Page 15

Micah

S weat drips from my temples, my heart still pounding a rhythm to rival the home crowd. A win tonight isn’t the highlight of my night, though. The two touchdowns I ran in weren’t the climax either. It was staring up into the box and seeing the swath of blonde hair.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed either. Raeann, Athena, and Pawpaw made it onto the Jumbotron, and it was then that I realized they were wearing matching outfits—all of them. Turquoise and black with the Wildcats logo sewn onto the front, outlined in glitter.

The design screamed Raeann.

Even though I agreed Jace could come to the game, I made sure Joey knew he’s not to be anywhere near Raeann.

He put him in the nosebleeds.

I was the first guy out of the showers to more catcalls from my teammates who’ve now figured out how much of a goner I am. “She’s pretty,” Davis muses.

I glare at him, the overpowering urge to murder filtering through my limbs. My fists clench and unclench at my sides. “I will fucking end you.”

He lifts his hands in surrender with a smirk on his face. “Just saying. The staff gave her two thumbs up, too.”

Davis is probably my closest friend on the team, followed by a few others, but if he doesn’t watch it, he’ll be one of my closest dead friends. I’m not above phasing people out who threaten mine and Raeann’s relationship.

“People are going to figure this out soon. Is she ready for that?”

I think about all the attention we’re bound to get. Not only did she go viral talking about me, but she’s also a public figure with her own brand. People are going to have a heyday with this. They usually do. “I hope so,” I tell him honestly.

Cade Farmer tugs his shirt on. “She’ll be alright. If she wants to be with you, she’ll get used to it.”

I’ve met his girlfriend a few times. I don’t know what they did in that town they’re all from, but they seem to be happily situated early in their lives. Reid and his girlfriend, too.

“Here’s what you do,” Levi Soucy says.

A few of us groan. He’s a fantastic wide receiver, but I wouldn’t take relationship advice from him ever.

“Hey,” he grunts, offended.

“Why would I listen to you?” I pull my clothes on, listening to the other chatter in the locker room.

Relief hits when it’s only the players in my immediate vicinity who are tuned into the conversation.

The last thing I need is for them to hear this convo and think I’ll actually take Levi’s advice.

“Did you spend last night with a girl from a bar? Or a strip club?”

“I have experience, jackass. That’s why you should listen to me.”

“Not always a good thing.”

“Flowers.”

“Did it.”

“Go out to eat.”

“Done.”

“Foot massage.”

“Where are you getting this from?”

“Women love getting their feet massaged.” His lids flutter, his eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head as if mimicking a woman’s reaction. “Works like a charm. Oh, and when you meet her mama, it’s yes, ma’am , and no, ma’am .”

Raeann hasn’t spoken much about her mom. From the file Joey pulled for me, she’s not in the picture anymore. “Are you from Tennessee?” I ask.

“Better. Georgia.”

“Okay, how do you say shut up in Southern?”

My teammates’ laughter spikes, and a few “ Ohhh s” rise up. Levi takes it all in good stride. “Bless your heart, and I’m just sayin’…”

“Yeah, and he’s sayin’ he wants you to stop sayin’,” Reid points out. There’s another round of heckles. I swear, a locker room is one of the harshest places a guy can be. You have to have tough skin, or you’ll get eaten alive.

I put on some deodorant and then I’m out, grabbing my jacket on the way and telling the guys a quick “later.”. I make sure to have my arms showing since there was no way I could miss how Raeann admired my tats earlier.

All the way to my box, I have the picture of Raeann on the Jumbotron in my head. The way she blushed and waved with that ghost of a smile on her face. Half of America probably fell in love with her, and that thought makes my legs move faster.

I open the door and half expect a line of fans around her, but there’s no sign of anyone.

No Tab, Joey, or even her grandfather. Athena runs up to greet me.

Two paws on my chest and a couple of quick swipes of her tongue across my chin later, and we both go to Raeann who is sitting at one of the long tables, watching silently.

“Nice game,” she says.

The way her voice curls around the words in her twang settles into my gut and lower.

I take a breath to admire her and the swirling, powerful sensations filling me.

The hairs on my arms stand. It’s been too long since I’ve felt this proud to share a game with someone like her.

Or ever, actually. My ex was just there.

It didn’t take too long to understand that she was only a trophy.

Something to be kept on a bookshelf like a winning season or an MVP award.

She was barely better than Levi’s conquests.

Raeann is different. In her gaze, I feel like she’ll get me. Like she’ll celebrate for me. Not with me. “I scored.”

