“Mmm. Or both?”
Dev made a face. “That’s not happening as long as I’m here.” He slid his foot up my leg. “You were so good out there today. I knew you’d be an asset to the team.”
“Thanks. I think we’re really comin’ together. This is the first time I’m playin’ for a contender, and the vibe is so different. The fans, they’re like on steroids.”
Dev snorted with laughter. “Ow, don’t make me laugh. I’m still so fucking sore, even after a whirlpool and massage. But yeah. Just wait until the regular season.”
“It gets wild, huh?”
Those green eyes sparkled as he nuzzled into my neck. “Let’s just say there are two kinds of fandoms. One is the die-hards who love us no matter what. They have season tickets, know every stat of every player, and stay with us through the hard times.”
“Yeah. Those are the best. But I get it when fans are frustrated. They pay a lotta money for their tickets and think we’re slackers if we keep losin’. I heard a lotta that. When I was with the Lonestars, they’d been rebuilding for a few years, but it just wasn’t clicking.”
He nodded against my chest. “Uh-huh. Then there’s the other kind. The ones who take it a little too far. And I know, everyone loves a winner, and these people expect New York teams to win. So we’ve got that pressure. Now add on the fact that we came so damn close last year, and we’re one of the favorites to go all the way this year. If we suck and lose, they’ll get on us like you’ve never seen.”
“Yeah. That’s how it was with the Lonestars fans. They’d boo us if we sucked.”
“Here, they’ll boo, yell at us, call us names, and tell the teams who should be traded.”
Now that I’d cut my hair for the season—something Dev vociferously protested and whined about for over a week—he played with my chest hair and swirled it around his fingers.
“They have no problem telling us we suck.” His lips kicked up. “In multiple languages.”
“I can deal with it.”
“I know. You’re tough.”
Not really. He should only know all those nights I’d spent missing him when he wasn’t with me. Phone calls and stolen weekends weren’t enough. This off-season together had proved it.
“It was like old times, playing on the same team. I never thought I’d get the chance again. Thank you for suggesting it and lightin’ a fire under my ass to make the move.”
“Having a team that works together instead of a bunch of egos on the field makes all the difference.”
Laughing, I nudged his cheek with my nose. “No ego where you’re concerned, am I right? I saw you working the crowd.”
He snickered. “What can I say? I get off on hearing the roar. But seriously? Nothing gets me more pumped than being on the field, driving for the goal line, momentum on our side and the fans giving it their all.”
Under my fingers I could feel his heart beat faster, and I nuzzled his neck. “Nothin’, huh? Guess I’m slippin’.”
“Silly. If I didn’t have you, I don’t think I’d be able to do this at all.”
He kissed me, gentle and sweet, not a prelude to sex because our bodies were way too beaten up to think about it, but reaffirming our deep connection.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, before Dev slowly sat up. “Are you happy you’re living here now? You don’t have any regrets, do you?”
“Who’re you, my momma?” As soon as I said it, I wanted to take the words back. Dev’s face fell, and his lips twisted in a fake-as-hell attempt at a smile.
“She’s still not convinced it was the right move for you, is she?” His head tipped down, hiding his eyes, but I caught the hurt in their green depths. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at her. She loves you and wants to make sure you’re okay. Like a real mother.”
“It’s not that. She worries about you too.”
“Yeah?” He raised his head and brushed the dark hair out of his sad eyes. “Like how?”
My heart hurt, knowing that he’d never received a mother’s love. Outwardly, Dev put on the face of a fun, easygoing man, someone always up for a good time, but only I knew his sensitive side. How fiercely he loved me. How lonely he was. Too many times we’d be together and I’d catch him staring into space. I knew he was thinking about his parents, wondering why they deserted him simply because he wanted to follow his dreams and not theirs.
At my hesitation, he pulled away from me. “Please don’t lie to me. You won’t hurt my feelings, I promise.” He left the couch and began to pace.
“I’ll never lie to you. She’s concerned, thinkin’ that you were my first and I never gave myself a chance to be with anyone else. Please stop. You’re makin’ me dizzy.”
