An hour later, after finishing up his non-date lunch and driving home, he pulled out his laptop to video chat with his sister. Between seeing Em and Frida tease each other in the cafeteria, and reading his favorite childhood book to Em’s class, he realized that he really missed Katherine.
The two had been good about texting and interacting online, but he couldn’t remember the last time he sat down just to catch up. When her smiling face appeared on the screen, he instantly felt homesick.
“Hey, Granty Panty.”
Grant groaned. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that homesick. He could go the rest of his life without hearing the ridiculous nickname his sister had given him when they were little. Every year, a small part of him hoped that Katherine would eventually stop calling him that, but Grant would always be her kid brother. They could be old and gray at his niece’s wedding, and he’d still be Granty Panty.
She lifted her brows. “And to think, it only took a severe injury that put you out of commission to call me.”
“Yeah, I miss you too.” He really did.
Katherine asked him how his school visit had gone, and when Grant had finished telling her about it, she leaned forward so that her face filled more of the screen.
“And is Emmeline madly in love with you yet?”
Grant laughed. “I’ve told you, it’s not like that.”
“Yes, but I’ve also known you your entire life. I’ve never seen you light up like this when you’ve talked about a girl.”
“Note to self: no more video chats.”
She rolled her eyes. “You act like I didn’t already know before seeing your love-sick expression whenever you say her name.”
“I can still hit ‘end call.’”
Katherine leaned back in her seat. “You could, but you won’t.”
“Oh yeah?”
His sister shrugged. “You haven’t seen your nieces yet. It would break their hearts not to say hi.”
Grant felt a pang of guilt. Between family dinners with his parents, and babysitting so that his sister and her husband could go out on Friday nights, he was used to seeing his nieces several times a week. Now that he was states away, he missed his uncle role. “You’re right.”
“Plus, I think you want to talk more about your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“But you want her to be.”
Grant closed his eyes and sighed. Dating Em sounded great on paper, but every time he gave it any more than a superficial thought, it didn’t seem like a good idea.
First, there was the issue of the O’Brien siblings. Em kept insisting that she didn’t date players, and Finn had a strict no-dating-my-sister rule. But if that wasn’t enough, there was the fact that Grant didn’t live in Florida—not permanently. He lived in a team house with no roots in Waterfront. When the season was over, he’d move back to his apartment in Kansas City. Em had a teaching career here in town, and eventually Grant would pursue his own career...once he figured out what it was.
“Katherine, you know I like her. She’s gorgeous and funny and—”
“So what’s the problem?”
He ran a hand over his face. “It’s complicated.”
“Can I give you some sisterly advice?”
“Are you going to take no for an answer?”
“Obviously not.” She laughed. “But if you really like this girl, and it sounds like she likes you too, maybe you should explore what could happen between you. If it’s love, you can figure out the rest. Just like I did with Joseph.”
“Not everyone is willing to move cross-country for someone.”
She smiled. “But they are for the right one. Just something to think about.”
Grant would think about it, but he wasn’t the one who needed convincing. He was willing to give things a shot as soon as Em gave him the green light.
“Can we come in yet?” said a young girl’s voice from the screen.
“Please, Mommy,” said another. “We want to see Uncle Grant.”
Katherine laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to keep them out much longer. So if you have anything else you want to get off your chest, do it now or forever hold your peace.”
Grant was relieved for his nieces’ interruption. He didn’t think that he could talk relationships with his sister much longer. “Let them in.”
Katherine called the girls, and they came running in. They basically pushed their mom out of the way to fill the entire screen of his laptop. They started long monologues about their toys, their friends, and how much they missed him.
After fifteen minutes of this, Grant finally got to speak. “I miss you guys too.”
It was true. He did.
But this was finally his chance to do what he loved for a bit.
And maybe find love too.
Emmeline
Something felt off to Em at Saturday night’s Storm game.
Normally, it was all about cheering for her brother and the other guys while eating greasy concession food with Miriam.
But this week, she couldn’t stop thinking about Grant. He invaded her thoughts without permission, and as much as she had tried to deny it, she had a crush on him—not that she was willing to admit it to Frida.
Her friend walked beside her as they entered the arena. Em hadn’t planned on inviting her after she’d not-so subtly played matchmaker at the school, but Frida had begged until Em said yes.
They wore matching O’Brien jerseys, just as they had the week before. Miriam was already there when they got to their seats, typing wildly on her phone. When she was done, she looked up at Em, eyes wide. “Thank goodness you’re here.”
Em raised her brows. “I didn’t realize my attendance was so important.”
“It’s not. I mean, it is.” Miriam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have this really fun halftime show planned for tonight’s game, but I absolutely cannot use one of the people Greg chose to participate.”
It wasn’t uncommon for the Storm office staff to put together halftime shows that involved fans. Sometimes it was a shooting contest to win free tickets, or a trivia question for a gift card from a corporate sponsor. One time, they sold ping-pong balls to fans for a chance to win a brand-new car. They pulled the vehicle onto the field, opened the sunroof, and let everyone throw their balls from the stands. If they got a ball in, they won the car.