“Twice,” she confirms.

“Did Pawpaw like it?”

“I think it was one of the better days of Pawpaw’s life. He had as much food as he could stand, drank some, cursed some. He was so tired, he asked Joey to take him back to a hotel room you got him?”

The last part comes out like a question. “The best hotel suite in Nashville.”

“You’re going to spoil him.”

“Is it working?”

“If he doesn’t wake up with a new lease on life tomorrow, I’ll be shocked. He’ll have so many stories to tell the neighbors that they’ll start running when they see him coming down the lane, waving his hands and yelling, ‘I forgot to tell you about the different kinds of cheese they had!’”

I shake my head, a chuckle spilling out. “That’s adorable, but I was hoping this was helping to win you over?”

Her lips curl into a smirk. “Is that what you’re doing? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Guess I better try harder.”

Her eyes widen a little, as if she can’t imagine what else I could do. I have some ideas up my sleeve, though. I hold out my hand and help her to her feet. “Thank you for staying in the box so I could concentrate on what I had to do.”

She side-eyes me. “Of course. Jace actually had a good time, too, in case you’re wondering.”

I’m about to tell her I couldn’t give two shits about that guy, when the door opens behind us. Davis, Levi, and Cade pile into the box. Reid walks in shortly after with his girlfriend tucked into his side.

“Holy…shit,” Raeann exclaims.

Her face pales, and I notice she has to work on her breathing at the sudden amount of increased testosterone in the room. I shield her for a moment, as if I can stop them from overwhelming her, but the guys don’t let that happen.

“Hey, I’m Cade,” Cade introduces himself first with a huge smile.

Raeann takes a deep breath, and just when I think I might have to step in, she steps up to the plate. Flawlessly. “Cade Farmer. Hi.”

“Davis.”

“Levi.” Levi tugs his hat down, and I swear his accent gets thicker. I nail him with a narrowed gaze. My sense of humor only goes so far, and he’s already pushing his luck.

“Hi. Briar and Reid,” Reid’s girlfriend says, pointing to herself, then to our QB.

Raeann seems lost for words, so I introduce her. “This is Raeann Gorman. She owns Pet Threads in Nashville. And this is Athena.”

Athena wags her tail and sits by Raeann’s side.

A few more pleasantries are passed around before I clap my hands. “Well, they apparently wanted to meet you, but they’ll be going now.”

Levi takes a step forward. “Actually, we were about to?—”

“Leave the room,” I finish for him. Tension wafts off Raeann. Athena hasn’t made a move to calm her down, so maybe I’m overthinking things, but I still want them gone.

The smarter ones start to leave right away, but Levi takes his time. “Some other time, then.”

“No.”

His smile widens. Right before he closes the door, he points at Raeann. “See you later.”

Okay, he’s gone too far now . My fingernails dig into my palms. We’ll see what happens next practice when I get my hands on him.

As soon as the door closes, Raeann lets out an exhale. “Sorry,” she says, blushing again. “That was a lot of Wildcats in one place. I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

I give her a quick shake of my head. I had no idea they were going to do that, or I would’ve warned her ahead of time. It was probably Levi’s idea, and the rest followed so I wouldn’t kick his ass. “They were curious about you.”

“You…talked about me?”

“I think it was more or less me peering into the box about a thousand times tonight.”

“You played so well, though. You wouldn’t even know you were distracted.”

“I had someone to show off for.” I grab her hand again, rubbing my thumb across her knuckles. “Come back to my place.”

“Micah…”

She starts to pull her hand back, but I clamp down on it. “We don’t have to do anything but talk. I want you to see my place, and I need a bunch of time to wind down after a game. I prefer to do that at home, but the last thing I want to do is leave you right now.”

“Are you saying that it’s for the good of the team that I go back to your place right now?”

My lips curl up into a grin. “One hundred percent.”

“And Athena?”

“She better come. I hate to think I bought that dog bed off your store site for no reason.”

Her mouth drops. “You didn’t.”

“Of course I did. Treats too. And some pajamas.”

“Micah Freeman.”

I wink at her. “All parts of my master plan.”

She appraises me, her green eyes gleaming with mischief. “So you know, you are about to be judged by what you bought.”

“And here I thought I couldn’t go wrong as long as it was from your store.”

“Athena has her favorites.” Raeann shrugs, as if throwing down the gauntlet, and then puts Athena on a sparkly turquoise leash.

I sure hope I chose correctly.