by Claire Adams
"Yes, Ron. I do," he said, kissing me gently unwrapping my arms from around him.
"I hate your job," I pouted.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
"That's not soon enough," I said. I stalked back to the bed. I peered at him over my shoulder and pulled the shirt back off, throwing it on the ground so I was naked again. He was staring at me when I looked back at him. We had both fallen asleep naked the night before. With any luck, I could get him out of those clothes again. He didn't even have to take it all off. Just the pants.
"Can't argue with that," he muttered, walking over. I crawled onto the bed, feeling him palm my ass and run his hand up my back, up my neck and then grasp a handful of my hair. He tilted my head back to kiss me. His tongue plunged into my mouth, curling with mine. I whined when he broke it.
"Wait for me," he said, planting another kiss on my forehead. He smacked my ass again on his way out the door.
I flopped onto the bed and sighed. Well, I gave it my best shot. He obviously had his priorities straight, and I wasn't going to start complaining about that. This was the reason we were here. One of the reasons. I was getting a new reason today. I was and wasn't looking forward to it all at the same time.
It was going to be a journey, finding out our routine, together and apart. Then changing it when regular season started, when he was on vacation, I was on vacation, or when he had to travel. The most important thing was going to be making sure we were on the same page. We had done so well with that in the past. So well it had led to not one but two breakups.
Things would be different now. This was the real deal. It had been real before, but this was more than that. It was the two of us separated from what we used to know and do, setting off on our own. The beginning of our life together. Our journey.
My part started today, checking out the campus. Rome had been right about me not needed to be up, though. I dozed in our unmade bed for another couple hours before I started getting ready to leave.
Roman had taken the car, so I ended up calling a cab. I'd have to get my car down here from Aberdeen or get another. I knew how Roman felt about my car, but it still worked, I didn't know what his problem was. I had to be there at ten. I was meeting a woman from the alumni society, Betty Lange, for the tour. She was a short woman with frizzy black hair, dressed in a weather appropriate sundress. I had looked at a map of the campus online, but it was massive and I didn't trust myself not to get lost. Betty apparently didn't, either. We met at the main admin building.
Five minutes into the tour, I was glad that I had worn flats that morning. My college back home had been smaller than this, but maybe some of the size here was just an illusion since I wasn't familiar with my surroundings yet. It was beautiful, though. Green and lush, loads of flowers and tall palm trees everywhere. Maybe it would feel smaller when it was filled with students. There weren't a lot of people still on campus since fall semester hadn't started yet.
"Do you want to see the residence halls?" Betty asked me.
"No need. I'm living off campus."
"I thought you transferred. Where did you get a place?"
"I live about fifteen or twenty minutes from here. I have an apartment."
"Yeah? That's a nice area," she commented, sounding complimentary but also curious.
"It is," I said, agreeing.
"Right by the water, too. Right?" she asked. I giggled. She was digging. The area Roman and I lived was definitely not in the budget of the ordinary college student who no longer lived with her parents.
"I don't live alone. I live with my boyfriend."
"How did you make the jump from South Dakota to here?"
"I transferred after summer semester at my old college because he got signed to play for the Hurricanes."
"Ooh, an athlete. I guess I don't have to ask whether he'll be joining us too since he's already a pro."
"Yeah," I said proudly. "He worked hard to get here, and we wanted to be close. Transferring wasn't too much to ask for us to be able to stay together."
"You must really love him," she said. She didn't know how right she was. She asked me questions about myself after that, mainly what I wanted to study. I looked after every question for a way to steer the conversation back to Roman. She didn't care, obviously, but it felt good talking about him.
It took coming up the elevator, letting myself into the apartment and face-planting on the bed to realize how tired I was when I got home. I rolled onto my back, trying to summon enough motivation to at least wash my makeup off. It had to be the heat. I hadn't acclimatized yet. It sucked the life right out of me. I closed my eyes, telling myself I'd open then again in five minutes. Yeah. Five minutes and I'd get up. It would be easier getting up and washing my face now than it would be to try to wash it off the sheets later.
I sighed, feeling the bed depress behind me. Roman's arm wrapped around me and pulled me back into his chest. He was back. I smiled, rubbing my hand up his forearm.
"What time is it?" I grumbled, remembering that I had meant to get up again.
"A little past ten," he said. There was something else about training camp that I had had no idea about – how long the days lasted. They weren't running around practicing all the hours that they were gone, but it was a long, stressful workday. I respected the hell out of him for it.
He would tell me about it when I asked, but he wouldn't talk about it like it was hard, or share just how demanding it was. It made me want to go full Stepford Wife, have food on the table and turned down sheets for him when he would get home.
"I wasn't supposed to fall asleep," I sighed. I rolled over so I was looking at him. He had gotten some color already, it was so hot here. He looked a little tired too though.
"Sorry I woke you. Again."
"No. I have to wash my makeup off anyway. Are you hungry?"
"I ate before I got here. How was the tour today?"
"It was good. The woman who took me around the campus was nice. It was nice," I said dreamily. "I'll be able to register no problem in a couple weeks."
