“What? What did I do?” Beck plays dumb, and that right there tells me he knows exactly what he did.
Will’s probably one of the more mature players on the team, but not when dealing with Beck, and something tells me I’m about to have to break this up.
“What did you do? I swear to fuck, if you don’t quit bringing up the fact that you have plans after opening night to Callie when you know it’s the engagement party, I’m going to hit you.”
Beck throws his hands up. “It’s not like I’m telling her the plans!”
“You’re baiting her into asking questions! Have you met Callie?”
Beck looks at me. “Is he implying something about our sister right now?”
Will runs a hand over his face. “Fucking don’t—don’t start.”
“Quit being so sensitive. All because you’re nervous about asking Callie to marry you.” Beck pokes at Will’s shoulder because that will always help escalate the situation. I’m not entirely sure why Beck’s pushing his buttons but it usually comes with a reason—most of the time, at least.
Our team’s rookie, Sam, comes up to my side. “Will looks like he’s about to kill him. Should we do something? I doubt Jensen would like that.”
I shake my head. “Nah, they’ll be fine, just a family fight.”
Sam nods, but before he can say anything else or Will can actually hit Beck, Tripp comes in the locker room with his hands covering Emma’s eyes. “Is everyone decent?”
When no one objects, and Tripp looks around just to be double sure, he finally moves his hands. She looks at him with a smile.
“Thank you. Okay, I need Adam and Beck to come with me. We’re going to do a quick press interview.”
Beck grumbles a few curse words under his breath, but I’ve never really minded doing interviews. Between all the shit clubs I was forced to do in high school and the media training we do with our marketing team annually, I’m more than prepared. It typically makes me the go-to person while Beck is there for the personality.
Following Emma’s lead down the hall, she gives us a quick rundown. They want to know how we think the team is looking…how opposing teams are looking…blah, blah, blah.
When we get to the door to one of the media rooms, she spins around. “Okay, last thing, they were a little grumpy, so deep breaths, find your patience.”
“We got it, Em, promise.”
Beck gives her a small salute as I open the door, but when we walk in, there’re no reporters in this room…just Mia and Jensen.It takes a few seconds for us to register, but the moment Jensen jumps on Beck, he snaps out of his trance.
Mia calmly steps up to me, her smile somehow even more beautiful than I remembered. Reaching to cup her face is both necessary for me to grasp the reality that she’s here and for my mental sanity.
Her arms wrap around me as I pull her in. “Hey, All-star, you miss me?”
“Yes, I really fucking did.” I take two more seconds to admire the smile on her face before kissing her. She tastes like those mint chocolates she loves.
Her body melts into mine for just a minute before I hear Jensen squeal and the door being opened. Turning around, I see Beck carrying Jensen out of the room.
“We’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Mia snorts, then brings her arms back around my shoulders. “You know, I wasn’t sure Emma was going to be able to keep the bit up, but with the look on your guys’ faces, I’d say she did a pretty good job.”
“She did. I was fully prepared to bullshit some very professional answers about this season.”
Mia’s laugh comes again. “You could still do that. Hold on, let me think—I’ve been watching these games when I can?—”
I brush some of her hair out of her face, then cut her off with another kiss. My hands move to her waist then guide her back up against the wall. Her body molds against mine, and our kiss deepens as she lifts her legs around my waist, pulling me tighter into her.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” I whisper against her mouth.
“Really?” she breathes out between the kisses.
Pulling back, I look into her eyes. “Yes, baby, I’m very happy you’re here. Beck and I had actually considered sneaking back up to Boston just to see you.”
