The man looked down at his tablet and shouted to the other guard, “Open the gate.” He turned back to my truck. “Have a good day, Mr. Graham and Ms. Hubbard.”
“Shit,” Vee mumbled under her breath after we began moving. “He probably follows social media.”
“Either that, or he simply recognized you. I can drop you off at the door.”
“Thank you.”
“Tonight?” I asked.
“Let me make it through today first.”
“In case your day gets busy, just remember that I love you, Vee Hubbard.”
Her cheeks rose. “I don’t know about tonight. I do know I don’t want to be alone.” She laid her petite hand on my forearm. “I don’t know what I’d have done these last few days without you.”
“Your vibrator would have had a workout.”
She shook her head. “There’s more to life than sex.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Really?”
Vee snickered. “I love you. Stay safe during practice.”
“I’m more concerned about the locker room.” We came to a stop in front of the main building.
“Good luck.” She grabbed her leather satchel and opened the door. “We’ve got this.” The door slammed shut.
For a moment, I watched Vee’s round ass and her long hair sway as she confidently made her way to the glass doors and disappeared inside. I could handle whatever came my way, and while I wanted to wrap Vee in Bubble Wrap, I had faith that she could manage whatever came her way.
After parking my truck, I grabbed my duffel bag and headed inside toward the locker room. Greetings and nods came from other players. It wasn’t until I was putting on my shoulder pads that Troy, Jamir, and Dijon came to my locker. They were already dressed for practice.
“So?” Troy asked as he took a seat on the bench.
“So,” I replied, “you’re getting reps today.”
“Last I heard, I’m not getting playing time until after the bye. But it’s good to be practicing again.”
JD joined our group. “Talk to us, Fin.”
I stared around at all four sets of eyes. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
JD slapped my shoulder pad. “Teammates…yeah, we need to trust one another.” He looked to the other men. “Ain’t that right?”
“Sure is,” Jamir said. “Like, I’m your running back. I need to know I can count on you.”
“Has that been an issue?”
JD lowered his voice. “Just tell us if the rumors are true.” When I didn’t answer, he pulled out his phone. On the screen was the picture of me with the Cincinnati Reds cap. “Was this you on your way up to Ms. Maeve’s place?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Vee and I go way back. She just unexpectedly and tragically lost her father.”
JD whistled. “Oh, it’s Vee not Maeve.”
Troy’s smile broadened. “We were right about a woman.”
“Our Fin,” Dijon said, “didn’t settle for a Coopers groupie. Fuck no, he’s banging the owner’s daughter.”
“Fuck that,” JD said. “The owner.”
