CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Blair
It doesn’t escape me that I’m more excited about game day today than I have been since I used to watch Zane and my brother play.
I loved attending games with Nathan, but this feels different. My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that I was dreaming of this day growing up. Actually, dreaming isn’t the right word. I wasexpectingit.
Before our fight on Zane’s birthday, I was convinced we were in it for the long haul. It was just a matter of time. And evenafterour fight, I was certain we just needed to get over that little hurdle. That once we were both at college together, everything would work out.
Zane made me believe that.
And if the accident hadn’t happened, I truly think that would have come true.
Now I’m here, potentially beginning the life I always imagined, and it’s making me giddy, filling me with a lightness I haven’t felt in years.
“I really wish I’d gotten you a jersey.” Zane groans from behind me, flicking my braid as he wanders past.
“I told you; we need to be subtle for now. And me having a Storm jersey with ‘property of Fitzpatrick’ written on the back is not at all subtle.”
Zane chuckles. “I would love to put ‘property of’ on your back, but jerseys don’t really work that way.”
My eyes widen.Did I just say that?Jesus. “I know that.” I roll my eyes and laugh to cover the uncomfortable feeling settling in my chest. Is that what I felt like wearing Nathan’s jersey? That he owned me?
Turning back to the mirror, I tuck my sweater into my jeans, then brush a loose curl behind my ear.
Zane steps up behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder as he wraps his arms around my waist, humming. “Mmmm, I am going to play the fuck out of this game.” He inhales as though breathing me in. “Nothing beats knowing you’re there in the crowd, cheering me on. I still remember the buzz I got in high school. Thinking about you watching me, and not being able to tell anyone. There was always something forbidden about it.”
“I’d say hooking up with your rival’s ex-girlfriend, a week after she broke up with him, is extremely forbidden.”
“Very true.” He squeezes my waist, making me jump. “I’m a lucky man.”
“Don’t ever forget it.”
“Trust me, that’s not going to happen. But I’ve got to go. You have everything you need, right?”
“I do. Honestly, I would have been fine with a ticket in the nosebleed section.” I spin in his arms and bounce my eyebrows, making him chuckle again.
“You know, sometimes you make it hard to believe you are a football genius.”
“I like to keep people guessing. Now go, before you’re late.” A feeling of déjà vu hits me as Zane kisses my nose and turns to walk away, but I can’t tell if it’s familiar because I’ve done this with Nathan, or I’ve done this with Zane in another life. The life we were meant to have.
I’m on a high until Dad and Cade call for our usual game day chat, and I have to lie to Dad. Not because I don’t want him to know about Zane, or that I think he’ll be disappointed, but I want to talk to him about it in person, when I know exactly how my life’s about to change. We’re close, and he always takes on my worries like they’re his own. I can’t put him through that just yet.
The afternoon flies by and I think I’m in control, but the second I step onto the elevator for my journey to the suites, my confidence wavers.Dammit, Zane.
Why the hell would I agree to watch the game with the wives and girlfriends? I know he means well and doesn’t want me to be alone, but I don’t know these women. What if they’re awful, or bitchy? Or worse, what if they’re boring and spend more time talking about themselves than they do watching the game?
My stomach lurches when the chime signals that I’ve reached my destination, and I almost press the button for the ground floor. Maybe I’d be better off watching the TV near the food stands, then—
“Blair?” A smiling redhead greets me as the doors open, and I startle at the sight of her. “Oops, sorry. I probably should have waited until you actually stepped out.”
“No, that’s okay. I was in my own world. I’m Blair.”Shit. She knows that.
“I’m Keeley.” She smiles, brushing her hair behind her ear before stepping back to give me space. “I think we met in the hospital.”
“The hospital?”
“Yeah. I was there when Zane and Reed were—”