But Em couldn’t think of any reason to bar someone from participating in any of those events. What did Miriam have cooking this time?
“Uh…”
“Did you see the sign-up online?”
Em shook her head. “No. Why?” Other than a quick peek at Grant’s Instagram, she had been swamped at work with much less time than usual for time scrolling through social media this week. Good for convincing herself her crush was under control, bad for keeping up to date on Storm news.
“So, Greg and I thought it would be fun to host a The Dating Game spoof during halftime featuring one of the players.”
Frida laughed.
Em tried to, but the laugh got stuck in her throat. The words “dating” and “players” gave her a bad feeling about the direction this was headed.
“We had a sign-up where anyone who wanted to play could sign up online. The only requirements were agreeing to be at the game in case your name was chosen and to be willing to go down on the field during halftime. There were a ton of entries, and Greg picked three names. Two of them seem fine, but the third…” Miriam’s eyes darted up into the stands.
“What’s wrong with the third?” Frida asked, lowering her voice and leaning forward in her seat.
“The third is a woman named McKensie. She’s the fan who used to stalk Silas.”
Em remembered Miriam pointing her out at another game. “Silas agreed to be the bachelor for The Dating Game?” Em asked incredulously.
Miriam shook her head. “Oh, no. We’re not using any of the uniformed players. They’ll be in the locker room with Coach. But I don’
t want to subject any of our players to this chick. She’s legit crazy.”
A sense of dread pooled in Em’s stomach. “Who’s the player?”
“No one is supposed to know before the halftime show—definitely not the bachelorettes. And please know that I’m not asking because—”
“It’s Grant, isn’t it?” Frida squealed. “This is so perfect.”
Miriam bit her bottom lip. “I know we’ve teased you about having a crush on Grant, and I swear this wasn’t some elaborate plan.”
Memories of the school visit came to Em’s mind. “You mean like having Grant show up during Frida’s break.”
Miriam looked down at her fingernails while Frida sniggered.
Em folded her arms across her chest and huffed. “I knew you two were in cahoots.”
“But this is different.” Miriam put her hands out. “Originally, I had planned on having Barros do it, but then Grant got injured and Greg picked McKensie, of all people. Since I don’t have the list of names of everyone who entered, I’ve got to improvise.”
“Why not Frida?”
Her traitorous friend shook her head. “I’m not going down there. I get nervous in the spotlight.”
Em snorted. That was a lie if she’d ever heard one.
“Please, Em?” Miriam asked, raising her hands and putting on massive puppy dog eyes. “I’d owe you big time.”
Em bit her lip. The Dating Game wasn’t technically dating, and she liked to help Miriam with Storm events when she could. “What would I have to do?”
Miriam’s face lit up. “It’s super simple. At halftime, Grant will walk out to midfield. We’re going to put a partition up and then introduce all three contestants. You’ll be on the other side where he can’t see you. He’s going to ask everyone three questions, and you just need to answer them. When he’s done, he’ll choose one lucky lady to spend the rest of the game with in the VIP section.”
“I already have great seats,” Em said.
“Well, for most people it’s an upgrade. Besides, it’ll be over there.” Miriam pointed to one of the corners of the arena. Behind the plexiglass near the goal was a small table with roses in the center.
Em groaned. “So, it’s like a date, date.”
“Well, you’ll be watched by tons of people, including your brother, plus Greg wouldn’t let me serve champagne since one of the contestants is twenty, so you’ll have to settle for sparkling grape juice.” She shrugged. “But yeah, it’s a date.”
Em had completely forgotten about Finn. Nothing like your brother watching you talk to the guy you liked. That added an extra element of uncomfortableness to the entire situation. “I don’t know.”
Miriam sighed loudly and threw up her hands. “Okay, let me go tell McKensie she’ll be doing it. How do you think Grant feels about random girls tattooing his name on their chest?”
A sudden blaze of jealousy shot through Em. Sure, it was just a teeny crush, and Miriam was most likely exaggerating, but that didn’t mean she liked the thought of Grant being forced to spend the whole second half with a super-hot, super fan. She closed her eyes and blurted, “Fine, I’ll do it,” before she could change her mind.
Miriam leaned across Frida to wrap her arms around Em. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was cutting it close. You have no idea how freaked out I was about this.”
“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea.” She had roughly an hour before she was supposed to go down on the field and compete against other women for a chance to win Grant’s heart...or at least, an hour of his time.
It should’ve been simple enough, but now that she’d admitted her crush to herself, she was going to have a hard time acting casual about it.
“We should probably get you cleaned up,” Frida said.
Em looked down at her outfit—she’d paired Finn’s jersey with a pair of skinny jeans that night—and touched her hair. “What do you mean?”
“It’s The Dating Game. You should look like you’re about to go on a date.”
Em snapped her fingers. “Silly me. I forgot to bring my spare dress tonight, and I’m not running home to get it.”
Frida rolled her eyes. “I just meant I could give you a more dramatic makeup look.”