"That's great, babe," he said.
"I need to bring my car down from Aberdeen."
"No. You're getting a new one. I'm getting you a new one."
"My old one still works."
"It won't survive the trip down. Let me get you another one."
"Okay," I conceded, sighing. I was agreeable when I was tired. "How was practice?"
"Counting down the days to my first day off."
I touched his cheek. "Was it that bad?"
"No. I'm just away a lot. I don't like spending all this time apart, not right now when you just got here." I leaned in and kissed his forehead.
"I understand that you have to do it. One day, the tables will turn and you'll be the one waiting up for me."
"You weren't waiting up, you were asleep," he said, grinning.
"I should really get up," I said, not moving.
"What'll happen if you leave it on?" he asked. I thought about the breakouts I could look forward to having if I kept lying there and finally pushed myself up onto my elbows.
"Bad things," I sighed, pushing up to a sitting position. He got off the bed and stood in front of me, offering me his hand. I took it and let him pull me up. His hands held my hips and he trailed them up under my t-shirt. I raised my arms, letting him pull it off. "I don't need to take this off to wash my face," I said. He unhooked my bra behind my back with one hand.
"I know. I want you to take a shower with me," he said. He unbuttoned my shorts, and I let him. I pulled his shirt off, and we took turns till we were both naked. I ran a hand down his abs. Could we skip that shower and just jump into bed?
"Don't worry so much about me," I said, looking up at him. "I want to be here from you. I'm ready for whatever's going to happen." He kissed me gently.
"I know. I need to be, too," he sighed. "This time we're making it stick."
"Third time lucky," I said, smiling.
"I love you."
"I love you," I said back. Our lips met again. He kissed me deeply before hoisting me up and walking us to the bathroom. He told me again as we made love in our huge multi-head shower, then again as we dozed in each other’s arms and fell asleep.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Roman
Six Months Later
35 to 31. It had been close. Almost too close, but we had taken it. Only just, but it was still a win. That last whistle and the roar from the crowd never got old. At some point, I figured looking up and seeing walls of people everywhere I turned would feel normal, but it hadn't yet.
I had asked Ron to sit in one of the private boxes but she hadn't. She had been right up close in one of the field seats. I liked that she could see me from where she was, even though the boxes were safer and more comfortable.
I was so distracted looking for her I almost missed the question the man with the mic in my face had asked. I looked at him, smiled, and said thank you. Safe answer for whatever he could have said. It must have been the right one, too, because he kept talking. I tried to look over his shoulder back at the crowd to see whether I could find Ron.
"Can we expect this for the rest of the season?" the guy asked. This had to be the most boring part of this job. Talking to the press. They were kind of our worst enemy, but coverage was good. Good coverage was the best. Lord knew how easy it was to get bad coverage.
"Absolutely," I told him, giving him my practiced interview smile. We all had to do it, but they didn't media train us the way they trained us for the games. If you could schmooze, people liked you more. You sold more jerseys, and that meant your management liked you more. All in a day's work. The guy thanked me and took his mic out of my face.
Finally. I scanned the crowd, looking for where Ron had sat. Every time I had tried to look over at her during the game, the cheerleaders had been in the way.
I finally saw her, hair up, wearing her Hurricanes jersey. I jogged over pulling her down onto the field, past the rope barricade. She jumped into my arms, hugging me.
“You did so good, baby,” she said.
“That’s right. And, I’m not done yet,” I shot back.
She laughed. She couldn’t make all the games, and I didn’t expect her to, but she was always in the crowd supporting me when she could be. She was cordial with some of the other girlfriends and wives that came to the games, but she wasn’t exactly being invited to brunches with them. Not really her scene. She was almost done with her senior year – she had other things on her plate.
“Are they going to let you leave now?” she asked.
“After the press conference, for sure,” I told her. She nodded. I was glad she got it, but there were still things here and there I felt a little bad for making her put up with. Someone came up behind me clapping me on the back.
“Good game, Rome,” Marcus, our wide receiver, said to me.
“Don’t lie to him,” another guy, Luther, said. He played tight end. “Veronica, tell your man if he lets it get that close again, it’s his ass,” he said. She laughed. A number of the guys knew her from practices and games; she’d come with me to parties they had at their places sometimes. They’d give her shit, some would flirt with her, but she ran with it.
“I don’t know. He played pretty well from where I sat,” she said. Luther was holding the game ball, passing it between his hands.
“I think we need to start looking for a replacement. How’s your throwing arm?” he asked.
“Mine?” she asked, catching the ball as he tossed it to her.
“Now we know you can catch,” he said, grinning at her. “Come on,” he said, walking backwards, “give me your best throw.” She looked at me, holding the ball in her hands.
“Go on. Show us what you got,” I challenged. The ball looked huge in her hands. I was going to say with some confidence that she’d never tossed one of those in her life. She threw it, straight and long right at Luther. He caught it and came towards us.
“Damn, and that’s with no practice?” he said, gassing her up. Veronica laughed.
