Page 26

Micah

C alifornia used to be one of my favorite places to travel for a game. The sun, the sea, the beautiful girls roller-skating down the boardwalk in Santa Monica. It was a different world than Rhode Island—and definitely Tennessee.

Raeann licks the ice cream from her chocolate cone while we sit on a bench overlooking the ocean, her hair shines in the last remains of the sun. She smiles at me, and my stomach clenches.

Nashville has a new hold on me, that’s for sure.

“So, we’ve walked the pier, dipped our toes into the Pacific, and ate great food.” She lifts her ice cream up as proof, but I also took her to one of the restaurants on the pier where she got a greasy burger and the waiter gushed over her accent.

“We did all that,” I confirm.

“Not bad for a whirlwind trip.”

“When the season is over, we can come back.”

The sea air picks up her hair and tracks it across her face. It’s been a constant struggle for her all day. She pins it in her fist and holds it while she finishes her ice cream. “When the season is over, what does Micah Freeman do?”

“He visits his family, hangs out with his friends, and does a bit of traveling. Now, I’ll be doing all those things with you.”

“Oh, really?”

I nod once.

“Tab and I were talking about getting another employee.” Her eyes flash like she can’t believe it’s real. “She said it would be awesome to have a bunch of Pet Threads around the US.”

“Like franchising?”

“Well, I guess. She mentioned we should have a store in every major professional football city so that I can come to each one and check on it.”

“I always said Tab was a genius.”

Raeann grins and then looks out over the sand to the waves crashing against it.

“It’s kind of scary, though. Everything is happening so fast. I keep worrying that it’s all going to come falling apart again.

I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that we’re actually breaking even, let alone that we’re making money. ”

“Your designs are amazing. You and Tab make a great team. I see you working hard every day, and you two definitely deserve it. The bigger you get, the more people you hire so that you can grow it even more or hire people to figure it out if something does go wrong.”

She nods. “That totally makes sense. I’m on board. It’s just… I feel bad leaving Tab at the store. The other day, I forgot to place an order with one of our suppliers, so we’re completely sold out of a popular design, and we probably won’t get it for another couple of weeks now.”

I reach over and grab her hand. “Mistakes happen.”

“Mistakes that will cost us earned revenue hit different. It’s not like I accidentally dropped her breakfast in her lap.” Her lips curve into a smile. “Though she wouldn’t like that either.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t mad.”

“Of course she wasn’t.” Raeann shrugs. She’s haloed by the color-changing sky as it slips into dusk. I used to think nothing could compete with a sunset reflecting off of water, but I was so wrong. “…You know?”

“Hmm?”

A knowing smile twists her lips. “Micah, were you not listening to me?”

“I got distracted by how beautiful you are.” I twist my fingers in her hair. Pulling out my phone with my other hand, I take a picture of her to encapsulate the moment.

I catch her in a vulnerable position as she starts to look away from the camera, her cheeks turning pink like the blushing sky behind her.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “You’re worried, and I think that’s normal. Especially since your success came quickly.”

“I have people emailing me to do more appearances. Tab really wants me to do them, and I know it will be good for business, but then that takes me away from the store…and you. Then what if people ask me about us? What am I supposed to say?”

“You tell them the truth. That we’re seeing each other.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

I narrow my gaze at her. Sometimes I don’t think she understands the depth of my feelings for her. The reason why the bellhop called her Mrs. Freeman is because I booked the room under that name. I want everyone to know. I’m just going at her pace. “Raeann Gorman Freeman.”

She rolls her eyes.

I scoop up her hand. “No, listen to this. I don’t care if the whole world knows.

I wouldn’t care if someone came by right now and took our picture and plastered it all over social media.

As far as I’m concerned, I want everyone to see you’re mine.

” I reach up to cup her cheek. “So go, do appearances. Tell everyone we’re in love. I don’t care.”

“We’re…in love?”

My stomach squeezes with an understanding that starts deeper than my bones. It begins in my soul. From the moment I saw Raeann, I knew. “I am.”

Her fingers twist in front of her, and her shoulders start to move up and down quickly.

