Colson laughs. “Is that right? You turning him against me?”
“Nope.” I pop the “p” on the end. “Just evening the playing field is all.”
He shakes his head, playfully pretending he’s disappointed in me.
“If that’s what you think, then you just wait. I’m going to love playing defense against you.”
Colson shifts, rolling me so I’m on my back, positioning himself between my legs. He reaches for my arms, holding them above my head. His arms flex from where he leans over me, inches away from my face.
“You better behave, Rush.”
“Oh, Sydney,” he whispers, trailing a kiss along my chin toward my ear. “You should know by now I don’t play by the rules when it comes to you. You’re one personal foul I’ll never back down from.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rush ~ Four Months Later
“Hell yeah, baby!” Jaxsen cheers, bouncing on his feet, clapping as we walk into the locker room following the game.
“We were putting on a show tonight,” Kinnick boasts, pretending to drain another three-pointer.
He’s right, we killed it tonight. We have a few games left in the regular season, and we’re coming off a sixteen-game winning streak. As it stands, we’re heading into the playoffs, sitting pretty to take this one to the finals, and we can’t be more pumped.
The guys are all filing into the locker room one by one, high-fiving and congratulating each other. We’ve had our highs and lows throughout the season, but we’ve always put our differences aside and come together to play the game.
Coach comes in and gives us a quick speech. We won tonight, so while he lets us celebrate the win, he also gets down to business on what we’ll be focusing on come practice on Sunday.
A few of us opt to hit the showers. Jaxsen will be talking with the media for a bit before heading out for the night. I know Sydney is going to be waiting for me, so I don’t want to wait until I get home to clean up.
“You headin’ over to Blazin’ Shooters tonight? I feel like it’s only fitting we have a couple celebratory drinks and wings.” Jaxsen wags his brows a little while later, running his towel over his head.
Blazin’ Shooters is a sports bar not far from the arena. They are known for going all out when it comes to Miami Blaze game nights, attracting the locals from all over Miami to watch the game if they don’t have tickets.
“Ya know, you could always bring Sydney with you. It’s not a secret anymore,” Kinnick jokes.
“We’ll be there,” I say, pulling my T-shirt over my head, adjusting my chain necklace. I quickly pull on my jeans and tennis shoes, stuffing the rest of my things into my bag.
I tell the guys I’ll meet them over at Shooters, slapping a few of them on the back on my way out. I haven’t seen Sydney since I left early this morning. Things have been well since she opened up to me. While there are still times when I sense she’s hesitant to open up, it has helped to have a better understanding of where she’s coming from.
I take the hallway leading from the locker rooms toward the front of the arena, where Sydney told me she’d meet me after the game.
I spot Coach before I see her, but her auburn hair helps her stand out amongst the crowd. As soon as she sees me, she sticks her hand in the air, waving to get my attention as her dad turns toward me.
“Good game, Rush,” Coach says, giving me another high-five, clapping me on the back.
“I know you both want to get out of here. You guys go on and have a good night, all right?”
Coach smiles, reaching his hand over to wrap around Sydney, pulling her in for a hug. Her face softens, slipping her arm around him to return the gesture.
“Take care of our girl, will ya?” He winks at me.
“Always.” I smile, gliding her fingers between mine, pulling her close to me. I know he knows, especially after how we first met, I would do anything to keep her safe.
Once his back is to us, I greet her with a smirk, raising my eyebrow, letting her know I’m waiting for my kiss.
She peers around us, looking for who may be paying attention. We’re in the packed lobby, people still milling around. It would probably be wise for us to go somewhere else where we wouldn’t attract attention, but I don’t care.
She must know this, too, as her lips purse together, shaking her head, warning me not to.
“What?” I joke.
“Don’t even think about it…” She narrows her eyes, waving her finger at me, pretending to scold me.
I scoff, pulling her into my arms. She’s prepared for it, though. She expects it as I wrap my fingers in her hair, pressing a kiss against her soft lips.
She tilts her head back slightly, letting out a heavy exhale low enough for only me to hear, as I grip her head kissing her again. The heat brewing between us fuels me. The crowd around us grows louder, the flashing lights from the cameras go off, but nothing else exists outside of this moment with her.
When our lips finally break away, she uses my height to hide her face from the watchful eyes around us.
“You couldn’t wait until later?” She giggles, rubbing her lips together. She plays it off like she’s embarrassed, but even I know her rosy cheeks aren’t only from the crowd around us. She feels it between us just as much as I do, even if she wants to pretend otherwise.
“I mean, I’m fine with us taking this to your car. It’s not parked far from here. I’m still waiting for you to make it up to me, ya know, after things got cut so short that one time.”
She smacks me against my chest, pushing away from me, but not before I grab her hand once again, lacing our fingers together.
“Let’s go,” I whisper against the side of her head.