“Watch out, Rome. I might have a career in this,” she said, looking at me. Luther tossed the ball at me. I handed it to her.
“You know if that happened I’d be your biggest cheerleader.”
“Would you wear the little shorts?” she asked, grinning. I laughed.
“A skirt would be better, don’t you think? Easier access.” She laughed, and I kissed her. We cleared off the field and met up again after the press conference. We had come in separate cars since I had had to be at the stadium before her.
A few of the guys were going out to celebrate, but we had plans already. The team’s owner, Peter Goldman and his wife had asked to have dinner with us that night. He had chosen a place where a lot of players went often, so of course, dinner was half actually eating and half talking to fans and signing autographs.
We got back to the apartment, finally, at almost midnight. I had been on a high earlier, just after the game, but now, I was just glad to be home. Ron had walked in before me and was already bee-lining it for the bedroom. I followed her. She was in the bathroom when I fell face first into the bed. I rolled onto my back hearing her come out. She had tied her hair up and from what I could see through her clothes, taken her bra off. She crawled onto the bed and lay on her back next to me.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"I should be asking you that," she said, rolling onto her side, leaning her head on her arm so she could look at me. "How's the hip?" she asked.
I shrugged. I had strained my right hip a little a week or so ago and had been getting it looked at, and though it wasn't really getting worse, it wasn't really improving that much, either. I could walk, run, play on it, but anything that hurt and kept hurting was bad news.
"I asked for this. It's my job."
"You always say that."
"It's true."
You did good today. How did that feel?"
"I think I deserve something nice for it."
"Something nice? Like what?"
"How generous are you feeling tonight?" I asked. She sat up and straddled me. I held her hips and lined them up with mine, grinding up into her.
"Generous enough to offer whatever you want," she said, grinning. She leaned down and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her, pressing her into my chest.
"I have everything I want," I said when she pulled away. She ran her finger down my chest.
"Really? Everything?"
"The list isn't that long. I have my job. I have you. We won our last three games."
"There's really nothing else?"
"Nothing I can think of right now. No. Right now? Everything's perfect."
"I'm glad that you're happy," she said, smiling.
And, I was happy. My hip was bothering me but so what? I was finally in the pros. I got here and I had Ron with me. I never had to choose. Once the season was out, we were road tripping to Houston. I had it all. I was fucking happy. Did this even get better? I didn't know, and it didn't even matter. This was where the hell I had been trying to get all my life. I had done it. Fingers crossed, I'd be able to say that for a long time.
Epilogue
Veronica
Two Years Later
"Ron... Ron, baby, wake up."
"Hm?" I said, disoriented. I heard Roman laugh. I squinted, trying to remember where we were. He was standing in the aisle with my hand luggage and his. I frowned as it came back to me. We were on a plane.
A man shuffled past Roman with his own luggage, and I realized we had landed. I was probably holding them up. His fault, I thought. He shouldn't have gotten us the comfort seats. I hurried to my feet.
"Okay?" he asked, kissing me.
"Let's go," I said, taking my bag from him. He let me walk out ahead of him. I exited the plane, looking around the familiar small airport. I made a few trips back a year, usually during the holidays so we could spend them with family, but this was different. It wasn't Thanksg
iving or Christmas, not even Fourth of July.
We were celebrating, though. Roman and the Hurricanes had just won the Super Bowl, not their first, but his. That deserved a vacation.
We were staying for a week. Not that much time, so we had a packed schedule. After doing the obligatory rounds with family, we were going to rent a cabin in the Black Hills forest for a few days. Since neither of us had our places here anymore, we were staying at a hotel, which I wasn't going to lie, I was sort of looking forward to. I had done the bookings. All I needed was for there to be a tub. We had a ridiculous tub at our place back home. Jets, big enough to fit a whole family – it was great. It had also spoiled me rotten.
We grabbed our suitcases and went through to arrivals to get a ride. I had my phone out, ready to get a cab.
"Whoa, what are you doing?" Roman asked me.
"We're not walking, are we?"
"No need," he said, pointing. I followed his finger, smiling when I saw Tiffany.
"I didn't know you called her," I said.
"She volunteered," he said. "This way we wouldn't have an excuse not to go see her."
Tiff had graduated and started a master’s program since we had been gone. She still lived with their dad. He wasn't in a hurry to see her leave, and she could save up for her own place that way. He had started seeing someone in the past year, too, which had shocked everyone because of how long he had stayed single after his wife, Tiff and Roman’s mom, passed. I hadn't had a chance to meet her yet, but maybe this would be the trip that I did.
I hugged Tiff first. We talked almost every day. Texts, phone calls – we were long distance, but she had made a few trips down to Miami since we'd been apart. She hugged Roman and walked us to the car. I sat in the back and Roman in the passenger side. I was still sort of tired, oddly, despite being knocked out for most of the plane ride here.
I watched the city pass outside the window. Things never seemed to change that much every time we would come back, which I secretly liked. It was like it was making sure it didn't leave us behind, become completely different and leave us floundering trying to adjust.