“The food’s good, Bird.” He grins as he heartily shovels in a forkful of his pasta next. “It tastes damn near like my Mom’s.”
My best friend has finally shown back up.
Weirdness gone.
Maybe he just needed a compliment to make his heart sing too.
“Good, I’m glad you like it.”
I lift my bad leg and prop it up on my bean bag stool.
“Is it hurting badly today?” He sounds concerned as he gently rubs the supporting muscles around my knee for me.
“I think it’s going to rain tonight. That’s probably why I ache. I should be fine by Monday.”
“Good.”
Rush polishes off the rest of his meal, finally ending with my over-seasoned meatballs, then stretches out on the couch, and pivots me around so that he can position my bum leg on top of his thighs.
Twenty-five minutes later I’m deep into a movie that I could recite line for line and Rush is deep in REM sleep.
His long eyelashes flutter as he twitches.
And both of his enormous hands still cradle my leg.
It’s not like I didn’t know it already, but good gravy he’s handsome.
Whoever the woman is, that eventually lands my bestie, is going to be one lucky mother clucker.
Fourteen
MIA
FIRST DAY AT TRAINING CAMP
“World domination greetings, Mia.”
“World domination greetings, Rush.”
“Talk to you after you kick ass at your new job today?”
“Affirmative.”
It’s always been my job to help athletes either train to stay in prime physical condition or to help them rehab after an injury, so most of the time I wear sweats. There’s not one day I’m not in a pair of sweatpants and a zipped hoodie. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been in real clothes since my Uncle John’s funeral. That’s why I’ve decided that for my first day of work, which is only going to involve a tour and paperwork, I will dress the part of a professional.
I wear a scoop neck, sleeveless, green silk blouse (my favorite color) with a dark green pencil skirt and white blazer that skims my tall and bootylicious frame perfectly. I flat iron and then smooth my medium-length hair back in a smooth ponytail, neatly braiding it and securing the end with a small black rubber band. I can no longer wear heels because of my knee, so I choose a pair of crisp white Converse that dresses the outfit down and makes me look less corporate and more NFL cool chick. Then I top the whole thing off with the two-carat diamond stud earrings Rush bought me the first Christmas after he signed with the Nighthawks.
I look good if I do say so myself.
Today’s drive in the green goblin is all about hype music. My playlist is 90s hip hop featuring the Wu-Tang Clan as I travel twenty-five minutes to the team’s summer training camp facilities a few towns over in Central New Jersey. I am admittedly excited about today for a lot of reasons, but feel totally centered since Rush called me this morning with our traditional pregame pep call.
Once I arrive, I’m directed to a large parking garage where there is plenty of close parking to the elevator. When I exit, I notice there’s a striking woman with a lavender-dyed bob and dressed in an all white track suit waiting for me in a golf cart.
“Mia?”
“Miranda?”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
