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“Sure thing.” Jack reaches over with his.

I take it from him and hand it to Collins.

“Thanks so much. I’ll only be a second,” she replies and starts typing in a number she clearly has memorized.

“Wait. I can give you a ride home if you need one.”

Collins looks up and straight at Sawyer. “To my place?”

He scratches the back of his neck and smiles kind of awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s where you want to go, right?”

She side-eyes me, clearly unsure.

“He’s my boyfriend’s captain. You can trust him.”

“My face is also pretty well known in town,” Sawyer adds.

Punching in the last number on Jack’s phone, Collins narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Famous or not, I don’t accept rides from strangers. Thanks, though.”

She puts the phone to her ear and begins speaking, tuning out the rest of the bar as she turns away.

“Sheesh, bro. Burn, baby, burn!” Archer leans back in thebooth, crossing his arms over his chest, as Darcy giggles beside him. At some point, they must have rejoined the group.

Sawyer leans forward and plants a firm hand on his goalie’s shoulder, lowering his voice. “At least I’m not dancing with death tonight.” He raises a brow at Darcy, who’s busy talking to Jack about her flight home.

Archer shrugs and takes a pull on his drink. “She’s got a boyfriend.”

“Okay, the taxi will be outside in a second. Thanks so much!” Collins hands Jack his phone and focuses on me. “Thanks again. You never know, if I’m feeling like a random coffee sometime, I might hit you up.”

She takes me by surprise as she leans in and sets a kiss against my cheek, shooting one last glance at Sawyer.

“See ya.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

JACK

Abottle of Kendra’s perfume sits on the side of my bathroom counter. She’s only been away for twenty-four hours, but I’m already pining like a puppy when their owner turns their back for a few seconds.

Grabbing my deodorant from next to her Angel perfume, I realize this will be our life on a regular basis—Kendra away with her team and me with mine. It’s possible we could find ourselves apart for weeks, especially when our schedules don’t align. The only positive? At least the summers will be free. And when she has international tournaments like the World Cup, I’ll travel with her.

When it comes to Kendra, everything I see is long-term. There isn’t a shred of doubt in my mind when it comes to this girl. I just hope she feels the same way. Last week in Lloyd’s, when I said I’d follow her to Brazil this summer, I sensed her hesitancy, the moment when she processed how far away the tournament was. I never want her to doubt my commitment to us—hell, I’ve been into her since before I was legal to drink.Nothing about us is temporary, and nothing about what we have lives in Tyler’s shadow.

Don’t let him get in your head, Jack.

I shake away thoughts of that asshole, finish up packing my bag, and shoot my girl a text.

Me

Do you know how weird it was, sleeping in my bed alone last night?

Kendra

I woke up this morning to Jenna’s snoring. At first, I thought it was you, and I got excited, only to realize I was still in Florida.

I don’t snore.

I have recordings that prove otherwise.