Page 82 of Striking Heat

“There’s a streetlamp back there somewhere,” I tease her. “We’re not entirely in the dark.”

She laughs at me. “I think we could be something, Danny. I really do.”

I realize then that it’s easier for her to talk to me if I’m not sitting there staring at her. I put my arm around her and pull her close. “I think we could be too. But why do I get the feeling there’s abutcoming?”

“Because I don’t know how you feel about me or any of this.” She gestures her hand between the two of us.

“I want you. All of you,” I tell her.

“Good. Because I do too,” she replies, running a hand on my thigh. “So, we’re done pretending this is nothing?”

“Oh, I think we’re far past pretending.”

“Good,” she replies with a yawn.

Mac leans into me and we listen to the waves crash. It doesn’t take long for me to realize she fell asleep on me. I carry her back to the car and fasten her in. She stirs just a bit, but I do my bestto soothe her back to sleep. I’m not sure that it works. Her eyes flutter open when I give her a kiss on the forehead before driving her back to her apartment.

“Mac, we’re back at your place.” I shake her gently and watch her stir.

“I thought you would take me to your place,” she says as she struggles to regain her bearings.

“Nah, I thought I would take you home tonight since you have a game tomorrow and need your rest.”

“Thank you.” Her face lights up, and I can’t get over how adorable she looks when she’s just woken up.

“Sleep well, beautiful girl. I had a great night with you.”

“I did too, Danny. Thank you for this and everything else.”

“I’d do anything for you,” I tell her.

“I hope so, because this could cost both of us everything,” she reminds me.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

After a chaste kiss, I watch her walk back to her apartment, wondering what it’ll be like if we’re ever found out. And how we’ll weather the storm. Hopefully, we will be together.

Chapter Thirty-Three

~MAC~

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a few game-day rituals that I follow. Many of them have evolved as I’ve gotten older, but one of the things that hasn’t changed is my game-day drive to the stadium. I make sure I get there at least two hours early—something that drove my parents crazy when I was younger. But if there was a track my mom could walk around, that made things easier for her.

My dad never supported the idea of showing up that early, so we usually drove separately. I’ve gotten used to being here at the field alone. Today, I left for the field house early, and a lot of the other girls’ cars were still in the lot of our team-provided housing.

On the way to the stadium, I make sure to turn on my game-day playlist, which has also evolved as I’ve gotten older. The type of music on it has often changed, and technology has changed too. First there was a discman with my burned CD, then an iPod. Now I get to listen to it through the speakers of my car until I get to the field. Then, I place my Beats over my ears and listen to it as I sit on the bench and visualize the game.

That’s what I always do when I get to the field. I visualize the other team playing with me and my teammates, and I think aboutthe potential outcomes of the game and how I’ll handle certain plays and runs. It’s a mental game for me for a while, then I’ll get up and do some light juggling.

I look over and see that Cassie is walking up to me. I take my headphones off and wait for her to come closer before I speak.

“Whatcha doing here, baby?” I ask her.

She smiles playfully. “Just thought I would come over here and see you. I haven’t seen much of you lately. You seem to be preoccupied with something or someone. Figured during your game-day ritual was a good time to check in on my captain.”

I nod. I’ve been keeping to myself a lot lately because I’ve been spending my spare time with Danny. And I don’t know what she would say about that.

“What’s going on, Mac? I know it’s something, so could you just tell me what it is?” She looks at me with genuine concern.