She glances up at me, nodding her head, pulling me along behind her. I don’t pay attention to anyone else as we make our escape out the door.
By the time we make it to the parking lot, I’m able to clear my mind enough to focus on other things.
“How was work today?”
“Good, I’ve been focusing on the upcoming Community Cares event. It’s been keeping me extra busy.”
“Oh, yeah?” I say as she dives into gushing over all the details of the program she’s putting on for spring break for the local kids. We’ve both been volunteering more down at the Boys and Girls Clinic. Some of the guys on the team have even been helping more, and I know Terri appreciates it, too. She’s only told me half a dozen times.
“You know…” She pauses when we reach her car. She turns to face me. She bites her lip, and I’m waiting for what devious thought she has on her mind now. “All day, when I was working on it, I kept thinking about how great you are with the kids down at the clinic…” Her voice drifts on at the end.
Raising my eyebrow, I wait for her to continue. “Yeah?”
“I love watching you with them. They love you, especially Isaac. I feel like if you ever decide this basketball gig gets too boring or something,” she jokes, giggling to herself, “you’d make a mighty sexy stay-at-home dad. Or even a youth basketball coach.”
My eyes widen, not expecting her response, as I push her against the side of the car.
“You think so?” I murmur, leaning in to kiss her soft lips. She nods, snaking her arms around my neck, holding me close.
“Is that what you’ve been thinking about? Us, me and you, having kids?”
“It’s definitely been on my mind more lately.”
“Mm,” I moan, trailing kisses down her neck, back up to nip at her earlobe. She tilts her head to the side, giving me better access, and the sound of her soft moans have me grinding against her.
How does she always make me forget where I am?
“We can practice making a baby right now,” I whisper, reaching behind her lower back to grab for the door handle.
Her chest heaves at the thought of us crawling into her small sports car. I haven’t been able to keep my hands off her since we first met, and I don’t care where we are, I’m alwa
ys going to want her.
“Colson,” she says my name on an exhale.
“C’mon,” I command.
“Aren’t we supposed to go meet up with the guys at Shooters?” She laughs.
It wouldn’t be the first time I blew them off to get Sydney alone. “They’ll understand.” I shrug, pulling the door open to help her inside.
“I mean, I’m not opposed to us practicing right here.” Her voice is cracking at the thought. I notice the not-so-subtle way she rubs her legs together and the desire glossing her eyes.
“I thought maybe, I don’t know, maybe we could consider fostering first instead?”
I pause, pulling back away from her. As much as I want to shed her clothes and explore every inch of her body, this is much more serious than she’s let on.
“Is that what you want?” I ask, my tone changing.
She nods.
“Someday, I want us to have a baby. A little boy or girl who’s half me and half you.” She smiles. Her eyes break my stare, looking down at the ground. She eyes go distant, seeming unsure of where I’m going with this, but I continue. She needs to hear what I’m about to say. “There are kids out there who need and deserve the love we could give them. Kids like Isaac.”
His name gets caught in my throat. There’s so much emotion wrapped around one word.
“Kids like Isaac,” I repeat, “who deserve a home full of love like we could give them. I’ve been going at your pace, letting you lead, but this is what I’ve wanted since we laid on the beach together and talked about our future.”
Her eyes light up, and her smile stretches across her face.
“I promise you, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Epilogue
Rush ~ One Month Later
“Surprise!” the crowd sings, pressing my hand against Sydney’s lower back as we walk into Blazin’ Shooters.
Tonight was a big night for more than one reason. We played our last game at home against Houston. It was a packed crowd, cheering us on as we finished the season with our best record of sixty-six to sixteen. We sealed our fate going into the playoffs as the number one seed in the East.
It’s also my girl’s birthday, which means we’re celebrating for the both of us, so I rented out Shooters for the night and invited all our closest friends and family to join us.
“Oh my gosh, you didn’t.” She laughs, cupping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes are wide as she stares at the crowd of people filling up the bar, clapping as they begin singing “Happy Birthday.”
Tears fill her eyes as she glances over at me, shaking her head. Pulling her into my arms, I lean forward, pressing my mouth against her ear as I murmur for only her to hear, “They’re all here because they love you and want to celebrate with you.”
Her chest heaves at the mention of them loving her as she wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me.
After that night in the parking lot of the arena, we started researching the process of what it would take to become a licensed foster parent in the state of Florida. There was one more thing to sort out before we can fully move forward, knowing our chances as a married couple would certainly help us.
Kaylee is standing near the front of the group, clapping loudly, making catcalls before Sydney pulls back and joins her friends, hugging them, too. I spot the back of her cropped jean jacket, the name “Rush” shines across the back in sparkling rhinestones. She wore her hair just how I love it, curled in waves, pulled over her shoulder so everyone can see my name on her back.
I catch sight of her dad in the crowd behind her. He checks to make sure she’s not looking before he looks back at me, flashing me a thumbs-up signaling everything is set to go.
