Page 91 of Call the Shots (For The Arena #1)

JUNE

FOREVER’S A GOOD START

With only an hour before the iconic event of the evening, the team rushed to get ready for Cleo and Miles’s wedding.

The doors for everyone’s rooms on the second floor were propped open to allow easy access.

We filtered in and out of each other’s dorms and the guys clambered for help with straightening ties and styptic pencils, whatever those were.

I took another bite of my bagel, careful to avoid the warm blue dress I’d bought on a shopping trip with Bear. Nick strode in and ruffled everyone’s hair on my couch, eliciting threats. No one meant them—not really.

Not with the clock overhead.

With only a little bit left before fall semester, everyone received their new dorm assignments.

The team wouldn’t be living next to each other anymore.

They’d be scattered across Roman Villa for the fall.

It wasn’t like they’d be moving cross-country, but I knew how reluctant the guys were for things to change.

“Where’s Kid’s Toy?” Nick barked. “I have to fuck with his hair too.”

“You can’t.” I grinned. “Buttons is giving him a haircut.”

Nick’s mouth fell open in mock surprise and I motioned to our bathroom, where the sound of the clippers started again. I tried to keep him out, but Nick barreled past me, throwing open the door.

“Holy shit. ” Nick shook his head incredulously. “I didn’t know you could hit puberty from a haircut!”

I crossed to the door frame and my smile widened, watching the blush creep up Montoya’s neck. Gone was the messy, dome-like hair that almost crossed his eyebrows. In its place, his hair was cropped close with an impeccable fade that looked so clean .

More of the guys left the couch, crowding the bathroom door, making a big deal about the haircut while Montoya blushed darker and darker red.

“What happened to the Mama’s Boy cut?” Pickles demanded. “Kid’s Toy, how could you?”

The guys messed around with him some more before returning to their video games, waiting for everyone else to be ready to go. I wrapped my arms around Montoya’s neck. “You look fantastic.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

His smile was a fixed point on his face before it melted away. He gazed at me in the mirror, biting his lip. “Did you and Bear break up because of me?”

I shrugged. “We didn’t break up.”

“Oh.” Montoya opened his mouth and snapped it shut. “Uh…okay. Awesome.”

That was our official story and we were sticking to it.

It was a tiny blip in the grand scheme of things, nothing to worry about.

I’d already gotten the email about the behavioral hearing, I told Cleo everything, and she immediately got in contact with Warren’s lawyers.

It became a ‘mutual decision’ that Xavier was required to stay away from me on campus and his lawyers assured us that he’d comply.

Someone new walked through the door and I knew who it was before I even saw him. How? No idea, I just did. Bear leaned in, in that charcoal-colored suit that made him look so damn droolworthy.

“Hello, handsome,” I purred, untangling from Montoya to touch Bear.

Bear tugged me into the living room and dipped down to my ear. “Denali and I convinced Elijah to leave his room. He’s coming to the wedding too, Denali’s cleaning him up.”

“You two are miracle workers.”

“Yeah, well, it took a better part of an hour.” Bear rested his hand on my hip, absentmindedly rubbing the bite marks through the dress. “I don’t know. It’s not great but it’s better.”

I touched his face and drew him down to me. “You did good.”

“Mm?” He captured my lips for a kiss, smiling. “Tell me again.”

“You did so good,” I murmured. “Thoughtful Bear is really doing it for me.”

“So I get to fuck you in that dress later?”

“Only if you fuck me in that suit.”

Montoya emerged from the bathroom and the guys hooted at him again, giving him a round of applause while Montoya’s face burned red. He waved away the well-wishes, embarrassed. “It’s a gameday suit, it’s for the arena.”

“All of these are for the arena.” Nick chortled. “We’re too broke to afford extra suits!”

Fridge came in with Tallulah, dressed as wonderfully as everyone else, and Montoya’s eyes widened. He struggled for a moment, motioning with his hands. “June, that’s our slogan.”

“Huh?”

“ For the arena, ” Montoya said, excited. “Instead of Glad for Gladiators! Get it, like how gladiators fought in an arena, and we fight in an arena…” he trailed off, wincing. “That’s too simple, right?”

I repeated the words back to me. “For the arena…”

“That’s bad, that’s not catchphrase material?—”

“For the arena,” I echoed. “ For the arena. ”

“Oh, yeah, we could definitely do that,” Bear affirmed.

“It’s simple, it’s timeless, it’s hockey and mascot themed,” I mused. “We could make t-shirts, signs—for the arena. Oh my god, that works.”

“Boys,” Bear snapped, and his teammates glanced over the couch, peering up from the ground. “For the arena. That’s our new slogan. For the arena! ”

“For the ARENA!” Nick shouted and took a moment, contemplating it. “This is absolutely the least-shitty option. Who made it?”

