“I can barely see your eyes.” I pointed at his face, and he quickly grabbed my finger and kissed it.
“Can you remember that we’re in fucking public, and jabbing your finger looks like you’re angry with me?” He said through a fake smile.
Returning his phony smile, I tilted my head and replied, “I’m annoyed, not angry. You’ve been on edge all night, even before we got here. Are negotiations going well?”
“Yeah...decisions will be made soon.” Carter finally smiled genuinely. “Think it’s going to work out.”
I had misgivings about leaving a team he’d been successful with when they were on the cusp of greatness. He was integral to their greatness, and the Rams would suffer without him. Still, seeing my husband happy would be worth having his mother so nearby. “I hope so.” I pecked his lips.
“You really mean it?” Like a kid on Christmas, he looked so hopeful that I forgave his irritability and his drinking. My opinion still counted to him.
“Yeah. I want you to be happy even when I'm pissed with you.” I swung our hands slightly.
He kissed my neck, which always slicked my panties. “Later, I’ll make you happy, too.”
I giggled, grateful that the constant tension that had plagued us most of the day had broken. “Then let’s go home now.”
Carter rubbed the back of my hand and gazed into my eyes. “Love you.”
“Love you more.”
We’d just walked back inside the cool air when he halted in his tracks and cursed under his breath. I looked ahead, and my heart stopped.
Literally stopped.
Grant Jamison, a four-time gold medalist in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, stood across the crowded party with an unreadable expression as he watched us. Also known as Grey, my former best friend and lover, who ironically brought my husband and me together.
Carter looked down at me. "Did you know he would be here?"
"I don't follow him and haven't for years. You don't think I would've warned you or had you come here alone?"
He grunted. "I don't know what you would do when it comes to him."
“Is this why you’ve been jumpy and drinking too much? You knew he would be here and didn't warn me. Were you testing me or something?”
Carter tightened his jaw, and his silence answered me.
And just like that, we were back to the way we were in college.
