Page 37 of Unrivaled Love (D.C. Renegades #2)

Jo

World’s Greatest H.A.B.

Bryson bought himself a Kiss The Chef apron when we went to the kitchen store two days ago.

I've created a monster by giving him free reign of my apartment design choices.

But right now he's in nothing but the apron and I get to stare at his cute little butt, and thick thighs, as he makes me breakfast.

"What are you going to say to Pee Pee when you get there today?" He asks as he slides over a plate of eggs, toast, and fruit. His bare ass had been distracting me from the impending doom of returning to practice today.

"I dunno." I admit because while I've practiced yelling at her in the shower, I know lashing out is not going to get me anywhere. I’m mature enough to admit that tickle tackling her wasn’t the right choice.

But she needs to own how shitty she was.

"Brie, well Brianna, our assistant coach, called me yesterday while you were napping.

She told me I should come in with my head held high, apologize for taking my emotions out on her physically, and then say I hope we can put it behind us for the betterment of the team. "

"She sounds wise."

"Oh yeah, she's the best. She was actually a teammate of mine in college but she tore her ACL and it never came back fully." I am lucky to have her as an assistant coach now. She knows the game as well as anyone and would make a kick ass head coach someday.

"That sucks. "

"Totally, and it makes me so grateful for my health." I say as I enjoy my breakfast.

"No kidding."

"And she's got an amazing mind for the game. She designs these set plays that are like poetry in motion."

"It's great she found a job in coaching then. And I bet that earns her respect from her players." Bryson says as he slides onto a counter stool next to me. A stool we picked out yesterday at a flea market Larry texted him about.

"It does, even Pee Pee tries to impress her." He snorts around his mouthful of eggs and I giggle. "I can hold my head high and try to apologize with dignity but I'll be calling her Pee Pee in my head the entire time."

"I'd expect nothing less, Killer." He says with a smile and I realize what having Bryson in my corner will do for me.

He'll back me up no questions asked. He’d help bury the body.

He'll be there for me, maybe not physically, but emotionally.

He'll help talk me through whatever I'm experiencing and because he's also a professional athlete he'll understand it better, too.

Hopefully we don't have to bury any bodies.

My phone pings with a text and I swipe it open to see a text from Harper.

HARPER

I hope practice goes well today! But, if Pee Pee gives you any trouble, I hope she always misses one chunk of hair in her ponytail.

I sputter out a laugh and Bryson raises an eyebrow so I read the text out loud after giving it a heart reaction.

“God, I love that girl.” Bryson says. “If you ever need a solid but innocent insult she’s the gal. ”

“I can see that.” I reply as my mind drifts to how good it feels to have a girlfriend like this. When I told her the Tickle Tackle Tale at the BBQ she didn’t once ask questions, only suggested Pee Pee deserved to never find a cool side of the pillow again.

"So practice this morning, then what?" Bryson asks.

"Time with the trainer to recover after lunch and then there's an hour of film review.

Since we're coming back from the break there will be another team meeting and then I'm done for the day.

Tomorrow there's conditioning in place of the long meetings which will be a delight.

I'm afraid of how it’ll go after two weeks off. "

"You still have stronger abs than I do, you'll be fine."

I smile and finish my breakfast. "What are you going to do today?" I ask him as I rinse my plate.

"Larry's got a game at 10:00 a.m. so I'm going to head over to the rink and cheer him and his buddies on."

"That's fun!"

"It'll be weird to be in a rink and not lace up but I'm excited to see what the old man can do." I stand next to him and rake my fingers through his hair. He slides his legs apart making space for me and the stupid apron covers the goods.

"I bet it'll be a blast. Then what?"

"Then I'll come home and make lunch and prep dinner for my superstar girlfriend. It’s day one of being the world’s best HAB."

“HAB?” I ask unsure what he’s talking about.

“Husbands and Boyfriends. Like the Wives and Girlfriends, or, WAGs.”

“I see.”

“I’m going to use my time to show you how I will take care of you.

I’m going to make meals for you to keep in your freezer.

I’m going to set up deliveries for some of your basics.

Phase one was making sure your apartment was up to my standards.