I beamed. “Montoya.”

The hockey players gave me a long look and rolled their eyes, returning to their game, telling me in no uncertain terms that if Montoya made it, they’d never use it.

“Freshmen can’t make the slogans,” Charlie remarked, chewing gum. “That’s just common sense.”

Montoya tried to agree but I refused to hear it. “I don’t care if a freshman made it,” I said flatly. “For my last days with the Gladiators, I’ll make it the slogan. Get used to it, assholes. Because in a few weeks, you’ll have For the Arena shirts.”

Cleo and Miles held their wedding at a historic building in Montrose, purposely overgrown with long, leafy trees, decorated in the warm glow of lanterns.

We used to go there for cute music shows, I had no idea they did weddings.

It was rustic, classic, and beautiful. I just wished Cleo and Miles would’ve remembered how many friends they had.

The venue was packed with professional football players, college football players, coaches, friends, their family, my family, and of course, the Gladiators, who drank half the champagne before the vows were read.

After the whole Xavier fiasco, it was exactly what I needed. With a wide smile, I crowded Cleo for pictures with Kassie, Piper, Willow, and Tallulah. It felt so good to be out and normal again. This was what our college life was supposed to be.

“Ready to catch?” Cleo shouted, showing off her bouquet.

“My stepdad and my mom are over there,” Willow laughed, motioning to Coach Lawson and his wife. “I don’t think I’m allowed to catch it.”

The bouquet soared through the air and Piper must’ve grabbed it by accident because she blushed dark red.

“I forget, are the flowers supposed to be who’s having the next baby?” Nick asked.

“No—” I tried to correct him.

“That sounds right,” Adam agreed and threw him a thumbs-up sign.

I laughed and returned to the Gladiators table for my slice of cake.

The night was everything we could’ve wanted it to be.

My friends were together, there was no drama to be seen, and King and Willow were openly in a relationship.

They looked so perfect on the dance floor. I couldn’t be happier for them.

“How are the new classes going?” Denali asked Bear.

“The anger management stuff?” Bear tossed back the last of his champagne. “There’s a lot more workshops than I would’ve thought. Everybody gets to talk. It’s pretty sappy, reminds me a lot of this bullshit team.”

The guys snickered around the table, even Elijah let out a little chuckle. He’d been quiet the whole wedding, sticking close to us, but at least he was finally out of his bedroom besides practice and classes.

Denali picked up one of the bottles. “Let’s do a toast?—”

“We’re banned from doing toasts,” Fridge pointed out. “Cleo said anyone who plays hockey isn’t allowed to have any more microphone time.”

“No, for us.” He tried to pour champagne into glasses and sloshed some of it on the table. “Dammit, help me with this?—”

“It’ll be a lot better now that June’s home,” Montoya said with a glance my way.

“Wouldn’t dream of leaving.” I sighed happily, cozying up to Bear.

Our glasses clinked together down the table, the team joining in for the group toast. Denali cleared his throat. “We’re winning the Gulf Coast Cup, number one in the TIHCC, beating everyone’s numbers?—”

“That's your wholesome and encouraging toast?” Fridge raised his eyebrows. “What about health and happiness?”

“I don’t care about any of your happinesses.” Denali rolled his eyes. “You better be happy from winning games.”

The table thundered in mock applause, gaining us dirty looks from the nearby groups. Oh, well. I drank my sparkling cider, the bubbles warming me from the inside out, and I felt so good when Bear asked me for a dance.

Cleo was in the middle of the dance floor with Miles, in a beautiful floor-length gown with a sharp-V plunge down the back, only separated by a line of pearls, one of which was out of sync. I nudged Bear closer to them.

“Dad,” I whispered. “One of the pearls on the dress?—”

Miles’s hand deftly went down her dress and he tugged on the loose pearl, slipping it back in formation. He winked our way. “Thanks, June.”

Bear and I ended up in a quieter section, where the lights strung on the trees made him glow and his smile made my stomach swoop. “Seriously, I love the gameday suit,” I murmured. “You look gorgeous.”

“No girl’s ever called me gorgeous before,” he said, amused.

“They didn’t see this suit.”

He dipped low, his lips at my ear. “I keep thinking about how lucky I am to live at this moment and see how beautiful you are. Pretty incredible odds.”

“Don’t out-play me,” I teased.

Bear kissed my jaw before settling back into dancing with me, taking the lead. “That’ll be a forever kind of thing, baby.”

“Forever’s a long time.”

“Forever’s a good start,” he amended.

With a smile, I tugged him down to me, capturing his lips for a kiss, holding on to this perfect moment. A shooting star in the night that I couldn’t blink away from because I didn’t want to miss it.