It was an honor to dance for the team. But I was also of the belief that we shouldn’t have to balance multiple jobs, or depend on our families to bridge the gap between our wages and cost of living — especially during the season.
Then again, no one was asking me what I thought, and I signed my contract happy as a clam — so I guess I didn’t have room to complain.
“Hey, don’t look so glum,” Giovanni said when their handshake was done. “The car is twenty-seven years old. She had a good life.”
I coughed on a popcorn kernel. “Twenty-seven?! Jesus, Braden, that thing is older than you are.”
That made Giovanni chuckle, and he hooked a thumb toward me. “Tells it like it is, doesn’t she?”
“Unfortunately,” Braden grumbled in return.
The word landed heavier than it should have, and I caught the tension still lingering in his shoulders, the way his jaw hadn’t quite unclenched.
Right. Still a sore spot.
Once they’d talked out the details of what came next, Braden and I trekked outside with our bags. He stopped by his car long enough to clear out the center console, glove box, and trunk with what little he had in there, and then he paused, his hand sliding over the roof of his car before he thumped it like it was a horse who’d gotten him through the Oregon Trail.
“Should we say a few words?” I teased. “Maybe get a wreath?”
“Do you ever tire of being crass?”
“Rarely. And usually long after I’ve crossed a line.”
Braden took one last longing look at his old car before he was pulling out his phone.
“Do you need a ride?” he asked. “I can add a stop.”
“The light rail is right here,” I said, pointing behind him. “I’m good.”
He nodded. “All right, well—”
“You should ride it with me. Where are you heading?”
“Green Lake.”
“I think the Roosevelt stop is the closest?”
“Still about a fifteen-minute walk to my place from there.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize your legs were broken. How dare I assume a pro athlete could walk a mile? Go ahead and call your car. Unless your thumbs are also—”
“You’ve made your point,” he said, exasperated. But he reached forward, sliding his hand under the strap of my bag and tugging it off until it was on his shoulder, instead. “Lead the way.”
“Why, so you can stare at my ass?”
His head fell back, eyes on the sky before he shut them with a long sigh. “Jesus Christ.”
“It’s okay. I saw you checking me out in my uniform today. These joggers aren’t as form fitting as the little bloomers under my cheer skirt, but the view is still pretty great.”
I sauntered away from him, making a show of my hips swinging.
And I swore I heard a delicious throaty laugh as he followed behind me.
Braden
“You’ve never ridden the train before, have you?” Emily asked as we took a seat near the back of the car. It was relatively quiet, just a few other passengers spread throughout.
“Not here. I took it all the time in Boston.”
