“Maybe one day, Harper.” Her and I exchange smiles before she’s back to work on her painting.
Just like the first time he brought me here, it’s almost more than I can handle today. I didn’t expect Ford to be who he is. I’m so completely in love with everything about him.
I take his hand as we walk out of the Rec Center and squeeze it tight. Now that we’re no longer keeping our relationship a secret, I want nothing more than to be touching him at all times. His hand engulfs mine and as we walk down the sidewalk towards the apartment.
Harper's question lingers in my head.Would I?Would I actually marry Ford if he asked? I’m not getting ahead of myself here and I’m not thinking that’s happening any time soon, butwould I?
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours? You're quiet.” He stops to kiss my forehead as we wait for the elevator in my apartment lobby. Not wanting to sound like a crazy person, I opt to forego the conversation with Harper.
“Nothing, just happy.” I smile up at him as the door opens and we walk in. I’m having another flashback of our first day together and how that elevator ride ended and I’m sure he senses the memory replaying in my mind when he says,
“Round two?” Ford’s hand hovers over the emergency stop button on the elevator as he leans against the wall. “Say the word, we’ll stop this thing.” His smile is devastatingly tempting.
Without saying anything, I reach in front of him and stop it myself and pull his shirt towards me.
“Come here, Anderson.”
If five years ago, someone told me that my life would be playing out the way it is right now, I would say you’re out of your damn mind.
I’ve never been so fucking happy in my life and I was drafted into the NFL on my dream team, so that’s saying something. We have two more games to win before we’re on the way to Miami for the Super Bowl and I know there’s still a lot that can happen in those games, but I’m more confident than ever right now. Maybe it’s just the fact that I know this team is unstoppable or maybe it’s got something to do with a certain brunette who makes me feel like the luckiest man alive. Either way, I don’t take any of this for granted, I’m living the dream right now.
Abby
Good luck today! See you afterwards. Love you.
Game two of the playoffs today and we’re favored to win, but I know at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean shit. We have to show up and put in the work. At least it’s a home game and I’ll get to see Abby right afterwards.
“Fuck yeah, Anderson!” Liam’s jogging over to me in the endzone after the bullet he just threw me, getting us six and essentially securing the win. There are only ninety seconds left and we’re up by ten now. Once the clock finally runs out, we all celebrate knowing we’re now officially going to the Conference Championship game, the last stop before Miami.
“That catch is probably going to score you some points for later. How high did you jump?” Liam’s comment isn’t quiet. In fact, it’s loud enough for the entire locker room to hear, which includes Chase.
“How’s your girl anyway? Tell her to bring her friend Summer back to town soon.” Liam doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up and what not to say around certain people because without me even answering, Chase walks by.
“Keep my sister and her friends out of your mouth, Evans.” Chase says as he passes, headed towards the door.
“Fuck, Hunt. I’m just messing around. I’m not the one fucking sleeping with her.”
Liam is my friend. He’s my teammate, but also my friend. Does that stop me though from getting in his face like this is fucking high school? No, it definitely doesn’t.
“Can you shut the fuck up for five minutes, Evans? You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” I don’t even care if the rest of the team is watching. I’m tired of Liam thinking he can just shoot off his mouth and not be called out for it.
Liam scoffs at me and walks away. My adrenaline is at an all time high, from the win and then from that little bullshit encounter. I know Liam doesn’t know the whole story, but fuck, if he can’t just keep his mouth shut. I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh as the rest of the team goes back to whatever they were doing before our little show caught their attention.
After the game, I don’t bother telling Abby about the whole fiasco in the locker room. We hop in my truck, her bare legs sitting on the seat next to me and she’s wearing my jersey with a long sleeved white t-shirt underneath. I’m a sucker for her long legs, so I place my hand possessively on her thigh as I drive us away from the stadium.
“That catch was something else. I’ll never understand how you can jump so high.” Her laughter fills the silence and I just give her thigh a tight squeeze. I feel the warmth from her skin on my hand as she runs her nails on the back of my neck. Something that I didn’t realize would be as soothing as it is, but now it’s my favorite thing she does while we drive.
* * *
The next few days fly by. Abby’s been so busy with school and I’ve been practicing longer hours than normal to prepare for the game this weekend. My parents will be at this game and I want Abby to meet them. I could sense her hesitation, and I don’t really blame her considering I’ve probably made my parents sound like snooty rich people.
“I promise they’ll love you. What’s not to love? Look at you,” I say to Abby through the FaceTime call we’re currently on this morning. She’s getting ready for work and I don’t have to be at the facility until nine, so she called me to “get ready with her.”
“I’m just nervous. I’ve only met one boyfriend's parents and they sucked.” She’s standing in front of the mirror holding different sweaters up to her body trying to decide what to wear. If we had more time, I’d make use of this unplanned phone date since I’m lying here in bed with morning wood that won’t go away thanks to watching her barely clothed body on the other end of this screen.
“The purple. Wear the purple sweater.” She turns to face the phone, her brown hair up in a ponytail and I can tell she just brushed her teeth before she called because there’s a small amount of toothpaste on the corner of her lip that I wish I could lick off.
“Yeah? You think so?” Her head tilts as she looks back in the mirror. I watch her hips shift back and forth as she pulls on a pair of black pants, causing my dick to twitch.