I scoot closer to her on the bench, pulling her legs over mine and taking both her hands.

“Hey, you don’t have to say anything back.

Okay? Breathe.” I lead her head to my shoulder, taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly in hopes that she’ll follow my pattern.

The team doc I asked said breathing exercises would help someone with anxiety.

Luckily, Raeann mirrors her breaths to mine. I keep count for her. Four seconds of inhale, four seconds of exhale. It takes about a minute, but she kisses my shoulder and sits straight again, peering at me sheepishly.

She doesn’t mention what I said. She doesn’t say it back. She just stares out over the ocean, her brows pinched. I recognize the emotion there. Fear.

I wrap my arm across her shoulder and hold her against me tightly as we watch the sun go down.

“I was thinking…” I hesitate because I don’t want to come across like I’m telling her she’s broken. “They use therapy and mindset coaching a lot in pro sports. I went to one for the first few years of my career.”

“Yeah…”

I kiss the side of her head. “With your out-of-the-gate success, I don’t think it would hurt to go see one yourself. Or a therapist to talk through your fears with, depending on which route you want to go down.”

I wait with a breath stuck in my chest. Raeann and I have never argued before, and I don’t want this to be the first. One, because I don’t want her to be mad at me, but two, I’ll be an absolute mess for tomorrow’s game if she thinks I’ve insulted her.

“I never saw anyone after the…incident,” she says softly. “My grandparents wanted me to. I think the ER doctor said something to them when I was there. But I had Athena, and it didn’t seem like there was much she couldn’t do.”

I smile into her hair. “I can tell she loves to take care of you. She was giving me the side-eye the other night when you woke up crying.”

She chuckles. “Tab says she does that to her, too. She’s just being protective.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the day Athena goes. She’s still young, so we won’t have to worry too much, but looking ahead, that’ll be another tragic day for Raeann. One I won’t be looking forward to either. I’ve never seen a dog act so human before.

We watch the sun disappear over the horizon and then wordlessly get to our feet.

I take her hand, and we walk down the pier and catch a rideshare to the hotel.

All I can think about is getting back to the suite so I can undress this perfect specimen of female beauty and lose myself inside her, so I don’t recognize the threat at first.

Then Raeann’s body leans into me, and my awareness reaches out. A trio of guys stand near the hotel entrance. The end of a cigarette blazes from one guy’s lips while the one wearing a hoodie looks Raeann up and down like she’s on display for him.

Immediately, my hackles rise, pure anger washing over my body.

“Damn, I wouldn’t mind taking a piece of that,” the third says. He has a ball cap on with a full beard.

Raeann grips my arm. At first, I think it’s because she’s scared, but then I realize it’s because I’ve changed my trajectory. “What did you say?”

The guy with the cigarette exhales his smoke in my face. “Chill out, bro. We’re just out having a good time.”

Hoodie guy smiles at me. “Yeah, congratulations on scoring a ten. Damn.”

My jaw clenches, red infiltrating my vision.

“Come on, Micah,” Raeann says from behind me.

“Oh, shit. She has an accent!” Hoodie guy and beard guy high-five each other, and my chest heaves up and down.

“Holy fuck,” the smoking guy puts out his cigarette. “You know who this is, right? It’s Micah Freeman from the Tennessee Wildcats.”

I take a deep breath, trying to keep everything inside. I’ve flown off the handle before, and it’s not something that Raeann needs to see. Her anxiety is probably already messing with her, so I need to get her inside.

Beard guy moves toward her. “Hi, I’m?—”

I slap his hand down and stand in front of Raeann. “Don’t touch her, don’t look at her, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t talk about her.”

His shoulders puff up like he’s going to start shit with me. This close, I can smell the alcohol wafting off him.

To my left, a security guard approaches. “Is there a problem out here?”

“There will be if these three don’t apologize for their offensive behavior.”

“It’s fine,” Raeann whispers to me, holding on to my elbow. “Can we go back to the room now?”

It’s not fine. I have to go to a game tomorrow, and I don’t know if these three pieces of fucking shit are going to be out here when I can’t be. What if they approach her when I’m not around? What if she can’t defend herself?

