Page 27

Chapter 26

DANI

The pre-season game had snuck up on us before I could even process what was happening between Jordy and me. We took turns sleeping over at each other’s apartments with lots and lots of orgasms.

We were easy-going, and everything was already so comfortable between us. I couldn’t pretend that having a relationship with him would be terrible; I genuinely believed that Jordy might be the perfect human for me.

But we were both in a field where the limelight was evident and constant, and the women were irritating. The moment they got a whiff of a player that was no longer single, it was like they become possessed and their main goal in life was to try to win over the player. It was a game; an unfortunate side effect of playing in the league.

“Dani, could you take the section near the goal line? My feet hurt and I want to take the booth today,” Tee asked, pouting his lip at me and fluttering his eyelashes.

“Of course, my queen.”

He giggled, kissing me on the cheek before walking to the exit and headed to the booth. I refocused my attention to the field, testing out my camera, fiddling with the settings and ensuring that the USB was secured to send pictures in real time to Tee.

“Make sure you get my good angles,” a player yelled. Looking up, I caught the eye of Elijah Pierre, the starting wide receiver for the Arizona Bobcats. He also happened to be one of the good times I had in Arizona…it never amounted to anything but a good time, and suddenly I was feeling self-conscious about Jordy looking over and seeing me talk to him, because then I’d have to explain it to him. I knew it would piss him off, too.

Sauntering up to me, Elijah was a tall muscled dark skinned player with a hell of a smile. “I knew you were working down here, but I didn’t realize you were looking this good these days.”

I gave a happy smile, looking up at him. “Oh, c’mon, you know I’m always looking good.”

“What have you been up to these days? Dating anyone.”

“Actually, I—”

“Hey babe,” Jordy said, coming to stand beside me. He and Elijah were about the same height, and both were the top receivers in the league. “Elijah, do you know—”

“Dani? Yeah. We know each other, don’t we?”

The nervous heat spread like a wildfire through my body. Was I breaking out in hives? I took a deep breath before giving them both nervous smiles and blinking, trying to act normal. “Mhm, yeah, we knew each other in Arizona.”

“So, are you two together?” Elijah interjected.

Jordy's hand gripped my hip. “Yes, we are.”

What the fuck was happening? Why was I freaking out about the two of them meeting, and why were they still standing here? They had a game to play.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Dani. Don’t forget to get my good angles when I score.” Elijah winked and fist bumped Jordy before jogging back to his teammates.

Jordy took his place in front of me with eyes that said I was in trouble. “What was that about?”

“Oh, it was nothing, just saying hello.” I shook my head.

“Were you—did you used to?”

“We really don’t have to talk about this right now. You’re about to play in your first game.”

His brows pinched together. “It's pre-season, I'm only gonna play for the first half and then I’ll be out. It’s not important, but what is important is what happened between the two of you and I need to know.”

Thoughts ran rampant through my mind; different versions of a story that, in the end, was the same answer. Eli and I hooked up quite a bit, but we were never in a relationship, and I certainly never felt with him how I felt with Jordy.

Whistles blew before I could give him an answer.

“We’ll finish this conversation later.” He pointed at me.

The game started sloppily, being the first game of the season. Luckily, pre-season games didn’t count for their official records. They were just a nice formal practice.

“C’mon, Jordy,” I mumbled under my breath. “Catch it.”

The ball soared in the air as my camera tracked its trajectory into Jordy’s hands on the one-yard line. Almost as if in slow motion, his arms reached up, muscles bulging from the pads of his uniform, and his hands clasped the ball.

The cornerback that was defending him gripped Jordy’s face mask on the way down, and I instantly became infuriated, yelling multiple slurs at the guy. I had no idea what I even said to be honest, but the referee raised his arms above his head, signaling a touchdown as I continued to curse the guy out.

Was it professional? No, but I was feeling extra territorial these days.

Getting back on his feet, Jordy tossed the ball to the ref and glanced my way with a smile peeking through the slits of his facemask.

He passed me on his jog back to the bench and shouted, “What can I get for another touchdown?"

“You get to take me out for drinks later, how ‘bout that?” I smirked.

“Sounds good to me.” He jogged backwards while keeping his attention on me before he turned to his sideline.

He made my heart feel at home. Things were simple between the two of us, and that’s how relationships should be. Easy. Sure, we argued sometimes, but good things in life were worth arguing about, or something like that.

The feeling of eyes burning into me alerted me to Elena. She was standing with her arms crossed, staring at me. She had obviously watched the interaction between Jordy and I, but I knew Jordy had already told her to shove it.

The Kings ended up winning 35 to 14 against Arizona, which is what I’d expected. Every year we said this was the year for them to win, but this year was the true year. They’d make it all the way.

***

Jordy : Meet me at the red barn bar in thirty minutes.

Dani : Why must you be so bossy?

Jordy : smirking emoji oh, be for real. You LOVE it.

Dani : Okay…fine.

Jordy : I think you meant…okay, daddy.

Arriving at the red barn bar, I was not expecting to see the entire Kings team and some of the Bobcat players, including Elijah in a full blown conversation with Jordy. What the hell were they talking about?

“Hey,” I said, wrapping my arm around Jordy’s waist as he kissed my head.

“Hey back to you," he replied. Gesturing to Elijah, he added, “You remember Elijah, right?'“

I narrowed my eyes on him. “Yes, I remember him. Hey Eli.”

“Dani, great to see you again. You know, you got a good guy here.”

My heart swelled with pride with Eli saying that. I knew Jordy was a great guy but hearing it from someone else confirming it made me feel confident in my choices. “Yep. That’s why he’s mine,” I replied confidently.

Looking up at Jordy through my lashes, I locked onto his eyes that were filled with desire. Desire for me.