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Chapter Sixteen

C orie

These last few weeks have been busy and hectic and incredible, all rolled into one.

Knox and I have been spending every spare minute together.

I’ve been busy with my new job and learning the position.

Holly has been amazing and showing me the ropes.

Hectic, because again, learning a new job, but also, sneaking around with the man who’s been stealing all my free time.

Incredible, for both the job and the man.

It’s as if I’m living a dream life, and if that’s the case, I don’t ever want to wake up.

Speaking of waking up, I need to pull myself out of my thoughts and get back to work. I’m in the process of scheduling some social media posts for the weekend when there’s a knock at my door. Glancing up, I see Sally from human resources standing in the doorway. “Hi, Sally.”

“Corie, how are things?” she asks.

“Great. I’m getting my bearings,” I tell her. This is the end of my third week working for the Rampage, and I absolutely love it.

“That’s good to hear.” She steps inside, and I see a woman behind her. She looks to be close to my age, with blonde hair and big blue eyes. “Corie Reynolds, this is Rowan Mills. She’s our new assistant physical therapist.”

Standing, I walk around my desk to greet her and offer Rowan my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, as well,” Rowan replies.

“Rowan won’t be joining us for a couple more weeks, but she stopped in today to complete her paperwork.”

“The dreaded paperwork,” I say with a groan, and we all chuckle. “It was nice to meet you, Rowan. Let’s plan to grab lunch when you’re here full-time.”

“That would be great. It will be nice to have an ally.”

“Perfect. We’ll let you get back to what you were doing,” Sally says. We say our goodbyes, and they move down the hall.

I’m trying to get back into work mode when my phone vibrates. I consider ignoring it but think better of it. When I see a new message from Knox, my heart stutters in my chest, and I’m glad I’m alone because I’m smiling at my phone like a love-sick fool.

Knox: It’s only been two days, and I don’t think I’m going to make it two more.

His words have my smile growing so wide, I fear my face might crack.

Me: Are you trying to tell me that you miss me?

Knox and I have hung out every day since the night we decided to see where this intense attraction takes us.

It’s a gamble with both of our careers, but neither one of us can seem to stop.

We haven’t slept together yet, but we know each other’s bodies intimately and should get a medal in kissing. I feel like we’re back in high school.

Knox: I miss the hell out of you, Corie girl.

Me: I might miss you, too.

Knox: Are you sure you can’t fly to Vegas for the game? I’ll buy your ticket.

Me: And how would we explain that?

The Rampage plays the Vegas Heat on Sunday in their final preseason game. They flew out yesterday afternoon to give the guys plenty of time to adjust to the time change and be well-rested for Sunday’s game.

Knox: Easy. I tell the world my girl wanted to come and watch her man play ball.

Me: You make it sound so simple.

Knox: It should be.

Me: You know I can’t.

Knox: Then you need to take a vacation day on Monday so I can spend the entire day with you.

Me: I’m still new. I can’t tell them today that I won’t be here on Monday.

Knox: Fine, but Monday evening is mine.

Me: Deal.

Knox: I’m holding you to that.

Me: I hope you do. I need to get back to work.

Knox: Text me when you get home.

Me: Yes, dear.

Knox: Good girl.

Placing my phone face down on my desk, I force myself to stop thinking about Knox and get back to work.

“Just like high school,” Sloane says. She’s sitting next to me on Landry’s couch. We ordered pizza and wings, and we’re waiting for kickoff.

“Yeah, but that was Saturdays, and my mom was with us,” I say, smiling at the memory. We couldn’t make it to all of Landry’s away games, so we would order pizza and wings, and the three of us would take up residence on the couch and cheer him on from the living room.

“Sorry.”

“No. It’s fine. It’s good to remember her. To remember the good times. I miss her every damn day, but talking about her, about those moments, almost makes it feel as if she’s here with us.”

Sloane places her hand on my arm. “She’s here with us.

” Her eyes are misty with tears, and I have to look away and clear my throat to keep my tears at bay.

“That’s not the only reason tonight looks different.

We’re watching from your brother’s mansion, he’s in the professional football league, and tonight, we’re not just watching Landry. ” She waggles her eyebrows.

“We’re watching all of our friends and my coworkers on the Rampage,” I answer.

Sloane tosses her head back in laughter. “It’s me, Corie. You can admit that your eyes are going to be glued to your man. How’s that going anyway?”

“He’s… mine for now,” I answer. I don’t know what else to say.

