Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I watch Myles take her to her seat, and then turn my focus to the game. For the next hour plus my attention needs to be on the field and with my teammates. Not on the hottie in the stands.
We take the field first. I amble out there, along the side of Noah, and we huddle up with the rest of our offensive crew. He calls the play, and we clap. I’m the first one out of the huddle and to the line of scrimmage.
Before I crouch down, I wave at the two tackles, trying to psyche them out. I swear I hear one of them growl, but that could all be in my head. As soon as I’m at the line of scrimmage, Noah comes up behind me. He goes through his cadence and I listen for the snap count and finally send the ball into Noah’s hands.
I keep my eye on the middle linebacker who charges toward me like a bull. When he’s close enough, I block him from getting to Noah. This is where I keep my attention, on protecting my QB until I hear a whistle or know the play has moved down field and Noah’s safe.
The crowd goes crazy, and I look at the Jumbo Tron to see that we’ve scored and most of the guys are dancing in the end zone.
“Fuck yes,” I scream as the scoreboard changes to six and I make my way off the field. The urge to look into the stands is great, but I hold off. Mostly because I don’t want to see that Kelsey isn’t enjoying herself. Football games are a lot to take in, especially for a first timer.
We gain a twenty-point lead before the other team scores. It’s a cushion, but never enough. If we’re not careful, it can go away just as fast as it took us to get there.
Play after play, I tell my line where to go, what to do, and encourage them to block all incoming linemen. Are we always perfect?
No, we’re not.
But we do our best and then some. And at the end of the game, we’re victors.
Fireworks go off and when I get to the sideline for the last time, I finally give myself what I’ve wanted the entire game—Kelsey. She’s standing there, with Myles and Basha, cheering her heart out. Not only for me, but my team as well. Kelsey notices me and gives me a little wave, and fuck me if those fingers don’t turn me on. She’s going to be the death of me eventually but at least I’ll die happy.
After the game, Kelsey waits for me outside the locker room. There are other wives and girlfriends there, but she doesn’t know any of them and I haven’t had the chance to introduce her yet. When I come out, she’s at the end of the hall, waiting. I expect to find a book or a phone in her hand, but she’s just there, with her foot resting against the wall.
As soon as I’m next to her, I put my arm on the wall and pull her to my body, thankful I’m wider than her so I can block everyone from seeing me kiss her. At first, it’s slow, with a little bit of hesitancy, until my tongue traces the outside of her bottom lip and then she opens for me.
“You taste good,” I say after we break apart. “Sweet, like candy.”
“It must be the lollipop.”
Images of Kelsey sucking on a lollipop flash before me. They’re amazing images but they come at the wrong time. I groan and rest my head on top of hers. I love the height difference between us. We’re perfect together.
“Where’s Basha?”
“She went home. She has a conference call with a client on the east coast and it’s at, like, seven a.m.”
“You editors keep odd hours.” Kelsey tries to keep them as normal as possible, but I’ve figured out since we met that she’s a night owl and will either stay up until three in the morning to read or will go to bed early and wake at the crack of dawn.
“When you have clients all over, in different time zones, you try to accommodate. Plus, I mostly read and edit when I’m at home. In the office, it’s meetings, conference calls, and a ton of emails. Anyway, she went home.”
“Noah and Peyton are having some people over to watch the late game. Do you want to go over there? You could get to know some of the other wives and girlfriends, so you can maybe sit with them in two weeks.”
Kelsey nods. “That would be nice.”
“A lot of them hang out during the week or they’ll get together and plan different fundraisers or events for us.”
“They sound busy.”
“I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”