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“Not far from us.” I’m being vague, and we both know it.
“Jesus, it’s like pulling teeth to get any kind of information out of you.” He runs his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“Listen, man. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s that I’m respecting her wishes. She doesn’t want all the hoopla thatcomes with what we do. She asked me to keep us under wraps until she was ready, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“That’s a big ask.”
I nod. “She’s worth it.”
“All right,” he relents. “I won’t push you on this, but when she’s ready, I’m the first in line. You hear me? It’s not every day that your best friend falls in love,” he says, just as his phone rings. “Yeah?” he answers. “I’m on my way.” He ends the call and stands from his bed. “That was the guys. We’re going down to the bar to eat. You sure you don’t want to come with us?”
I glance down at my phone at the text that Joey just sent.
Joey:I’m ready when you are.
“Nah, thanks, though. She’s almost back to her room. We’re probably just going to order some room service.”
“So what you’re telling me is that I have the room all to myself tonight.”
“Yes.” There is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be waking up with her in my arms. Consequences of getting caught be damned.
“Nice.” He holds his fist out for me, and we bump knuckles. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winks and shuts the door behind him.
I immediately text Joey back.
Me:Caleb just left to meet the guys for dinner. I’m giving it a few minutes, and I’ll be right there.
Her reply is sent with nothing but a number. Her room number. My heart rate kicks up seeing her room number. She’s on thesame floor as the team, but she’s on the other end of the hall from the rest of us. It’s a little trickier sneaking into her room, but once I’m there, I don’t plan on leaving. I know the guys will sleep late, so as long as I set the alarm on my phone to sneak out before the team starts to rise, we should be good to go.
After ten minutes I can’t stand it any longer. I make sure that I have my room key and grab the hat and sunglasses from my carry-on and slip out the door. I keep my head down to ensure I don’t make eye contact as I make my way to the opposite side of the floor. Luckily, the hallway is empty, so my disguise was for nothing. I tap once on her door, and it immediately opens. Joey grabs my hand, tugging me inside, before slamming the door shut.
“Did anyone see you?”
“No.” I reach for her, but she steps just out of reach.
“What about Caleb? What did you tell him?” She bites down on her lip. I know this is bothering her, and it bothers me too. But this was her choice to wait until we are home to tell him.
“I told him that I met someone. I told him that I was pretty sure that I was in love with her. I told him that she traveled to the game and got a room and that I was staying with her tonight.”
“Brock!” she scolds.
“I’m sorry, Sunshine. What was I supposed to do? He was grilling me. He’s my best friend, and I tell him everything.Everything,” I reiterate. “When I wouldn’t give him the information he was looking for, he pushed harder. I had to give him something.”
“Shit,” she mumbles, and finally lets me pull her into my embrace.
“I missed you.”
“What else did you tell him, Brock?”
“I told him that you were not about being in the middle of the celebrity that comes with this job and that you asked me to wait.I was trying to tell him as much of the truth that I could. I’m hoping that will make this easier when we tell him what we’ve been up to.”
She nods. I can feel the tension in her body, and I hate it. I’ve had a shit day from watching my teammate hit on her the entire flight to hours of tape and the grilling from Caleb. I just need her right now. Just Brock and Joey hanging out in a hotel.
“Can we forget all of this?” I ask her.
“Forget what?”
“Caleb. Hiding. Can we just be us? Pretend we’re at home and we have the house to ourselves?”
