13. Tate
Over the last few hours, a ball of nervous tension has built in my stomach. Instead of butterflies, it’s a kicked hornet’s nest. I can’t even explain why I’m so nervous. But I am.
Hell, I’ve been nervous since dinner with Liana when I got this feeling—this feeling that I knew her and that I couldn’t spend another day without her.
Maybe it was the shock on her face when I told her about Not Mal. It said something more than words. It was then I knew, or I thought I knew, who the person on the other end of those texts might be.
We had those incredible moments in the car, then the best night of my life. I was so positive we’d be together after that, I couldn’t fathom the storm approaching.
For all of about two seconds, I thought maybe the Not Mal thing was a ploy to get me to make a mistake like those other idiots on the team. Then I checked my ego and remembered I sent the first text, not her. It was the same argument about the catfishing. Not Mal was never a catfish.
I punch my thumb to her doorbell and hear it chime. My heart starts hammering like it’s overtime and the next touchdown wins.
Not Mal is on the other side of the door. Liana is. The two are one and the same.
She opens the door wearing an oversized Osprey T-shirt and yoga pants, otherwise known as kryptonite. She’s been crying. It’s easy to see that, even behind her glasses. Her hair’s up in a messy bun. And she’s the most beautiful picture of woman I’ve ever seen.
“Tate?” she says surprised. She checks her phone, seeing that last text from Leonard. “You… you knew?”
“I suspected,” I say. “The line from You’ve Got Mail. It was a nice touch.”
She smiles sheepishly.
I shake my head and swoop into her. Finding her lips, I kiss her like we’re engaged again. Maybe I want to be.
She pulls away and hiccups a sob. “So, I guess you forgive me then?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I say. “Can I come inside and talk?”
She holds my hand and leads me inside the apartment. It’s small and open. I follow her to a massive couch. She falls onto it. I have to set aside tissues and a few books to sit on the cushion next to her.
She frowns. “It’s okay if you’re mad.”
“What did Leonard say?” I ask.
“That he’s mad but not at her… not at me.”
“You should trust him.” I take her hands in mine. “Really. I get it. Or I get why you wouldn’t tell me about The Hard Count. But why not tell me about Not Mal?”
“I was going to.”
I believe her.
Timing is a funny thing. On cue, I get a text and read it over.
“You should probably put out a statement,” I say. “Get out ahead of this.”
“I just made a statement.” She raises an eyebrow. “Ahead of what?”
“This story that’s about to break on every sports outlet.” I hand her my phone. “You didn’t check your DMs…”
“I was afraid of what I might see.” She reads it over, her jaw going slack. “How did you do this?”
“Devin,” I answer.
Her lips quirk thoughtfully. “I thought Jake deleted those texts.”
“He might’ve deleted them from his phone, but not from the cloud.”
Liana shakes her head. “No. Won’t Devin lose his job?”
“Oh, I’m sure a few folks will lose their jobs after this,” I say. “The first being the guy who covered up his star quarterback’s misdeeds. Don’t worry about Devin. I’m sure he’ll land on his feet. I told him I might know a guy looking for an assistant. Then I told Mal he needs an assistant.”
Liana snorts a laugh. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. “You really think they’ll fire the GM?”
I nod. “They already have. The owners are golfers. I played a round with them a while back.”
To think, the first time I talked to this woman, it was an accident. Or maybe it was something else, some cosmic roll of fate.
“What about Jake?” she asks
This is where I’m unsure. How do you bench an all-star quarterback ahead of the playoffs? I don’t know if the head coach will, nor do I care. I just shrug. “The court of public opinion will try Jake. His wife already knows who he truly is. Devin told me she wants a separation.”
Liana pushes my phone back to me. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I didn’t do a thing. You did. The Hard Count did. It just should’ve outed him a long time ago.”
I expect Liana to be happy, but she doesn’t seem to be. She scoots to the edge of the couch. “The team is going to hate you. They already hate me.”
Reaching for her, I tug Liana into my chest.
“Maybe you don’t know everything about the team,” I say. Liana cranes her neck, and it takes everything in me not to kiss her perfectly kissable lips. “Jake blames the team for every loss. It’s what they did wrong. Then he owns every win. The defense can shut out a team, and it doesn’t matter. It’s the touchdowns Jake threw. The team hates him.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I press my lips into her hair. “They don’t hate you either. You might’ve been protecting us from yourself, but it really worked.”
“If that’s how you choose to see it.” She chuckles.
Her brown eyes staring up at me, Liana grabs my chin and moves it side to side. “When did you know it was me?”
“It doesn’t matter when I knew,” I say. “What matters is I wanted it to be you. It feels almost like I wished it into existence.”
She smiles, pressing her lips to mine. Tasting the salt from her tears, I know one thing—if and when she sheds them again, I’ll be here to wipe them away.
“What do you want to do now?” she asks.
“I want to take our time,” I say. But our bodies are in disagreement. It’s like those hours we spent away from each other have somehow multiplied. We need each other.
I scoop her up and carry her to her bedroom. I set her down gently. She keeps her hands secured behind my neck, drawing me into her. She wastes no time ripping my shirt over my head. I reciprocate the move, flinging hers to the floor. It sucks to take my hands off her, but I help unbutton my jeans. Her yoga pants are next.
I leave her socks on her because who even cares at a time like this. Plus, it’s kind of sexy seeing her in nothing but pink socks up to her calves.
When I touch her, she’s fucking dripping wet. My fingers slide in so easily. Her hand strokes my cock. But neither are what we want. With one hard stroke, she yanks me into her.
My cock glistens with moisture from her entrance. Holding my giant ass up by my forearm, I use the other hand to guide myself in. As soon as I’m in, Liana rocks into me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I go so deep, and she moans with pleasure.
I want her. I want this every day for the rest of my life.
“I have a confession,” I say breathlessly into her ear.
She squeezes her thighs. I’m trapped. There’s nowhere to go except deeper.
“You have terrible timing,” she says. “I’m about to cum.”
“I know,” I say.
I thrust into her, feel her walls begin to quake, then I’m cumming too, spilling into her.
“What’s your confession?” she asks a minute later. Her chest rises, then falls. We’re both spent.
“It’s about Leonard,” I say. “He was kind of falling for Not Mal.”
Liana drags her hand across my chest. “Is it crazy if I’ve totally fallen for him too?”