“How are you doing?” I ask.
“He didn’t come home last night, so at least there’s that. He did call to check in this morning like he always does on business trips before the boys go to school, but I didn’t answer. The boys don’t know anything, but my God, it’s everywhere.Everywhere. I had to turn my phoneoffcompletely because of the number of messages I’ve seen. I had to redirect our path at the airport when theirfatherwas on a television screen making out with some other woman. I don’t know how to protect them from this. I don’t know how to protectmyselffrom this. I just knew I couldn’t be there at home when he got home.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to,” I say.
“The boys will need to go back to school. I can’t keep them out forever.”
“Then move here,” I say with a shrug.
“Like it’s that easy? Just—” She snaps her fingers. “—move?”
“I did it.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
I nod toward Maverick’s place. “Not too shabby.”
She cracks a small smile. “I’ll think about it, but I don’t want to make any rash decisions. And besides, enough is going to change for those boys. I don’t need to rip them away from their friends and everything they know, too.”
“Good point. But I’d love to have you here.”
“Aren’t you coming home at the end of your contract?” she asks.
I lift a shoulder. “To be determined.”
Maverick’s door opens, and the boys exit to the hallway.
“He wasn’t lying,” Benji confirms.
“Yeah, we had to believe him when he had like seventy billion Aces shirts,” Sammy concurs.
“I’ll see if I can get you two some Aces swag while I’m at practice tomorrow. Do you want to come watch?” he asks.
They both look at Penny, who looks at me again.
I shrug. “I have an all-access pass. It doesn’t say I can bring guests, but it doesn’t say Ican’t.”
“Can we, can we, can we, Mom? Puh-lease?” Sammy begs.
“I got nothing else on the agenda,” she admits. “Let’s do it.”
The next morning, we all head to the Complex, and Maverick participates fully in practice. He’s already game ready, and I can’t help but watch his powerful legs, his concentration, his accuracy as he looks down the field and makes a play.
God, he’s hot.
I’ve banged that dude three times. Lucky me.
The boys are really well-behaved, and there’s a family area inside where they climb for hours on the play structure, and Penny gets some much-needed quiet time of her own.
Thursday and Friday are much the same. I coach Maverick on what to say to the media. I get in touch with Ellie to get started on Maverick’s foundation idea. We go over some of the ideas he wants included in the foundation. We visit the shelter again.
I have long talks with Penny, who needs to get home for the weekend since the boys both have soccer games and they’ve already missed enough. Some of the excitement around the viral video has died down, though I’m not sure it’ll ever really go away. Either way, Pen is ready to face it head-on. While she had her quiet time, she spoke with a lawyer, and she’s headed home armed with divorce papers.
Maverick and I are basically forced to keep things as professional as possible until Friday evening hits. I’m standing in the lobby with Maverick waiting for the elevator, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to pounce as soon as we get upstairs.
And then my phone starts to ring.
I check the screen. It’s Ivy calling.
