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"How do you know that?" The gleam in his eyes was like he already knew the answer but dared me to tell him.
"I just do," I sighed. He may have known I had issues with an ex, but he didn't have to know anything else about him.
"Okay," Tripp winked. "Well, just so you know, win or lose, all I've thought about was how much I was looking forward to spending more time with you."
The elevator opened before I could respond, and he pulled me into a small crowd lingering outside the locker room. None of them seemed bothered by Tripp being there, so I assumed it was the family area he had told me to go to in the first place.
"I have to change and shower. Promise me you won't go anywhere?"
"Promise."
"Good girl," he leaned down and kissed my cheek before running into a door a few feet away. My cheeks were heating again like they always were around Tripp, but I tried to hide it by tucking myself into a corner.
"Coach is so mad," I heard someone say in a group near me. "Cruz just left, and Tripp played like shit. Coach is ready to tear the whole team apart."
Tripp didn't play well? Sure, I was a novice when it came to soccer, but I was pretty sure the four goals the backup keeper had let through were the reason they lost. How could they blame that on Tripp?
"I'm sure they will start by trading Tripp. Coach has had a problem with him and has just been looking for a reason to get rid of him."
"What?" I accidentally said out loud, making them turn my way. It was everything my brother had predicted but seemed more matter-of-fact.
All three women, a little older than me, looked at me wide-eyed. "Are you here with Tripp?"
Did they not see us get off the elevator?
"Where did you hear all that?" I asked.
"Sorry! Tripp has never had someone at his games so I'm really sorry."
"But where did you hear that about him?" I asked again, letting the fact that I was apparently Tripp's first guest at a game go over my head for the moment.
"I'm married to Luca Simpson. Even Tripp knows he's on thin ice, I'm just really sorry you heard us talking the way you did."
Nodding slightly, I backed up against the wall I was originally leaning on and let the conversation with Mrs. Simpson end. It wasn't my place to get upset over Tripp's future, but curiosity ate away at me until Tripp finally returned from the locker room.
The ladies nodded at him awkwardly, then watched as he approached and took my hand. "Everything okay?"
Could he sense the tension?
"Of course."
"Then let's get out of here."
Holding my hand, Tripp led me across the parking lot toward an old Bronco, and I came to a complete stop when I realized it was his. Powder blue, two-door, no top, and chrome wheels. It had been restored but was still the opposite of whatever I thought he would drive.
"Another wrong assumption?" He laughed as he pushed the small of my back toward the passenger side.
"Yeah, but somehow this suits you more than I could imagine."
"This was my dad's until he died. Then it was my very first car, but I had trouble keeping her running. When I went pro, I pulled it out of my mom's garage and had it restored. Then I drove it all the way from California to Miami so I could keep her down here with me."
"Wow!" Sliding my hand across the shiny paint, I realized I was in awe. "It must be so special to you."
"She's got a brand new engine, upgrades, and a few luxuries, but she still has the same feel she did back then, and that's all I want."
"I'm surprised you don't have this thing wrapped in bubble wrap and stashed somewhere safe."
"I'd rather enjoy her."
