The guys are rowdy at times, with the random cheers and hollering, but it’s been fun being around them. Kendrick is here. So is Bread, who hasn’t stopped poking his head through thebarrier that separates first class from the main cabin to ask for snacks.
One thing is super clear: The team listens to their captain. They respect him.
“You’ve settled down,” I point out. Three years ago, Antonio would’ve flown to Vegas from the wing of the plane.
He scratches his chin. “I have, haven’t I? I feel a responsibility to set a good example. That crazy shit doesn’t excite me much, anyway. Been there, done that, you know?”
“I don’t,” I laugh, taking in the lone reading light that illuminates our cabin. I should’ve brought my book. “The wildest thing I’ve ever done is come on this trip. I still don’t know where we’re staying, which is grounds for a private meltdown under normal circumstances.”
“I canceled my reservation and got a suite in a different hotel.”
“Antonio. I didn’t ask for that, and I don’t need to be treated with kid gloves.” I adjust my glasses so he can see how serious I am. I’m tired of people treating me like a child for lacking certain experiences. “I’m thirty-four, not two,” I say, my tone clipped. “I won’t break.”
“I know.” His voice is a soft stroke as he takes my hand. “I changed the reservation because a K-pop band is performing at the original hotel.”
“Oh.” I take in our joined hands. His swallows mine, but they fit.
“You never needed kid gloves, Doe. Your comfort will always be my priority. Got it?”
I nod. “Got it. Thank you again for this weekend. I appreciate it…and you.”
His eyes drop to my lips, jolting my heart to pound against my chest. I’m lightheaded, a symptom of being thirty-five thousand feet in the air, not feelings I shouldn’t have for my best friend.
Our stare is a series of seconds lost in time until apsstbreaks us apart.
Antonio chuckles. “You’re being summoned.”
My snort morphs into a laugh when I see Bread. Only his head is visible through the black partition.
“Maid Miriam,” he whispers. “What you got for me?”
“Here.” I hand him a half-empty bottle of champagne.
He takes it with a smile and, if I’m not mistaken, tears in his eyes. “You’re cool people.” He bows before the partition closes.
“We got extra booze!” Bread announces to the players. “What do we say?”
“Thank you, Maid Miriam!” the main cabin shouts.
A flight attendant stomps by and gives me the stink eye. “Please refrain from sharing your items with the other cabin, or you’ll lose your privileges.”
The cheers do a record scratch when she asks for ID. They’re all over twenty-one. I thought it was okay.
Oops.
“Troublemaker.” Antonio smirks before dozing off.
Chapter 24
Antonio
My last set is a slow grunt of force through exhaustion. Fuck, I’m tired. But if I didn’t squeeze in a workout now, it wasn’t happening. I rerack the ninety-pound weight, grab my gear, and travel through the maze of halls to the elevator.
I’ve been up since five, not because I enjoy waking up at the ass crack of dawn. The hotel I moved me and Miriam to fumbled my reservation, which meant finding new accommodations for Bread, Kendrick, Quincy, and three other players right after we landed. Shins is flying out today, and he’ll be in a room with his girl until he gets a permission slip to come out.
The spot we’re in had a suite available and another one with bunk beds in a large room. The guys and I slept two to a bed during our first year thanks to the league’s limited budget. They’ll survive a few days sharing one bathroom, and they can fuck in a dark alley for all I care, provided they don’t get arrested.
That left one problem to solve. The reason I’ve been up for hours, unable to sleep.
