His words hit home, and the room erupts in cheers.
“Let’s go boys, bus leaves for the hotel in ten,” Griffshouts over the noise, and everyone jumps into action. The energy is a lot higher now as we all work to shake off what happened tonight and focus on tomorrow.
Back at the hotel, Cal jogs up beside me. “We’re gonna grab a bite to eat at the restaurant before hitting the sack. You in?”
I start to nod, just as my phone rings in my pocket. “Hang on.”
When I pull it out, I see Sage’s photo lighting up the screen and immediately accept the call.
“Hey, little mama,” I say as soon as it connects. She’s got a sleepy smile, her hair up in a messy bun on her head, and I’m pretty sure that’s another one of my shirts she’s wearing.
“Hi, is now an okay time?” she asks, followed by a yawn.
“Of course, it is. Long day?”
“Is that Sage?” Cal grabs my hand that’s holding the phone, twisting it so he can see the screen. “Hey! Sage, your man was on fire last night, we could’ve used him today to help us score some runs.”
“Give me my phone back,” I bark, trying to wrestle it away from him. Cal just dances away, over to Griff, Foxxy, and a couple of the other guys.
“Hang on, we wanna talk to her,” he calls out before introducing the others. I lean against the wall outside my room. Cal’s is next door, and Griff and Foxxy are just down from him, so I know they won’t go far. And truthfully, I want Sage to get to know the guys.
The more connections she has here, the better my chances are of getting her to stay.
After a few minutes of them laughing and chatting with my girl, I’ve had enough. I’m tired, and I know she is too.
“Okay, time’s up. Give me my phone.”
Cal hands it over. “See ya, Sage. I’ll give Juniper your number.”
“Thanks, Cal.” She waves through the phone. “Nice to chat with you all. Good luck tomorrow.”
The guys all chime in with their goodbyes before slapping me on the back and heading off to their rooms. I quickly unlock my own and duck inside. I snag a protein drink from the mini fridge, and drop onto the bed.
“Sorry ’bout that.”
“It’s fine,” she says with a small smile. “I was surprised they wanted to talk to me.”
“Of course they did. They know you’re important to me.”
She blushes, ducking her head slightly as if she’s still working to believe that to be true. That’s okay, just means I need to work harder to prove it to her.
I flick on the bedside lamp, kick off my shoes, and settle against the headboard. “How was your day?”
“Long, but good. Work wasn’t too crazy. How was your game?”
I shake my head and wince. “Not great. I didn’t play, they wanted me to rest for a couple of days. Not that it would’ve made a difference, the other team had it dialed in tonight. We lost.”
“I’m sorry. Is your arm okay?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Just tweaked it a bit last night. How’s our little girl?”
A soft smile creases her face. “She’s fine, pretty active today. I think she’s figured out how to do somersaults.”
I chuckle. “Maybe she’s gonna be a gymnast. Hopefully she gives it a rest so you can get some sleep.”
As if on cue, Sage yawns again. “That would be nice. But…”
“But what?”
