Page 45 of Catching Our Moment

Kelcie

“It wasn’t that bad.” Shyla patted my back as we walked down the corridor to the locker room.

My head down, a hat pulled down low over my face, I had to watch her steps to know where we were going. I bit off another piece of pretzel to avoid answering Shyla’s reassurance with four-letter words.

We waited outside the team’s locker room for the guys to come out. Davy came out first, kissed Shyla, and accepted congratulations from those around him for having a good game. “Shaw’s on his way,” he said. “He got held up by some reporters. He’ll be out soon. Do you want us to wait with you?”

“No. I’ll be fine.” I shrunk further into the wall. “I’ll just wait here for him.”

Shyla turned to me and said with a slight grimace, “I hope you had fun tonight.”

“I did, and I can’t thank you enough for holding my hand through it.” I ran my hand over my face and forced a self-deprecating smile. “And literally picking me up off the floor.” I shook my head.

She laughed. “Girl, no problem. Give me a call when you get back home. We can compare schedules and see when we will both be back. We can try this again, with regular seats and without the spotlight. Or maybe we could just get together again, with or without these monsters.” She patted Davy affectionately on the chest.

I leaned over and hugged her. “Sounds great.” I waved them off, tossed the remainder of my pretzel away, and checked my texts.

And my hopes of no one seeing my exit were dashed.

I give that dive a 9 out of 10. I couldn’t see the landing. That was from Wyatt.

Is that what they call ‘falling for a man’? From Aliya.

Are you okay? From Grace.

Mom, why did you do that? From Aaron.

What the hell, Kelcie? Did you have to make such a spectacle of yourself ?” From James. And as an afterthought… Is Aaron in Charlotte with you? I didn’t agree to that. What the hell is going on?

Great.

I only texted Aaron back. I’m fine. No need to worry. I was surprised, that’s all.

I gripped my phone as a lifeline, stood against the wall, stared down at myself, and surveyed the area. The friends and families of players were waiting for them to come out, and I begged the fates not to let anyone recognize me.

I didn’t think I’d ever felt like such an imposter.

Why was I there?

The sandy-blond threads in his hair caught my attention, a beacon of light as he came closer to me. The smile on his face was just as bright. He dropped his bag and picked me up in the air, catching the attention of everyone around us.

“Kelcie,” he growled into my hair before gently putting me down on my feet, immediately cupping my face and kissing me as if I was going to disappear.

Flashes went off around us, and I vaguely sensed people watching.

But when Shaw kissed me, especially with the voracity and passion he was showing now, everything else faded.

My concerns, my fears, my limitations. He was happy.

I wanted to let go and be that happy too.

Why did that seem so terrifying?