“The two of you have been spending a lot of time together.”

She would know. She’s been our cover for most of those occurrences. “We have been.”

“So, how is it?” She wiggles in her seat as if she can’t wait for me to spill the tea.

“He kisses me like I’m the air he needs to breathe.”

“And?”

“He’s good with his hands, and his mouth is good for more than kissing.” Warmth hits my cheeks as I make the confession.

“And what else is he good at?” She gives me a look, warning me not to hold out on her.

“I’ll tell you when I find out.”

“What? Hold up.” She sits up straighter. “You haven’t slept with him?” Her mouth hangs open in shock.

“I’ve slept next to him.” She knows that I’ve spent the night at his place.

“Corie.” Her tone has a warning to it.

“Not yet.”

“What are you waiting for?” She tilts her head to the side to study me, as if I’m suddenly a puzzle she can’t solve.

“I don’t know. I guess we both know that when we take that step, things will change.

It already feels like more… like he’s mine and will always be mine, but that’s not true.

” I’ve tried to tell myself that I can do this.

That I can keep my heart out of it, but that is the biggest lie I’ve ever told.

My heart can’t resist him. He’s kind and patient and so damn sexy it hurts to look at him sometimes.

“Why can’t it be true?”

I shrug. “I guess there is a chance, but one or both of us could lose our jobs. Then we have Landry to think about. My brother will blow a gasket.” I would never forgive myself if Knox lost his spot on the Rampage because of this thing between us.

“I don’t know,” Sloane muses. “I think Landry might surprise you. Think about it, Knox is his best friend. He trusts him. I think if Landry knew you were both in this for the long haul, he’d eventually be okay with it.”

“Maybe, but they're in season, and the last thing I want is to mess with that. To have any kind of animosity between them and have it affect the entire team. We need to just keep things as they are, and if we make it to the end of the season, we can reassess at that time.” If we can make it to the offseason, if this is still going strong, we can go to the Rampage and confess, and we can sit Landry down and tell him we’re together.

“If… Stop saying if,” Sloane scolds.

“I’m just trying to be reasonable about all of this. I can’t let myself fall too far. I’ll never be able to get back up.” Even as I say the words, I know it’s already too late.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s too late for that.

” She smiles, and I give her a tight nod.

She’s right. It’s far too late. I’d always crushed on Knox, but now, that crush is so much bigger.

What we have is more, and I’m scared out of my mind that this isn’t the same for him.

We haven’t talked about it. I know we said we would be open and honest if it became something to either of us or if one of us wanted out, but I don’t want to be that girl.

I don’t want him to feel pressured. I’ll keep my truth locked up tight, and we’ll just see how it all plays out.

“It’s starting,” I say, nodding toward the television.

For the next couple of hours, my eyes stay glued to the screen as we watch my brother and my… Knox bring home the win. They’ve won all of their preseason games. I hope that’s a sign of how this season is going to go.

“Are you staying?” I ask Sloane.

“Yeah, I might as well. I brought my stuff for work tomorrow just in case.”

“It’s late, so that was a good call.”

“When are they coming home?” she asks.

“They fly home tonight. There’s a time difference, so I think they get back in the middle of the night. They’re off tomorrow, so they all voted to fly out after the game since they’ve been gone since Thursday.”

“Makes sense. Especially those who have a wife and kids. It has to be tough being away from them. I know how it is for you with Landry and Knox. I couldn’t imagine kids, too, but at least they get to make up for it in the offseason.”

“This is true.” I stand and start cleaning up our mess. Sloane helps, and in no time, we’re heading upstairs to our rooms—well, mine and the one she uses when she’s here.

“At least the wait is almost over, and you get to see your man tomorrow,” she says with a wink.

I laugh. “Yep. Night, bestie.”

“Night.” I disappear into my room and hear her door shut, as well. I go through the routine of getting ready for bed, and as I’m sliding under the covers, my phone rings. I scramble to answer it, grinning like a fool when I see Knox’s name.

“Hello.”

“Did I wake you?” he asks softly.

“No. We just finished watching the game. I just got into bed.”

“You watched?”

“Always. Sloane came over, and she’s staying the night.”

“Is it wrong to be jealous of your best friend?” he asks. There is no humor in his tone.

“You don’t have to be.”

“Four days, Corie girl. Four very long days.”

“A month ago, you wouldn’t have cared,” I remind him.

“A month ago, you weren’t mine,” he counters.