Page 89 of Vegas Heat: The Expansion Team Complete Series

The closer we move toward the expansion draft, the busier Cooper gets.

And that also means he’s been spending a lot more time with my father.

They’re analyzing players, watching games, and strategizing, and my dad has been spending more and more time at either our house or Cooper’s, which means I’ve been spending less and less time with both of them. My own schedule has started filling, too, as the internship has suddenly become like a full time position, I’ve been working more and more with Kaylee, and my school schedule only gets in the way.

We’re a week out from the expansion draft and I’m editing a video to give Zelda to post to the Heat’s TikTok account when Mia calls me in tears.

I haven’t spoken to her outside of class in weeks, and Dylan has been avoiding me at the stadium. We haven’t been put on any projects together, so I haven’t even had a chance to ask him how Mia’s doing.

“I’ll be right over,” I say before she can even get a word out.

When I show up at her apartment, she’s positively distraught.

“What’s going on?” I ask, squeezing her in a tight hug.

She gulps for breath for a few beats, and I grab the box of tissues and direct her over to the couch, where she promptly bursts into tears all over again.

“Sorry,” she sniffles as she tries to pull it together. “There’s just so many memories here on this couch.”

I wrinkle my nose as I eye it suspiciously, but I let it go. “What happened?”

“I think Dylan might be cheating on me,” she manages.

“Oh no,” I say, racking my brain for anything I might’ve seen at the stadium. “What makes you think that?”

“He’s going home for Thanksgiving and I saw a text in his phone about how this girl wants to hook up with him while he’s there, and I asked him about it and he got real defensive about how she’s just a friend, like too defensive and it feels like he’s lying. So we got into a huge fight and I told him maybe we should just start seeing other people.”

“When was all this?” I ask.

“A couple hours ago. We haven’t spoken since he slammed the door on his way out.”

“Do you have any proof he’s lying?” I ask, trying to remain calm even though I have about ten thousand things I know I need to do at home and this sounds like either a simple miscommunication or a silly fight that they could work out. Still, I know my friend needs me, and she deserves my attention even though we’ve barely spoken recently since we’ve both been busy doing our own thing.

She shakes her head forlornly, but at least the tears have stopped. “No proof. Just a strong gut feeling.”

“I always say trust your gut, but I think you and Dylan are really solid.”

“I thought we were, too, and that’s why this is all so upsetting.” She sniffles, and I hand her a tissue.

“What are your Thanksgiving plans?” I ask.

She shrugs. “My mom and dad are going to my brother’s house in Florida and it just feels like a really long trip to make for a few days.”

“Stay here and celebrate with us,” I suggest.

“That’s really sweet of you. I might take you up on it. I just don’t want to impose or get in the middle of things with you and your dad or anything.” She leans back on the couch and draws in a shuddering breath.

“It’s not imposing when I invited you, silly.” I nudge her elbow.

“How are things going with Cooper? I’ve been such a bad friend. I’m sorry. I’ve just put all my eggs in Dylan’s basket because I really thought we had a future, you know? I thought he was the one. I thought I’d graduate in the spring with an MRS degree, you know?”

“Maybe you will,” I say, ignoring the fact that she started her rant with a question about me and ended it by turning it back to herself. She’s going through something, and she doesn’t want to hear about how great things are in my own relationship.

Although they are pretty great. Even though time has been limited for us over the last few weeks, we’ve made the most of our time when we get to have it.

There’s a knock at the door, and I get up to answer it.

My eyes widen when I find Dylan standing there. He looks as sad as she does. I open the door a little wider without saying anything, and he steps in with a friendly nod.

He beelines for the couch when he sees her sitting there, and he kneels beside her. “I don’t want to see anyone else.”

She bursts into fresh tears again as he takes her cheeks between his palms.

“I love you, Mia Delgado. Come home with me for the holiday. Meet my family. Meet my friend who I swear is nothing more than a friend.” He’s begging, and Mia starts to calm down.

I take that as my cue to slip out the door.

I try calling Cooper on my way back to my dad’s place, but he doesn’t answer. He’s busy, though, and he’s probably with my dad, and he can’t exactly answer when they’re together. I call Joanie next.

“Hi honey,” she answers, and in the last few weeks, we’ve grown closer and closer as we’ve been spending more and more time together. She’s sort of become like the mother that my own mother never was. In fact, I haven’t even spoken to my actual mother in months. She called the day before my birthday to wish me a happy birthday and to remind me how she was in labor with me for a full sixteen hours before I came out, as if she still blames me for the hard labor that happened twenty-one years ago.

On the other hand, Joanie is supportive and kind, and she’s a good boss, too. She praises me for a job well done, and she’s never critical when she shows me where I can improve.

I feel like I’m a lock for the social media manager position, and not just because Troy is my father and Joanie is my future stepmother. It’s because I’m putting in longer hours than the other interns. I’m studying the craft of marketing, learning new things every single day, and I’m not afraid to try them out.

Chloe is right beside me for all of it, and in some ways, I’ve gotten closer with her than even Mia. But she still doesn’t know about Cooper and me. Only Justin does, and he’s been discreet—and busy himself as he and Brian embark on a down low relationship, too.

“Do you have any dinner plans tonight?” I ask Joanie.

“I’m all tied up tonight,” she admits. “I’m so sorry.”

“No worries. Maybe another time.”

“Of course. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I say. “My friend Mia just called me in hysterics because she thought her boyfriend was cheating on her, and he showed up apologizing. I guess it just drove home the fact that the season hasn’t even started yet and I already feel like they’re gone.” Joanie and I don’t talk much about my relationship with Cooper, mostly so it doesn’t get awkward for her where my dad is concerned. But on the rare occasion I bring him up, she’s always there with good advice. And she’s an especially good person to talk to on this topic considering she’s in the same boat with my father where time is concerned.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better. I suspect you already know that, though, and only you can decide if that’s a sacrifice you’re willing to make.”

I think about how good things are between Cooper and me. “Of course it’s worth the sacrifice. But it doesn’t make it any easier going through it.”

“Then it’s a good thing you have me since I’m going through the exact same thing.”

“Thanks, Joanie. You really are the best,” I say.

“Right back at you, sweetheart. Oh, and if you see your dad when you get home, can you tell him I’m done with the task he gave me?”

“Sure thing. Talk to you soon.” I wonder for a beat what that task is all about, but I’m sure it has something to do with the marketing department.

But then the thoughts filter in about the club my father supposedly owns, and I can’t help but wonder what his relationship with Joanie is really like.

I don’t think I want to know.