by Max Monroe
I laughed at how easily it was to fool him into insecurity. “Okay. I mean…Lana said… You know what? Never mind.”
His scowl deepened, and now, I was the one laughing. “What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
Properly put back in line and officially sporting a scowl, he followed me contritely out of the locker room and down the hall to the fan area, and it didn’t take long to spot Gemma and Alma.
Alma had somehow found a chair, and everyone around her was keeping clear. Apparently, she’d been showing off her personality.
Cam and I moved quickly, and I scooped Gemma into my arms and settled my lips on hers. She broke it off quickly, glancing to Alma, and I rolled my eyes.
Like my sex-toy-peddling aunt cared about us kissing.
Cam took the opportunity, however, to cut in.
“Hi, ladies. I’m Cam. Leo’s one and only best friend.”
I rolled my eyes as Gemma and Alma smiled.
“He’s a pain in my ass,” I said in response, and Alma smacked me.
“Be nice, Leonard.”
Oh no. I do not like that light in Cam’s eyes.
“Yeah, Leonard,” Cam said then, and I sighed. Great. It looked like that name would never, ever die a proper death. Before long, the whole team would be calling me it. “Your girl and your aunt came all this way to see you play.”
Back on topic, I turned to Gemma and smiled. “That’s true. I can’t believe you guys came.”
“Well,” Nonna cut in without remorse, “I actually had someone to help me get here. If you’d thought of it sooner, I might have made it to a few more games.”
Cam smiled, absolutely swimming in all his glory as she knocked me down peg after peg. “Yeah, Leonard.”
I sighed.
“I wish I’d known you guys were coming. I have to take the bus back, and I can’t stay to hang out.”
Gemma smiled, and as pretty as it was, it wasn’t the easy one I’d come to know. “That’s okay. Alma and I have plans.”
“That’s right,” Nonna interjected before I had to ask. “We’re going to check out a few stores.”
“Stores?” I mouthed to Gemma.
She nodded solemnly, and I shivered.
I really didn’t want to think about my great-aunt visiting sex shops with my girlfriend, but I doubted Gemma was any more thrilled to be going to them. Out of the two, I definitely had the lesser of the evils.
“I guess I’ll see you when we get back home, then?” I asked hopefully, and Gemma nodded. I desperately wanted more quality time with her. More kissing, more sex, more Gemma.
We were just getting to the point where I could ask her to sing for me at home without it being a sore spot. Up until now, we’d both pretty much avoided the topic completely.
After a quick round of goodbyes, I shook off Cam’s hand as he put it on the small of the back to escort me to the bus.
He laughed, of course, happy to be able to tease me in private again.
“So, I guess you and the piss-pouring princess made up again?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Yes. A long time ago. I just pushed too hard.”
“What do you mean?”
“With the gig. At Monarchy. She wasn’t ready.”
Cam pursed his lips thoughtfully as we walked toward the bus, and I got lost in my thoughts. It wasn’t until we climbed on board and sat down that he spoke again. But when he did, he was serious.
“You know, sometimes people need the push. I don’t know the details, but if you believe what you did was the right thing, I wouldn’t back down.”
My brain spun as I considered his words and weighed my options.
Could I go on as we were and just leave it alone?
Or did I believe in Gemma enough to give her the push?
And most importantly…could I really handle the consequences?
I’d take my time. But eventually, I would have to decide.
Gemma deserved the world.
And the world, well, it fucking deserved Gemma’s voice.
I couldn’t believe I was here, sitting inside Baltimore’s stadium, watching the Mavericks fight for every inch against Philadelphia’s offense.
I’d never been so invested in a sports game in my entire life.
But I guessed that’s what happened when your boyfriend just so happened to be a professional football star.
One day, you barely knew the difference between a touchdown and a field goal, and the next, you were shouting profanities at the refs for shitty penalty calls against your team.
Leo’s team.
I’d only made it to one of their four play-off games, but thanks to my intimate connections to one of the very players on that field, I was a spectator for the Mavericks’ biggest game of the year. The entire professional football league’s biggest game of the year, in fact.
Time was ticking off the clock, and all I could do was fidget and bounce around on my feet as I watched what would most likely be one of the final plays of the game.
The anticipation of it all nearly took my breath away.
Fourth quarter. Third down.
One lone minute left on the clock.
The Mavericks led by seven points, and Philadelphia had the ball.
The entire stadium grew to a quiet hush as the guys lined up on the fifteen-yard line, and my heart started to pound rapidly inside of my chest.
This was it. The championship game.
And all the Mavericks had to do was hold Philadelphia off for one minute.
Sixty fucking seconds and the trophy would be theirs after years of coming up short. Obviously, I hadn’t been following it that long, but my relationship with Leo had changed things. He’d been explicit in the details he shared with me about the guys and what this meant to them.
I only really had the firsthand experience of witnessing how much it meant to him. But if it meant even a fifth to other guys of what it meant to Leo, I couldn’t imagine what the entire team must be feeling.
