him before blurting out, "You were magnificent!
And I think all the stuff you said was actually true this time.
" He hesitates, then looks at Zak for confirmation. "Wasn't it?"
"Absolutely." Zak nods, smiling proudly.
A lazy grin spreads across my aching cheeks. "I'm so glad to hear that because I honestly had no idea what I was saying half the time."
The silence that envelopes the car is profound.
Zak is the first to laugh.
Spencer's shoulders start shaking behind the wheel.
Freddie gasps and pokes my cheek with the tip of his finger. "You fraud!"
"This is hilarious," Spencer admits, not paying any attention to Freddie's outrage. "You sounded more educated than some of our rookies the first time they take the field."
I flip my hair haughtily over my shoulder, feeling pretty damn smug about how well I pulled off the ruse.
Zak starts to say something from the back seat, but I don't hear a word.
Outside the car window, I catch a glimpse of a building so magnificent that I'm almost convinced it has to be a mirage.
Bright floodlights illuminate the building enough in the dark that I can make out beautifully aged brick, huge windows, and a dozen empty flower beds desperate to be rescued. Some of the windows are boarded up. A FOR SALE sign out front makes my heart skip a beat.
"Stop the car."
Spencer slows the car. "What?"
"Stop the car."
Without missing a beat, he makes a smooth turn into the parking lot attached to the building I can't take my eyes off of.
"What's wrong?" Zak asks, his pitch higher out of concern.
I'm already unbuckling. "Nothing is wrong. Something is right."
I scramble out of the car, and the guys follow immediately because they're far too protective to let me get out alone for any reason.
Up close, the building is even more perfect than I realized.
Green awnings in surprisingly good condition are featured above every window.
Peeking through the front door, I see that a solid-looking security system already seems to be in place.
Something I'm certain Spencer and Zak would appreciate.
And best of all: the energy of the place is better than good.
It's perfect.
I suck in a delighted breath.
Behind me, the guys are speechless for a long time as I take in every inch of the most perfect future home an omega could ever ask for.
Then Zak slowly says, "No."
I turn to them and place my hands on my hips in preparation for standing my ground. "Yes."
Freddie looks genuinely dumbstruck. "This?"
"Yes." I gesture wildly, unable to contain my excitement. "Look at it!"
They do.
Their expressions don't change.
"Did you see the sign?" Spencer asks calmly, pointing to the forest green sign that spans the length of the flower bed closest to the front doors. "Franklin Senior Living Center."
"Yeah, a sign that big would be pretty hard to miss." I laugh because that's such a silly question.
Freddie squints. "This is an abandoned old people's building."
"That's not exactly how I would say that, but yeah."
Spencer takes a cautious step closer. "Mia, are you sure?"
I stomp my little omega foot because none of them are taking me seriously when this is a very serious situation. They should be way more excited that I've finally found our new home!
"I'm completely sure," I reassure him. "I have a good feeling about this place. Can't you feel all that good energy this house is radiating?"
Freddie mutters, "It's not a house, though."
I ignore him.
There have probably been countless residents who have lived here over the years when the building was still in service. That seems like enough to qualify this as a home to me.
Ultimately, we all know that Spencer gets the final say on things like this. I focus my full attention on him, making sure he can see the plea in my eyes. None of the other houses we've looked at made me feel so instantly at home.
I point up at the building emphatically.
"Think about it. The bones are great. We're a reasonable drive away from the stadium and my office, and this is a great neighborhood.
So many rooms. Big windows. A commercial kitchen, probably.
Common areas. Bedrooms galore. Outdoor space.
This could be the incredible solution we all need. "
"Or it could be a haunted building full of wheelchairs and residual sadness," Freddie says.
"Freddie." Spencer looks over at him with a frown and shakes his head, discouraging him from continuing.
Zak inhales a sharp breath and looks over the building again. "You really want us to buy a retirement home?"
"I want us to at least see it."
Spencer's mouth twitches like he's fighting a smile. "Is that all? Because you sound pretty sold on the place already."
Busted.
I square my shoulders and lift my chin. "We've seen a house that talks, an indoor maze with questionable structural choices, and a murder site. Are you really going to draw the line now?"
They all look at me.
I turn my gaze back to the looming building.
This beautiful property is here waiting patiently for the pack's touch to turn this into our home.
Our future.
Or at least waiting to become the next chapter in the saga of me dragging the pack to see increasingly questionable real estate listings.
Either way, I know with perfect certainty that I don't care that this used to be a senior living facility.
My heart yearns to get inside.