I almost laughed out loud.
“Y’all coming by the house?” Lamar asked.
Nina flashed a cunning smile. “We’re going to let you two”—she wiggled her eyebrows—“celebratein private.”
“But next time, we in there,” Russ replied, dapping him up again.
Lamar nodded. “That’s what’s up.” He gestured to Russ’s shirt. “Is this you?”
A proud smile stretched across Russ’s face. “Yeah, man. It’s not out yet. Hits stores in a few weeks.”
“I’m gonna have to cop one if you make them in big and tall.”
“I got you.”
Nina and I shared a pleased look as the two men shared a joke and a laugh. Russ traveled a lot and didn’t have any local friends. And even though Lamar had teammates, his closest friends weren’t local. Nina winked at me as a reminder of our plan to get Lamar, Russ, and Ahmad to become best friends.
Lamar returned to the locker room as I hugged Nina and Russ goodbye. Then I went to the guard and waited. Five minutes later, someone brought a pass for me.
Nervously, I made my way toward the crowd—a mix of press, photographers, Monarchs staff, players, and players’ families. It was a bit overwhelming, and when a woman walked by in six-inch heels and a tiny Monarchs jersey dress, I hesitated for a moment.
Nowsheis camera ready.
Women all around were in varying states of dress. But the ones who were garnering the most attention looked like the woman who’d walked by—slim-thick, glam makeup, and an overtly sexy outfit. They looked fantastic. And even though I also looked good, I knew what the WAGs who were in the spotlight typically looked like and wore. People would assume Lamar was with someone like her before they would assume he was with me.
And that was their problem, not mine.
But as I saw the flurry of camera flashes and reporters, my stomach churned. Being with a public figure meant an influx of attention.
And I hated attention.
But I realized I didn’t hate it more than I loved Lamar.
Twenty minutes after I had successfully faded into the throng ofpeople, closer to the players than I’ve ever been before, my phone vibrated in my bag.
“Hello?” I answered.
“I promise I’m coming,” Lamar responded. “You okay?”
“I’m okay.” I put my hand to my stomach. “Hungry but I’m okay. Are you okay?”
“I’m going to feed you. Give me five minutes.”
I grinned, thinking about all the ways I wanted to be fed. “Okay, five minutes,” I confirmed.
We said goodbye and my stomach fluttered.
When he emerged from the locker room, he bypassed the people waiting around and came directly to me. I watched him approach in his green-and-black Monarchs sweatpants and a black shirt that hugged his biceps beautifully. I couldn’t help but smile.
The man is gorgeous…
“You are so beautiful,” he complimented as he wrapped his arms around me. “This outfit is sexy.”
I squeezed him back. “And we match!”
Intertwining our fingers, we made our way out the door to a parking lot.
“You were excellent today,” I gushed. “I know everyone is going to talk about your coverage during that first drive, because that was amazing. But your stop on fourth and one in the third quarter was a game changer. Truly. That shifted the momentum. That was the play that sucked the morale out of them.”