Some of them, Cam included, had been after this title for their entire careers. Years of sweat and agony, years of putting it all on the line, years of coming so close they could taste it.
And now, they had a real fucking shot.
I spotted number twenty-one on the field, and my chest grew tight with nerves and adoration.
C’mon, Leo!
Fuck, I was nervous for him. And when I looked over at the wives and girlfriends of Leo’s teammates, I quickly realized I wasn’t the only one who was freaking out.
Quinn Bailey’s wife Cat was literally sitting on the edge of her seat.
Lana Simone, Cam’s fiancée, stood by the glass of the box, her elbows resting on the railing and her eyes wide with anticipation.
And Six Phillips bounced around the VIP box with her camera in one hand and a tiny infant in the other arm, catching everything and everyone on film.
Philly’s quarterback took the hike, and the players on the line barreled toward each other.
With a short, lateral pass to his left, Philadelphia’s QB got rid of the ball and the receiver snagged it from the air, but he only managed a yard or two before the Mavericks defense tackled his ass to the ground.
Hell yes!
Everyone—including me—inside the VIP box was on their feet, screaming and cheering and clapping and high-fiving each other.
And we were practically docile compared to the crowd in the stands. They jived and jumped and rumbled so loud, goose bumps peppered the skin of my arms.
“C’mon, Mavericks!” Lana shouted through cupped hands. “You got this, guys!”
“Let’s go, Mavs!” Six exclaimed.
The ref verified fourth down with a wave of his arms and a blow of his whistle, and the crowd went wild.
With thirty seconds left on the clock, Philly either needed to score a touchdown or gain eight yards for another first down. And my man was one of the key players assigned to stop them.
Both teams lined up.
Philly’s QB looked left, he looked right, then he repeated that circuit again with the ball in his hands until, thanks to Leo and the rest of the team’s coverage, he ran out of viable options. In a last-ditch effort, he cradled the ball to his chest and attempted the run himself.
One yard. Two yards. He pivoted and twisted and tried like hell to get past the Mavs offense, but when he reached the ten-yard line, Leo was there. Just like he trained me to know he’d been trained, he wrapped both arms around the QB’s back and pulled him straight to the ground with a clashing bang.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I hopped up from my seat.
As the big bruiser of a quarterback hit the ground, the ball popped out from his chest and bounced across the grass.
Collins, a defensive end for our team, snagged the ball from the ground and headed toward the Mavs end zone.
By the time he reached the thirty-yard line, Philly’s offense managed to stop his progress with a quick tackle and pileup, but it was too late. The writing was on the wall, and the news was on the scoreboard.
The New York Mavericks, your national champions!
The stadium vibrated so hard, I thought the center would cave in, and confetti fell from the sky. And Leo and his teammates? They were losing their ever-loving shit.
My heart swelled with pride, and tears pricked my eyes. They deserved this. They’d worked so hard. Leo had worked so hard.
God, I couldn’t fucking wait to get to him.
Only about an hour of being a dutiful girlfriend while he had his moment with the team and about a hundred reporters and I’d be able to.
I didn’t mind. Watching him out there was like watching him come alive.
The guys had taken the stage and accepted their trophy, Leo’s face making more than one appearance on the JumboTron, handsome smile and all, and the television sportscaster had done the presentation and interview. The celebration was still wild, but we’d finally reached my favorite part, and that was because we, friends and family, were finally allowed down on the field to celebrate with them. I’d finally get to wrap my arms around my favorite Mavericks player.
My Leo.
The instant my shoes hit the grass, I spotted him standing near a few of his teammates and went sprinting toward the group with the biggest grin on my face.
“Leo!” I shouted, and he turned around.
The instant our eyes locked, the biggest, most infectious smile took over his face.
He caught me in his arms and lifted me up off my feet, and I secretly hoped my feet never hit earth again.
“Congratulations, Leonard!” I giggled and wrapped my arms and legs around his body as he slowly spun us around in a circle. “You did so fucking awesome!”
Leo’s baby-blue eyes met mine, and I didn’t miss the way they lit up his face in the most perfect way. It was like being able to put a candle inside the ocean without having the flame go out.
“Fuck, I’m so happy you’re here,” he whispered into my ear right before he put his hand in my hair and pressed his mouth to mine.
“Me too,” I told him honestly. “Watching you out there, Leo, it was something else. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
His smile changed then, slipping to the side a little with a wonkiness I couldn’t place. I didn’t know why, but it felt like something had just moved through him.
I was probably just imagining it. With a shake of his head, he picked me up and swung me around again and pressed his lips to mine.
There was only one thing that could make this day better, and I knew it was coming. Being alone.
Silently, I thanked my lucky stars that I’d made this road trip by myself.
Alma had decided to sit this game out and watch it from home. Apparently, she was “too old and decrepit” to handle the wild celebrations that would ensue after the Mavericks won. But, she’d sent me an excited text filled with only emojis the instant they were titled this year’s champions.