Why did Frida assume Em had any of that with her? “I don’t have my makeup either.”
Frida lifted her purse. “Luckily, I do. And I’d love to do something with your hair.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my hair.” She glanced over at Miriam who suddenly found the board between them and the field very interesting. She turned back to Frida. “You’ve got ten minutes before the game starts.”
Frida nodded. “Deal.”
It took Frida twenty minutes to do Em’s makeup and hair in the arena’s public bathroom, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Em was thankful for her best friend’s magic touch. So much so, she didn’t mind that they missed the beginning of the game.
She couldn’t change her outfit, and worried about looking silly after having her hair and makeup done while still wearing a Storm jersey, but Frida was, after all, an artist. When Em was finally allowed to see herself in the mirror, she couldn’t believe how amazing she looked.
Her eyeshadow was darker, but not too sultry, her cheeks had just a touch of pink to them—which would hopefully cover any unwelcome blushes—and her lips were bright red. As for her hair, Frida had pulled half of it up into a soft, romantic style.
Unfortunately, the first date jitters were hitting hard, and Em fought the urge to touch her hair or face during the second quarter. Her stomach fluttered with a million butterflies, and her breathing got shallower with every minute they got closer to halftime.
It’s not a real date.
He might not even choose you.
The thought of Grant spending an hour at that romantic table with another woman hurt more than she thought it would, which only made her nerves go back into overdrive. She struggled to pay attention to the game unfolding in front of her, and by the time the buzzer signifying the end of the first half sounded through the arena, Em was seriously considering bailing altogether.
“Come on, let’s go,” Miriam said and began walking around the outside of the arena toward one of the goals. Em had no choice but to follow.
Looks like I missed that boat.
There were two other women standing there waiting. They both looked like they were in their mid-twenties, and just as suspected, they were gorgeous. One of them wore an over-the-top pink, frilly dress, and the other wore jeans just like Em, but instead of a jersey, she had on a low-cut top that left little to the imagination.
Miriam walked over and introduced herself while the arena staff rolled up the net. Greg and some other Storm staff members brought the partition and chairs out to the field.
“I’m going to walk out on the field and play host in just a minute. When I call your name, I want you to walk out onto the field and sit down in one of the chairs.” Miriam grabbed three microphones off a nearby table. “When you sit down, press the button on the side. When you do, your mic is live.”
Em’s hands were shaking so much she nearly dropped hers when Miriam handed it to her.
“Grant Vaughn is our bachelor tonight. Greg is leading him onto the field from the other direction so he won’t see you. His choice will be based strictly on your answers. They’re silly questions, so don’t stress. Remember to smile and have fun.” Miriam winked at Em before she turned and walked out onto the field.
Once she was out there, she introduced herself and the bachelor. Then she explained the rules of the game.
The woman in the pink dress looked at Em. She smiled timidly. “Are you nervous?”
Yes!
Em shook her head. “Not really. I think it’ll be fun.”
“Grant is super cute,” revealing t-shirt woman said. “I wonder what the odds of getting a second date are if we win tonight?”
Hopefully zero if you win.
Em instantly fe
lt guilty for the thought. Clearly neither of them had a no-dating-soccer-players rule. Grant should spend his time and attention on someone who could return it fully, not someone who’d only crush in secret and do nothing about it. “I think this is just for fun,” she said to the woman.
T-shirt woman laughed. “Well, yeah. But I plan to take advantage of my time with him if I get the chance.”
“Oh, they just called my name,” pink dress woman said. She took a deep breath and walked out onto the field. When she reached the chairs, she sat down.
Miriam called t-shirt woman. She sauntered onto the field oozing confidence.
Em wiped her hands on her jeans. When Miriam finally called her name, Em plastered a smile on her face and walked out. She took her seat next to the other two women.
“Let’s give our contestants a round of applause.” Holding her own microphone, Miriam clapped her hands. When the applause died down, she turned to the three women. “Before we get to our questions, I’d love for y’all to introduce yourselves to our bachelor. Without saying your name, give him your best hello.”
Contestant number one held up her microphone. “Um, hello?”
Grant chuckled. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”
Contestant number two held up her microphone. In a deep, sexy voice, she said, “Hello.”
Grant cleared his throat. “Hello.”
It was Em’s turn. She held up her microphone. “Hi, Grant.”
Unlike the previous two introductions, hers was met with silence.
Grant
“Hi, Grant.”
His pulse went from zero to sixty with those two words. He knew that voice. Suddenly the game he’d never wanted to play in the first place just got a whole lot better.
When Miriam had first approached him to be the bachelor in the team’s version of The Dating Game, he was slightly annoyed. He knew the only reason she’d asked him was because he wouldn’t be able to play in the game. If he was able to dress out in his uniform, he never would have been considered.
Not only that, he knew Em would be watching the game. He hated the idea of her having front row seats to the halftime show that included him interviewing three women and then going on a fake date for the second half.
Out of Play: A Sports Romance (Love in the Arena Book 2) Page 7