Emily balked. “I… inspiredyou?”
“Yeah,” Lavonte said. “It was brave as fuck, what you did. And you didn’t stutter, either. You stood on business. Made me think about my own cowardly ass and how I wanted to do the same. I wanted to be brave about what matters to me.” He looked down at Marcus then, and he practically transformed into a heart eye emoji. “So, thanks. You saved me from a lot of unnecessary pain.”
Marcus pressed up onto his toes to kiss Lavonte, and then he pretended to flick his non-existent long hair off his shoulder before planting a pointed look at Emily. “Anyway, your turn. It’ll be hard to follow our act, I assure you, but you can still have your little moment.”
He blew a kiss as they walked away, and Emily and I laughed, waving goodbye.
Then, we took their place inside the conference room — and found it a lot less icy than we expected.
Claire and Coach were chatting it up, Claire relaxed and leaned back in her chair with one slack-covered leg crossed over the other. Coach was laughing, and the rest of the crew was feverishly typing away on their laptops, no doubt getting ready to field all the media that was sure to explode.
When Claire saw us enter, she tapped her pen on the table, gesturing for us to sit. “Come in, come in. And you can save usyour speech,” she said with a knowing smile. “You’re together and you want it to stay that way, am I right?”
Emily and I shared a look, sitting side by side with our hands still clasped under the table. “That’s right,” I said. My eyes flicked to Coach. “Sir, I know this is against my contract. I understand the implications. I love this team, and the last thing I want is to lose my spot on it, but I love Emily.” I looked at Emily, my smile watery before I schooled it. “And I won’t choose anything over her.”
Coach sighed, shaking his head. “Relax, Lock. No one is getting fired.”
I blinked – because the last time they’d said that to us, there had been a warning at the end that insinuated it would happen if the issue came up again. “We’re not?”
Claire snorted, leaning forward and bracing her elbows on the table. “God, you two really came in here ready to martyr yourselves, huh?”
Emily squeezed my hand under the table, and I felt her surprise echo my own.
“We meant what we said,” Emily added, her voice steady. “We’re not going to hide it. Not anymore.”
“Good,” Claire said simply. “Because that would’ve been a nightmare to manage.”
Coach nodded. “Look, the fraternization clause is there for a reason — optics, distractions, locker room dynamics. But it’s not a death sentence. It’s a guideline. And right now?” He gestured vaguely between us. “This doesn’t look like a problem. It looks like two people who care about each other and aren’t being idiots about it.”
“Well, not anymore, anyway,” Claire added with a grin.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Claire pointed her pen at us. “That said — this only works if you don’t become a problem. No sneaking around in darkhallways. No getting caught in compromising positions. No giving the media anything juicier than what they already have.”
Emily’s cheeks pinked, and I fought a grin.
“Keep it professional when you’re in this building,” Coach added. “On the field, on the sidelines, in meetings. You’re a receiver and a dancer first. Everything else comes second while you’re clocked in. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Emily echoed.
Claire leaned back again, crossing her leg. “We’ll get ahead of it with PR. Frame it the right way — two adults, mutual respect, no impact on performance. Honestly?” She shrugged. “With the way that podcast clip hit, this might even work in our favor.”
Emily blinked. “In your favor?”
Claire’s mouth tipped. “You haven’t noticed? Engagement is through the roof. Our team is in the media more than it has been since we were in the playoffs. Ownership is paying attention to what people are saying. And you…” She pointed at Emily. “You’ve become the face of the conversations we’ve been trying to push for years. Equality, pay, visibility. Sponsors love that shit.”
Emily’s lips parted, stunned.
“And for the record,” Claire added, softer now, “you’re the reason we just got approval to increase the team’s budget and salary next season.”
Emily’s hand tightened in mine. “Wait… what?”
Coach chuckled. “You made some noise, kid. Good noise. I’d strongly suggest you try out again.”
Emotion flickered across Emily’s face, something bright and disbelieving. “I… I’ll think about it.”