And Leo’s parents hadn’t made it to the game either, a fact that I had a hard time wrapping my head around. But apparently, they were on an anniversary cruise they’d had planned for a year. Ye of little faith, I guess they’d had doubts the Mavericks would end up in the Championship in his rookie season. But even without them, we weren’t exactly lacking for company.
The entire team, their families, the owner and his family and friends, along with the entire staff of Mavericks Stadium were a raging group of lunatics around us, and I had a feeling the group party wouldn’t be ending anytime soon.
Maybe that was why celebrating tonight at the hotel was just about all I could think about. And with the mischief in Leo’s eyes lighting up the ten feet around us, I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one.
When the hotel door finally clicked shut behind us five hours later, I sighed in relief.
It wasn’t so much that I hadn’t enjoyed the boisterous celebration of a Mavericks championship team that had been years and years in the making, it was simply that I was ready for one-on-one time with my man.
He was happy. I was happy.
And I imagined the celebration sex tonight was going to be out of this fucking world.
With a twist and a heavy breath, he fell back on the bed and splayed out like a sea star as I slid the lock and chain home on the door.
I laughed at him softly and closed the distance, climbing up onto the bed between his legs and leaning down to press our chests together.
He grabbed on to my hips and smiled the smile of a man who had everything.
“Happy, baby?” I asked, wanting to hear him say it, even though I most definitely knew the answer.
“You have no idea.” He shook his head almost manically and burst out in laughter. “I just can’t believe it really happened. National champions, Gem! Can you fucking believe it?”
I smiled and kissed his lips before settling my weight back into my knees and answering gleefully. “Of course, I can. You’re magic out there, Leo.”
His smile went wonky for the second time that day, and now that we were in the privacy of our hotel room, I figured there wouldn’t be any harm in finding out why.
I wanted to know what he was thinking, everything he was thinking.
“What’s that look?” I asked, smoothing my thumb over the wrinkle in his brow as I did.
He adjusted his face. “What look?”
Ah, okay. So, he was going to deny it. I could play games if he wanted to.
“Don’t play innocent with me, silly boy,” I teased. “This is the second time I’ve seen it today. There was a look, you know there was a look, and I can be relentless when I want to be. So, why don’t you do us both a favor and just tell me?”
I laughed at my pushiness and expected him to do the same, so when he sat up underneath me and cleared his throat, it came as a bit of a surprise.
I shifted to the side to keep from falling off onto the floor, and he ran a hand through his hair.
“Leo,” I said, much more seriously now. “What’s going on?”
He nodded to himself and turned to face me before reaching out to grab my hands, and a fucking clawing feeling took up residence in my throat.
Good God, what was going on?
“You’re scaring me.”
“Okay, okay,” he said then, finally pulling my hands to his chest and opening his lungs. “Okay, so hear me out. Today, you got to watch me do something I love, right?”
“Right.”
“And it was special for you, wasn’t it?”
I nodded, completely baffled. “Of course.”
“Well…Gem. God, I can’t believe I’m doing this tonight of all nights.”
“Leo,” I said, my stomach officially in my throat.
“But that’s what it’s like for me watching you perform music.”
Oh no. No, no, no, no. Not this. N
ot right now.
“Leo—”
“It is,” he insisted. “I know you’re scared, but I was scared once too. I didn’t think I’d be able to do this, and look at me now. We won the fucking Championship! You can do it! I know you can!”
“Leo!”
“That’s why I booked you another shot at Monarchy. I know you weren’t ready before, but I’ve given you time—”
Emotions on overload, I jumped up from the bed on a scream and ripped my hands from his.
“I cannot believe you did this again!” I yelled, shaking so hard I could barely breathe. “Didn’t you learn anything last time?”
“Yes!” he yelled back, his temper fully engaged now too. “I learned that you’re way too stubborn for your own good! God, Gemma, why can’t you let me help you? Why can’t you give yourself a shot?”
My bones ached and my heart pounded and everything in me screamed at myself to give it more time. Not to make another mess out of this. To be calm and rational.
But I was drained dry, and I didn’t have any waiting left to give.
This time, he’d pushed too far.
The walls closed in around me, and anxiety wrapped her fingers around my throat like a fucking vise.
“I may be stubborn, but I’m allowed to be. This is my life!”
“Oh yeah? I thought maybe we were building something where it might be our life!”
“Not anymore,” I said, my voice as soft as a church mouse but as effective as a bullet.
My words had been a gut-punch reaction, flying out of my mouth and past my lips before I could really process them.
But I’d said it, and I couldn’t take it back. And by the devastated look on his face, I knew I could never fix whatever I’d destroyed with those two measly but fucking powerful words.
He took a step back, and before I knew it, I found myself taking fifteen steps away from him.
Leo didn’t say anything. And I didn’t know what to say.
Honestly, I didn’t have anything left to offer or any piece of my heart left to break.
He’d pushed me past the point of no return, and all I could do was finish the distance toward the door.
Out of the room.
Out of Leo’s life.
As the door clicked shut behind me, a sob bubbled up from my throat.