“Hot car sex later,” she says. “Explain this first.” She waves a hand around.
I shift in my seat, my cock immediately hard at the wordscar sexbecause, Jesus. I don’t think I’ve had car sex in like fifteen years, and now it’s suddenly all I can think about, but I force myself to focus because I am a grown adult who is not ruled by his dick. Or, at least, I can try to be. No promises on my chances of success. “Drew owns this place.”
Maddy laughs, glancing out the car window. “No fucking way.”
“Absolutely fucking way. He owns, or has a stake in, all kinds of different things. Some of them make absolutely no sense at all, but he has this weirdly astute business acumen and a sixth sense for where to invest. Anyway, I don’t know, like, half of what he owns because it’s too many things to keep track of, but one of them is this place. I asked him to open it up for us tonight.”
Maddy’s face lights up. “Like, to watch a movie? In the car, in the middle of the winter?”
“You bet. We can’t open the trunk because, well, winter, but I figured the back seat would work just fine.”
She squeals, clapping her hands together. “This is, like, the best date ever. What are we watching?”
I grin at her. “Nora Ephron movie marathon. We’re starting withYou’ve Got MailandWhen Harry Met Sally, and if we’re feeling ambitious, a littleSleepless in Seattleto end the night. A perfect New York City rom-com trifecta.”
“Stop it!” she says with a laugh. “Tyler is going to be so jealous.”
“I know. Be sure to tell him all about it. Jealous Tyler is one of my favorite things.”
Maddy’s face shutters for a second before she looks away. It’s so fast I would have missed it if I were looking anywhere but at her, but when she’s around, she’s all I see, so I didn’t miss it, and I realize immediately what I said. Taking her other hand, I wait until she’s looking back at me. “It’s okay,” I say quietly. “It’s okay not to want to tell him yet. Or anyone else.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not okay. I want everyone to know. I don’t want to hide this. I mean, not that we’re doing a very good job hiding anyway. Our circle is getting pretty big. But playoffs start next week, and everyone needs to focus. Once they’re over, we’ll figure out how to tell everyone else.”
I bring her hand to my lips, lingering there. “We’re going to win you the Super Bowl,” I murmur. “And then everyone in the world will know how brilliant you are, and what an amazing thing you’ve done. How important you are to the team, and to professional football, and no one will ever be able to say anything different.”
She smiles, but it’s a touch sad because we both know the truth, which is that people are going to say terrible shit no matter what because they’re misogynistic assholes who will never believe that women belong in sports. But I think—I hope—that what we’re building is strong enough to withstand that, and I think maybe she does too because she straightens her shoulders, and her smile turns to a grin. “If you win the Super Bowl, I’ll kiss you afterwards on the field and then we won’t have to tell anyone anything.”
My mind drifts back to the last time I kissed a girl on a football field after winning a big game. How much I would like to get to do that again. With Maddy. “Baby, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
My phone dings then, and I dig it out of my pocket, chuckling when I see Drew’s text on the screen.
Drew
What the fuck, dude. You planning on just sitting in that car all night? It’s fucking cold up here.
I show Maddy the screen and she laughs. “Where is he?”
I gesture behind us. “In the control booth somewhere back there, but don’t worry about him. He’s bitching, but he actually turned that room into a full-blown man cave with video games and a pool table and climate control so he’s definitely not cold. He even has a bed up there because he’s kind of a manwhore but has a weird thing about bringing women back to his house.”
She shakes her head. “Drew is one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met.”
“Same. I’ve known him since I was eighteen and still can’t figure him all the way out.”
“My friend Caitlin is like that. I’ve known her my entire life and there’s still a part of her I can’t quite reach. Something unknowable. Like, some deep depth she hides from everyone. I’ve never been able to figure her all the way out either, and I figure people out for a living, so it drives me insane. Anyway, if Drew is fine up there, can he wait for a few minutes? I have something for you.” She reaches behind her seat and grabs the big gift bag she wouldn’t let me look in earlier.
“He absolutely can.” I unlock my phone and type out a message.
Me
Keep your pants on. We need a few minutes.
Drew
If you’re making me wait up here because you’re fucking in that car, I’m going to be…okay, I was going to say I’m going to be really fucking annoyed, but the truth is I’ll just be proud and happy for you because you deserve this.
Me
I deserve to fuck a girl in my car?
