I push open the door and out into the hallway, coming face to face with Lena.
“Your friends have good taste,” she laughs.
I roll my eyes, grabbing her hand and leading her away from the locker room. “I think they’re all excited to see you at the party tonight.”
“Or they like to see how much they can embarrass you. Your cheeks arecrazypink.”
I duck my head, hoping to hide my blush as people shout our names from all sides. Slowing my stride, I walk in step with Lena as Gustav brings up the rear, people from various news outlets trailing him like baby geese. Lena smiles my way, a slow heat swelling inside me the longer we lock eyes. Suddenly, holding her hand isn’t enough. The hallway narrows, funneling us onto a new path. Without thinking, my hand finds her lower back, gently resting on the smooth strip of skin her shirt doesn't cover. To my surprise, she lets me guide her through the cramped hall.
The blood whooshing through my ears drowns out any idle chatter as our walkway expands once again, and her hand slips back into mine. We round the corner of the spacious concrete corridor and wait at the elevators. Someone with a media tag dangling from their neck steps forward, their camera flashing in our faces. My shoulders tense as they move closer, but Lena smiles, still camera ready until Gustav staves them off.
When they’re a safe distance away, she swings back toward me. “Oh, this is Joss, by the way.”
I turn to see a head of purple hair stepping out from behind her. I don’t know how I’d missed her before. Joss leans forward, wobbling slightly. Someone definitely took advantage of the open bar.
“You’re even hotter in person.” Joss giggles. “Why didn’t you tell me he had green eyes? I’m gonna die, they're so green.”
Lena rolls her eyes. “Ignore her. She had a dessert plate and then drank her weight in spritzers.”
“Dinner of champions,” Joss says to me. “Speaking of which. Congrats on the win, big guy.”
I know she’s drunk, but I like her. She’s funny. “Thanks. Nice to meet you.”
The elevator pings, and we climb in. I guide Lena in first, dropping her hand for only a second so I can press my palm to the small of her back as we step across the threshold. The exact thing we discussed the night we made our guidelines. I swear both the camera flashes and media questions flare up at that moment, but we’re saved from answering them as the elevator doors slide closed.
My hand drops, my fingertips grazing a sliver of her skin where her shirt has ridden up. Lena makes small talk with Joss, completely unaware of how she’s affected me. My heart rate picks up like I’m back on the field. I clench my hand at my side as though it’ll erase the feel of her smooth, warm skin. A rush of muggy air floods the elevator as the doors clang open at our destination. This time Lena grabs my hand and leads me out. I follow her in a daze as she and Joss catch up. When we come to our ride, Gustav helps them climb into the back of the black SUV.
I’m halfway in the door when Lena nudges past me and pokes her head back out. “Gustav, you can have the rest of the night off.” Gustav raises a brow and grunts, his lips parting as though he just might speak, but Lena beats him to it. “Call up that lady friend you’ve been talking about, and I’ll see you tomorrow as scheduled.”
“He can come too. If you feel more comfortable with him being there.” I turn to face Gustav. “We wouldn’t want you to miss out. You seem like quite the party animal.”
I swear, Gustav almost smiles.
Lena shakes her head. “No. We’ll be fine. Plus, it’s been so long since I’ve seen Joss. I just want to pretend like it’s old times for a while.”
“Pretend, huh?” I arch a brow, and she rolls her eyes.
Gustav shuts the door behind us and rounds the car to have a brief word with Ives, our driver. I opted for a chauffeur tonight in an effort to keep everything as low-stress as possible for myself. The game brings on its own kind of anxiety, but the thought of going live with our relationship makes me more nervous than I thought it would. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted. I have more to gain than to lose from our partnership, but the thought of being thrown into the spotlight to be scrutinized settled onto me like a dozen linebackers sitting on my chest, so I opted to hand off driving duties to Ives, my part-time driver.
In the backseat, Joss chatters about her favorite parts of the game, which aren’t really part of the game at all. Next to the uniforms, she says the touchdown celebration dances were her favorite part. I smile in response to Joss's rambling quips, and Lena does the same, but there’s something distant about her expression. I can’t help but notice she’s a little stiff. I can feel it in the way her shoulder brushes mine. Joss is too tipsy to notice anything, like the fact that Lena hasn’t made eye contact with me since we climbed in. Which is pretty typical for her, but this time it’s different. Normally, I feel like she’s off somewhere else, wishing she could be anywhere but with me. This time, though, it’s like she’s too nervous to look my way. Her eyes are darting, catching glimpses of me every so often, but nothing sticks. As Ives pulls up to my place, I reach over and squeeze her hand. Fora split second I think she might pull it away, but finally, she turns to face me.
“Ready?” I ask.
She takes a deep breath, bites her bottom lip, and nods.
“Born ready, baby. Let’s go!” Joss shuffles across the seats, barreling over me to get out of the SUV. Lena calls after her as she stumbles across the pavement, but Joss doesn’t slow down. We both watch as she rushes toward the open elevator and dives in with a group of people carrying a cooler and a couple bottles of wine. I assume they’re headed to my place. Which means Lena and I have no time together before we come face to face with another crowd. Lena calls after her again, but the elevator doors close, leaving Lena with a few choice words about her drunk bff and a hard roll of the eyes.
I hang back, helping her maneuver out as she slides across, careful to keep a hand on the hem of her skirt to anchor it in place. As much as I want to peek at her smooth, tan legs, I keep my eyes locked on her face. Her lips are red tonight, my favorite shade, and one that makes her blue eyes pop even more than they typically do.
“Ives, I’ll pay you double if you park and come up to take Princess out. I’ve got something to show Lena before the night gets crazy,” I call to him just before I shut the door.
His lips part into a smile that’s all teeth as he watches me grab her hand. “Say no more.”
After Ives pulls away, Lena drops my hand, but leans closer, her voice a whisper. “You have something to show me?”
“No. I just… I figured we should make a game plan real quick or something. Take a few minutes to get comfortable together before we’re on display again. Collect ourselves or whatever.”
I glance down at her, a little ashamed of my lie. Did I disappoint her? The notion is scrubbed away when her cherry red lips split into a grin.
