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Orion winced. “We might have to get you a bodyguard.”
“I can handle the puck bunnies,” Atlas drawled out. “As long as I know that they’re puck bunnies, then they’re not a threat.”
“You know, the distance might be a problem for me,” I admitted, and that kicked off ten minutes of complaints from Seb, Orion, and Raven, and how they all thought about retiring at least twice a week. For someone new to this, none of it sounded encouraging.
“You guys keep making a great case for remaining single,” Atlas said when they were done with their griping.
“The key is to find a woman that has her own life,” Raven suggested. “At least, that’s the case with Esme. According to her, she gets more done when I’m out of town.”
Orion laughed. “Sinclair says the same thing.”
“Luckily for me, Nova was already used to me traveling for baseball, so she’s good,” Sebastian remarked. “It’s me that struggles. Especially, now that she’s pregnant.”
“Well, I already put Coach Vernon on notice that I’m going to be there for the birth of your baby, no matter when Little Star goes into labor,” Raven said, and I really hadn’t expected less.
“Same here,” Atlas added.
“Coach Quincy already knows the score,” Orion said, seeing as how Nova was his actual sister.
“Well, you guys know that I’ll be there,” I said. “By then, everything should be cleared up.”
“When do we get to meet Lux?” Raven asked.
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “I have no idea what her work life is like, but if she takes vacations, maybe we’ll do a tour to meet you guys. I’d like her to meet Esme, Sinclair, and Sparkly.”
“Well, just let us know when,” Atlas replied easily.
“Okay, talk to you guys later.”
After hanging up, I wanted nothing more to do than call Lux. Though it’d been agreed that she would travel with me, she had asked for some space, and I’d had no choice but to give it to her after that kissing stunt at the last game. She was doing her best to adjust to the attention, and I had to give her credit for that. It wasn’t easy to live a life that people felt entitled to, and it was extra hard when that kind of life was thrust upon you and not chosen.
Also, as much as I wanted her with me, it helped that she wasn’t. My teammates were already clamoring about how their wives/girlfriends wanted to meet her, and I couldn’t see Lux hanging out with those types of women. Yeah, a few of them were cool and down-to-earth, but I could see Lux sitting in the box seats with her laptop out, working. She’d already mentioned how she didn’t watch soccer, though she had nothing against it and was actually fond of the sport.
I could actually see Lux getting along with Sinclair and Esme a lot better than my teammates’ significant others. Sparkly was different, but I also knew that she’d make Lux feel welcomed just as she’d had with Esme and Sinclair. Sparkly lived for us, so she lived for the sports that we played. She watched every game if she could, and she knew the ins and outs of each sport. Being the director of our nonprofit, ?STAR, gave Sparkly the flexibility to keep us all in order, and that damn calendar of hers was proof that she ran our lives, one less thing that Sinclair and Esme had to do.
Resisting the urge to call Lux, I decided to head downstairs for breakfast. It was the morning before our game, and everyone was downstairs, eating at the hotel restaurant. Luckily for us, this particular hotel chain was good about closing off their restaurants to the public when we made reservations like this. It allowed us to eat in peace and keep our minds on the game tomorrow. They would also make the same accommodation for dinner tonight, and it was the reason why Coach did his best to always book us with them.
“It gets easier.”
I looked over at Kerrick Hill as I took a seat. I got along well with everyone on the team, so I had chosen to sit down at the first empty seat that I’d seen. “What does?”
“Being on the road,” he smirked.
Kerrick Hill was married, and he was married to his high school sweetheart. As far as I knew, the man had never looked at another woman, let alone touched one. Either he was the real deal, or he kept his extracurricular activities under wraps. However, my guess was that he was the real deal. Not only did he wear his wedding ring all the time, but his wife’s name was tattooed down his right arm. He also had their children’s names tattooed on his left, letting everyone know that he was a family man.
“It’s a good thing that I’ve trained my mind to be able to think about more than one thing at a time,” I chuckled, flagging the waiter over.
“Marry her,” he advised, and that surprised the hell out of me.
“Oh, yeah?”
Kerrick nodded. “There’s nothing like going home to your family,” he said. “Walking in the door and seeing that your whole world is still where you left it, it feels better than a win on the field.”
“I’ve already asked,” I informed him, though Lux hadn’t taken the proposal at the restaurant seriously. “I got an emphatic no.”
“Then keep asking,” he said. “Especially, if she said no.” The man shook his head. “There’s nothing worth holding onto with the easy ones.”
I wasn’t sure if I agreed with him, but it was obvious that he believed in family. He was also making a good case for talking Lux into moving in with me as soon as possible.