Sydney makes her rounds, saying hello to our friends and family. My mom and brother flew in from Colorado, wanting to be here with us for the weekend. We have a couple of days off before the playoffs start, but even then, there won’t be much downtime.
We go through and greet everyone. Sydney introduces me to a couple of friends from her college days back in North Carolina, and I introduce her to my brother. They’ve met and talked over FaceTime, but never in person.
We’ve finally started to make it through the crowd of people when the music starts playing, echoing through the speakers throughout the bar.
“I hear we got a fuckin’ birthday in the house!” A loud man’s voice reverberates through the speakers. I grin, glancing over at Sydney when she pauses, her face turning to me.
She’s trying to gauge if she heard the voice correctly.
“Are you going to come outside and say hello?” the voice asks.
Her mouth drops as I answer her question with a broad smile before nodding my head to confirm she heard him correctly.
It took a lot of work and pulling strings since they were already on the road, but I was able to convince Sydney’s favorite band, A Rebels Havoc, to swing down here to help me wish her a happy birthday.
Her head whips around the bar, searching for any sign of them. I watch and wait as she looks out at the large windows and the French doors overlooking the patio facing the water, to the makeshift stage the bar let us set up, spotting them.
All our friends and family clue into who it is before Sydney pauses, holding her arms out to her sides as she shouts to me, “You didn’t? Please tell me you’re not messing with me right now!”
“Why would I mess with you?”
“Did you seriously have A Rebels Havoc come here for my birthday?”
“Maybe…?”
She folds her hand over her mouth, her eyes growing wide again for the second time tonight. “I’m serious. You have to be kidding me. You know how much I love them.”
“Did you hear him? They’re waiting for you.”
She takes off like her ass is on fire, and I can’t help but laugh as she bolts toward the door, yanks the handle, and runs out onto the deck.
The sun has started to set, leaving only the soft lighting draped overhead as Brix, the lead singer of A Rebels Havoc, stands on the stage waiting with the rest of the guys.
“There she is!” he growls into the microphone. “Hey, Sydney, I hear it’s your birthday today.” He winks at her.
She spins on her heels, her jaw gaping as she looks at me before turning to face them again. Tysin starts off on the bass guitar, as Madden follows on the drums, and their newest guitarist, Trey, cues in on the electric. Sydney closes the space, moving to get closer as she sways her body to the beat of the music. My hands brush across the denim of her shorts, wrapping around her waist as she sings along to the lyrics of her favorite song, “Make Me Feel.”
Brix smiles, pressing his foot against the speaker lining the front of the stage, leaning forward to sing directly to her.
I’ll never forget this day, our win today, on top of how happy she looks as she spins in my arms to face me.
“I love you,” I mouth to her.
She scrunches up her nose, reaching to grip my face in her hands, kissing me with all our friends and family around us.
“I love you, too.”
I’ll never forget the look on her face, the happiness in her eyes, knowing she means it when she says those words to me.
“Good, I’m happy to hear that because I have something else for you.”
She pauses, looking around her like she’s expecting something else to jump out at her and surprise her.
Reaching for the box in my pocket, I kneel on one knee. For the second time tonight, I’ve managed to shock her.
“Colson!” she shouts, looking around her like she can’t believe this is happening, before looking back down at me. Her mom, Susie, bursts into tears as her dad hugs her to help keep her emotions together.
“Sydney, I love you…” I say, holding the box up between us when she stops me.
“Yes!”
“Baby, you didn’t even give me a chance to ask.”
“My answer is still yes.” She giggles, bending down to grab my face.
“Will you ever stop being so stubborn and let me ask?”
“I mean, sure, if you want to, but I thought I was helping by giving you your answer.”
I grin, shaking my head at this woman. I don’t think she’ll ever stop pushing my buttons and challenging me at my every word.
“Sydney Nicole Carr, will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
She doesn’t even give me a chance to put the ring on her finger; she takes me by surprise herself, wrapping her arms around me, hugging me with so much force she nearly knocks me over.
“What am I going to do with you?” I murmur in between kisses.
“You better figure it out because you’re stuck with me now.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
* * *
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Sneak Peek of Brix
If you enjoyed Personal Foul, you’ll love my latest release, Brix. It’s a steamy and forbidden rockstar/enemies to lovers romance. Keep reading to get a taste of Brix!
* * *
One
Ivy
“I’ll take a whiskey. Neat.”
“You got it!” the bartender shouts over the music.
My eyes scan over the crowd of people packed into Whiskey Barrel Saloon, searching for any sign of my friend. She promised to meet me here after she got off work.
I rolled into town less than an hour ago. The moment I saw the “Welcome to Carolina Beach” sign passing into the city limits, I contemplated pulling over on the side of the road and turning the car around, convincing myself there had to be another way out of this.
Personal Foul: A Sports Office Standalone Romance Page 15