Griffin got up, helping her onto the barstool next to me. Brayden shook my hand. “Olive, it’s a pleasure.”
My jaw hung open as I mindlessly gripped his hand for way longer than was appropriate. “Sorry…a little star-struck.”
Myla put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, it goes away after a while.”
Everyone in the bar began to cheer as we all started to look around to see what the fuss was about.
Gavin and Brayden high-fived as Myla squealed, “About fucking time!”
I looked past Griffin to see Crosby holding Jordan up against the far wall of the bar, lip-locked.
“The loss was worth it for those two to finally hook up!” Gavin yelled.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw a message from Shaw.
Shaw: Simon and I hopped in a cab and are heading to his place. I’ll figure out a way to get home. Love you. Don’t wait up.
Me: Love you, make good choices.
“I lost my partner in crime.” I grabbed Griff’s hand, pulling him closer to me.
Holding me, he looked down. “Shaw and Simon are really hitting it off, aren’t they?”
I tensed my shoulders. “We’ll see. Seems like it.” I sighed in his arms.
“What’s up, Liv?”
“I don’t want to leave, but it is getting late and I need to get home to Otis.”
His face pulled down and he practically frowned with his entire body. “Are you sure you can’t stay with me and drive home after you sleep for a few hours?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I only had a few beers in the beginning of the game and have been drinking water ever sense. I just need to head out before it gets any later.”
Walking around, I said my goodbyes to the team and the rest of Griffin’s gang—except for Crosby and Jordan. We left those two alone for fear that if we brought too much attention to them, they might revert back to awkwardly flirting again.
Griffin walked me to my car, keeping me as close to him as possible for as long as he could.
“I hate this,” he murmured as he lifted me off the ground to hug me.
“Me too, but this just means I get to miss you until I get to see you again.”
“Missing you is an understatement. I miss you now and you haven’t even left yet. Once you drive away, I am going to long for you, crave you.” He set me down and opened my door for me. “You better get in the car now, or I might not let you leave.”
“Bye.” I kissed his cheek. “Love you.” I stopped. We both froze, except for the huge smile that took over Griffin’s face. It had just slipped out because I always said,Bye, love you, to Shaw whenever he left and when we got off the phone. It was instinct.
Griffin crushed his lips to mine. “Don’t worry, babe. I know what you meant.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I kissed him back. “I’ll call you when I get home.”
“Please do. I’ll be waiting up.”
About an hour into my drive, the sleepies started to take over quickly. Usually, I was fine driving late at night for long distances, but I could not stop yawning for the life of me. My eyes were heavy and the road kept getting harder and harder to concentrate on. My head started bobbing. I put the air on full blast, cranked the music, and rolled down every window.
“Just about halfway there.” I cheered myself on, saying, “You got this.”
My head kept bobbing.
My eyes were struggling to focus and stay open.
