Page 86 of Elevator Pitch

Kip nods like he understands. He raised kids. He knows the trials and tribulations of being a dad on the road.

Kip claps my shoulder as the elevator doors open and we step inside. Lately, every elevator ride reminds me of Vee and how we met. How I was lost in my own head at the devastating championship game, and I hadn’t noticed her in the corner at first. How she was awkward, doing a little bounce with her legs crossed. How she rushed off once our elevator ride resumed and we were released from the lift.

If that elevator hadn’t stalled, I might have missed out on a chance with Vee. Happenstance.

“What?” Kip asks, and I glance over at him.

“What what?”

“You just chuckled to yourself.”

“I—” I clamp my mouth shut, not wanting to share the finer details of how I met Vee. Kip simply knows I met her on the night the Flash lost, and we slept together, nothing more.

“You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?” Kip interjects.

“Got something to say to me about her?” I arch a brow, needlessly defensive when Kip’s question was innocent enough. I think he’s getting a kick out of watching me struggle with my own emotions and grapple with wanting a relationship with Vee that involves more than a sleeping commitment.

“No issue,” he laughs. “Just enjoying the unflappable Ross Davis flapping. What I’d really like to know, though, is if the superstition factor is out of the equation?”

I sigh and tug my cap off my head, then lower it back down. “Yeah, the superstition is gone.” Even if having Vee back in my life has brought on a few wins.

The elevator stops, and we exit the lift for the lobby while Kip continues.

“What a story. Superstition whisperer to—”

I stop quick and spin on my friend and former mentor. “She’s more than that, okay?” My anger toward him is unwarranted but I’m feeling sensitive about Vee’s status with me. “She’s—” A friend but not a friend-friend, like with benefits.

“Fuck,” I swipe my ball cap off my head again, scratch my scalp and replace the cap. “I’m not certain what she is but I care about her and I’m not going to let her sound less-than when I want her to be more.”

“Okay.” Kip’s eyes widened, as if startled by my outburst. He lifts a hand to ward off my irritation and watches me, his green eyes nearly laughing when he says, “You’re really falling for her, aren’t you?”

Falling? The term is more like I fell. I didn’t see this coming, but somewhere along the way, I tripped, and there was Vee. Sweet, kind, beautiful Vee.

My phone rings and with a quick glance at the caller ID, I’m stepping away from Kip without answering his question.

“Vee?” I exhale, as if I’ve been waiting for her call, which I have.

“Hey, Coach. You okay? You sound a little winded.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Silence fills the line a second and I take a deep breath, realizing my tone was too sharp.

“Well, I had this amazing breakfast date with a young man who told me all your secrets.”

Fuck! “What did he say?” Again, my tone is sharp.

“What should he have not said?” Vee counters before she laughs. “Relax, all your secrets are safe with you. And the ones you shared with me are still safe with me.”

I exhale and hang my head.

“But now I really am concerned. Is there something you should probably tell me, Ross?” Vee’s voice is a bit more direct and serious.

“No. No, it’s nothing. It’s just . . .” I glance over my shoulder, noticing the team trickling out to our transport to the field. “Harley is a good kid. The best. But he doesn’t think the best of me, and I don’t want him to skew your impression of me.”

“And what impression would that be?”

“That I’m an okay man, but a shitty dad.”