“We’re just having fun,” the one guy who noticed me reiterates.

I give him a dead stare and point at his friends. “This one said he would ‘take that.’ This one objectified her body.”

He steps closer, and the cigarette smell permeates between us. “They’ve been drinking, man. They don’t know what they’re saying.” He turns to the security guard. “I’ll get them to our room.”

“It’s not even nine o’clock,” the friend with the hoodie protests.

“Alright, shut up,” the security guard orders. He turns toward Raeann, who’s shaking a little. “Are you scared of these guys?”

She peers at me.

“Come on,” beard guy says. “Don’t be a bitch. We didn’t even do anything.”

Raeann’s face morphs into anger, and before I can step in, she pulls her shoulders back.

“Actually, yes, they did scare me. They’re little boys in mature bodies who think they can say and do whatever they want.

I worry that their small heads will make them do something horrible.

” She peers at their crotches, making no mistake about what she really thinks is small.

“You have no right to comment on someone else’s body. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“We’re so sorry,” the only decent one says.

His friend snarls. “Ah, fuck this. You’re a stupid cunt.”

The decent one turns toward him to try to calm him down, but I’m already there. I shove him, and he flies back into the cement pillar.

The security guard steps between us. “Hey, hey, hey.” Another guard appears out of nowhere and pulls me away, escorting us inside after receiving instructions from the first.

My hands continue to ball into fists. I peer over my shoulder to find another guard has arrived from the opposite direction, and they’re both dealing with the unruly trio.

When we get inside, the general manager and a woman from the front desk approach. The manager opens his mouth to speak, but I interrupt him. “I want them removed from the premises.”

“Micah,” Raeann says next to me, tugging on my sleeve.

“They belittled her, and I won’t feel safe having her stay here if they’re not removed.”

“Micah.” Raeann tries again, but I’m giving the hotel staff the stare down.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

The front desk attendant steps toward Raeann, but I move in front of her, capturing Raeann’s cheek and making her look at me. Her eyes are blown wide, and she claws at her throat. “She has panic attacks,” I explain.

We do the breathing exercise again, but it doesn’t work as fast. Outside, a commotion still sounds. There are too many things going on, and Raeann’s gaze darts everywhere but mine.

“I’m going to take her up to the room,” I announce. “I’ll be back down to talk this through.”

Without waiting for approval, I move Raeann to the elevator. On the ride up, her lids flutter closed and she focuses on her breath. When the door dings for the top floor, I sweep her off her feet and carry her into our room.

I somehow manage to get the door open, close and lock it, and carry her to the bed without too much jostling. I lay her down and cuddle in next to her, wishing Athena was here. My heart beats like crazy in my chest while I watch her struggle for breath, her chest heaving. “Do you want your pills?”

She shakes her head. “Just hold me and breathe again.”

We do that, lying on the bed together. It takes fifteen minutes before she calms down. I feel the moment she regains control over her body all the way to my toes. It’s like a switch flips.

Her eyes flutter open, and she squeezes my hand. “You scared me.”

“I did?”

“When you pushed that asshole.”

“He deserved it.”

“I got worried.” She closes her eyes right away and takes another deep breath.

Fuck. I hadn’t thought of that. Those guys didn’t look menacing at all, just a threesome of uber masculine fuckboys, but I could see how Raeann would think them a threat.

“I’m sorry. I reacted because no one gets to talk to you like that.

” If she wasn’t there, I would’ve done a lot more than just shove that loser, that’s for sure.

I stare at her, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”

She relaxes a little more, and I take my cues from her body. Even breaths, soft shoulders. Raeann is a fighter, and she’ll never cease to amaze me.

“I’m going to go downstairs and deal with this, then I’m coming back up to make sure you forget about everything that just happened. If you’re up for it.”

“Up for it? I think it’s your reward for defending my honor.”

I kiss her cheek. “Then I’ll only be gone five minutes before I demand my prize.”

She smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze searches my face, and I can’t help but think there’s something on her mind other than the fact that people exist like the poor excuses for humans down there.

It seems bigger.