Phase two is all about supporting your in-season day-to-day. ”

We’ve dipped our toes into the subject of our long-distance relationship but I’m realizing Bryson has been thinking through things with greater detail than I have. I was just planning to text him a lot once he leaves.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his body. He's basically making eye contact with my nipples through my sports bra, and a part of me wishes I could skip practice and crawl back into bed with him.

I've never wanted to skip practice before.

"You gotta go babe."

"Yeah," I sigh, "I can't wait to see you later."

"Same." He stands up, kisses me, then spins me towards the door. When he slaps my ass I yelp. He laughs and says, "Go get 'em, Killer."

***

You can do this.

You can walk into the locker room and say you're sorry.

You can admit things got out of hand.

You can forget she was a conniving little bitch who went behind your back to snag a sponsorship.

My head falls back against the headrest and I close my eyes.

This is going to be impossible.

A knock on the window startles me. "I like the new ride!" Brie yells through the glass. I kill the engine which stops the zen jazz track meant to help me chill the fuck out. Whether or not it is working is still to be determined.

"Thanks, I ugh, had an accident so I needed a new one."

"Oh shit! Are you okay? Why didn't you call us?" Brie asks as she steps back to let me open the door and slide out.

"Yeah, no, I wasn't in the car. An electrical pole fell on it outside my parent's cabin and it was totaled."

"Yikes."

"Yeah." That’s putting it lightly.

"So, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I shrug and get my bag out of the back seat.

"Listen, as your coach I gotta tell you to put your shit aside and be her teammate. But," she looks around making sure we're alone in the lot. "As your friend, that little twirp deserved more than a tickle takedown."

I laugh and hang my head. "Oh Jesus, I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"Hell no. That shit is going to live on in infamy."

"Great."

"But Pip might give you some space."

"That's fine." Now it's my turn to look around the lot to make sure we're alone. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"I call her Pee Pee."

"Oh shit!" Brie laughs and bites her knuckle. "Now I’m going to have to fight myself not to call her that at practice. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome." I give a little bow.

"Alright. Let's do it, Hamilton."

"Here goes nothing." I say and we walk into the facility together.

The hallway to the locker room is painted with a racing stripe down the middle. The team colors split the top and bottom and towards the end of the hall is the trophy case.

There's one plaque inside marking our runner-up position four years ago.

By the time the next season started I had a fire under my ass.

There were a few weeks of moping after I returned from Grand Junction but by February I was raring to go.

For the first time I wonder if I'd react like Bryson to winning it all.

He seems better this week, lighter, and I hope he carries that home with him into the new season.

Brie peels off to the coach's office and I take one last deep breath before pushing open the door to the locker room.

The room quiets and most of the girls advert their gaze. The next words out of my mouth will make or break the rest of the season and maybe my reputation in the league. Unsure of what exactly to say, I channel my inner Bryson and lead with…

"If ya'll don't start talking to me I'll have to tickle the greetings out of you."

That earns me a few giggles and a few "Hey Jo's".

I stop at Pee Pee, I mean Peyton's, locker before going to my own.

"Hey Peyton." I try to sound casual but also serious and unthreatening.

"Hi." She clips out.

"I want to say I'm sorry for taking my emotions out on you physically. That was completely uncalled for and I'm ready to get back to work as teammates, if you are."

"Oh, umm, yeah, sure." She says and I can tell she's still afraid of me. Which, maybe at this point is good for her as the new kid on the block.

"Great." I smile, showing all my teeth and head over to my locker to get my shoes on.

"How was your break?" Nat asks me when I sit down.

"It was actually, really great. I needed it. I got to meet up with my old friend, Bryson, and it's been good to see him." That’s one way to describe the last week.

"Nice." She says. "I went back to Texas to visit my family and holy shit am I glad I live here. I forgot how fucking hot it is in Texas in the summer. "

"Brutal." I agree.

"So, this Bryson friend, is he just a friend or more than a friend?"

I haven't spent a lot of time discussing relationships with the girls. Every once in a while the whole room weighs in on someone’s trouble and usually I stay quiet. But, this might be a chance to open up. And to develop the type of teammate friendship I see Bryson have with his buddies.

"He's more than a friend. We knew each other growing up and reconnected over the last few weeks."

"That's great Jo! Is he coming to the next home game?"

"Um, no, he actually lives in D.C. and he plays in the NHL so our schedules don't exactly line up."