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After setting down my bag, I rummaged through it until I saw the powder-blue stick with a pink flower on it. I grabbed it, pulled the cap off, and maneuvered it beneath my clothes until it coated my underarms.
“You’re ridiculous, do you know that? You make it sound as though it were an antacid. This is not one of yourWhat would Sally do?moments.” Her snort-laugh over the phone had me smiling. She had a way of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, and even if things didn’t go as planned, she would chalk it up as something that was meant to be. I, on the other hand, stressed over the tiniest details.
Except when it came to her thoughts on virginity. At this stage in the game, I did think her plan held merit. Letting out a long breath, I stared out the front window as a black sedan pulled in front of my building. “All right, well, I should go. My car just got here. I’ll call you soon.”
Thanks to the flight’s arrival time, and the two-hour time difference, it’d be nighttime by the time I landed in Virginia. Worried about being delayed, and not wanting to roll into Collin’s too late, I’d booked a room at a hotel not far from the practice facility. Tomorrow I’d go to the field, and then to Collin’s house afterward. “I’ll text you when I land and call you after I get to your brother’s tomorrow.”
“Eek! I’m so excited! Good luck. You’ve so got this. Can you imagine? You’re going to be the first female in the league. Do you even know how huge that is?”
“No pressure, Sal.” I opened my door and began trudging down the two flights of stairs.
“Sorry. I’m just excited. You’ll definitely land the starter position. Did you end up subleasing your apartment?”
The wheels of my luggage thumped down the stairs as I pulled it behind me. “No, after speaking to Reese, the team paid my lease for the rest of the term. If I don’t completely blow it, then I’ll worry about it. If not, it’s paid for. I’d rather keep it right now. The landlord is cool and will be checking in on it. God forbid a pipe should burst or something.”
“Will you please not worry?” she insisted.
“You’re funny, but I’ll try. Thank you, Sal, for everything. Love you.”
“I love you, too, and it’s my pleasure. Kiss my brother for me.”
Her giggle was cut off when she disconnected our call. A visual of me kissing the infamous Collin St. James flashed in my head. What Sally didn’t know was that, at her party, I’d written him a note of encouragement on a pink piece of stationery that my grandmother had bought me so I’d write her letters—which I did back then and still do at times to make me feel closer to her. I face-palmed. How embarrassed would I have been if he’d ever found out his little sister’s nerdy friend was the one who’d penned that letter? Now that I knew I’d be seeing him, I’d never been so thankful for not signing my name.
I walked out the door and toward the black sedan, where the driver greeted me.
“Miss Nicholson?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Is this everything?”
“Yes.”
He loaded my bags into the trunk before opening my door. “Your flight is on time, miss.”
I hadn’t even checked. “Great, thank you.”
I slid into the back seat and gave my apartment building one last look as the car pulled away from the curb. My nerves decided to make an appearance, and all I could do was pray this wasn’t all a big mistake.
Chapter 2
Collin
“Explain to me again why you’re cranky?” my friend Sophie asked. The smell of overly buttered popcorn lingered behind us as we made our way outside the theater into the semi-warm Virginia evening.
“Why do you think I’m cranky?”
“Because that movie was hilarious, and you were the only one in the theater who wasn’t laughing.”
“That’s not true. The kid behind me wasn’t laughing.”
“The kid behind you was asleep.”
“Lucky,” I grumbled.
She smacked my shoulder and stopped just short of the edge of the sidewalk. With her arms crossed she glared at me. “I’m not kidding, Collin. What is it? Is it because our besties are engaged and are getting married?”
All I could do was blink at her absurd question. Yes, it was true. Her best friend, Harley, and my best friend and teammate, Lucas, were newly engaged, but that had nothing to do with my sour mood.
