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Finally, Shawna claps her hands together, then folds them and rests them along the table as she leans on her elbows, excitement glittering in her eyes. “Any questions?”
Alayna doesn’t glance my way. “And this is only for six months, right?”
Shawna’s gaze flicks to me at the same time that my eyes widen, silently pleading with her to say yes.
She focuses back on Alayna. “Unless you’d be willing to negotiate those terms…”
Alayna sits up a little taller. “You mean, like less time. Maybe three months instead?” She sounds so hopeful, bile rises in my throat. Can she really not stand to be around me anymore?
Shawna’s worth her weight in gold and doesn’t skip a beat. “Unfortunately, no. I was thinking longer. The more time we can carry this on, the better. We really need the public to believe it. Plus, the longer this goes on, the less likely the team will trade him.”
Alayna’s shoulders drop and she nods to herself. “Right,” she mumbles. “Alright. Then I guess we get started today?” Still, she doesn’t look at me.
Shawna perks up. “Today would be perfect. The sooner we can get the press talking about you two, the better. I’ve got a list of options for dates for the next week. Why don’t I leave you two to pick one for today and then we’ll get everything set up on our end and get some others scheduled for you.”
Laney frowns. “Set up how?”
Shawna smiles like she thinks Laney is adorably naive. “We’re the ones who tell the press when and where they need to be. You don’t think most of those celeb photos are just luck, do you? Those are staged. Welcome to fame, sweetie. Enjoy the ride.” Without another word, she grabs her stack of papers, leaving one behind with a breakdown of some of our options for tonight, then leaves the room.
“You’ve talked me into a lot of crazy stuff, Dom, but this really takes the cake.” She picks up the paper and starts silently reading down the list.
I can’t explain it, but a pressure grows in my chest as I stare at the side of her face. I need her eyes on me. I need to see those cerulean blues and get lost in them like I have so many times—more times than she’ll ever know. Reaching over, I place my hand over hers, and her gaze snaps to mine.
There she is. Fire, ice, and everything between. She’s the most beautiful and complex woman I’ve ever known. My shoulders ease, and that reliefs flows down my body like I just stepped into a hot shower.
“Thank you,” I say, watching her eyes soften and her lips part to speak, but I keep going. “I know you don’t want to do this, but there’s no one else I could be this vulnerable with.”
A little wrinkle forms between her brows. “It’s all fake, Dom. You don’t have to be vulnerable at all.”
I squeeze her hand. “You know I’m a shit actor. I’d have to have real conversations, and that could mean exposing things I don’t want to and having to spend an excessive amount of time with a stranger. If I’m going to spend time outside of football with anyone, it’s you.”
She gets a look in her eyes—one she’s gotten before, but I can never figure out what it means—and swallows thickly. “You can be a real asshole, you know,” she says, her voice soft.
“I know.”
“And then you go and say something like that and it’s hard to stay mad at you.”
I smile weakly.
“But make no mistake. I want to stay mad at you. I need to.” Now it’s my turn to frown in confusion, but she continues. “And when this is all said and done, you’ll have the Wolves, and I’ll move on. Got it?”
“If that’s still what you want in six months, then I’ll respect that.”
It’s a lie. The first one I’ve told her in a long time, but I don’t regret it because I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure when we hit that six-month mark, she’s still by my side and we’re stronger than ever.
I let Laney choose our “date” which is eating dinner at an exclusive restaurant on the beach. She’s always loved the beach. When we both moved to California, she dragged me straight to the closest one she could find, kicked off her shoes, and dug her toes into the sand. I can still remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. The way she tilted her head back, her hair—longer then—falling nearly to her round ass. The corners of her pale pink lips tilted in a wide smile and her eyes closed as she soaked in the warmth of the California sun. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She radiated pure happiness, and I wanted to relish in her simple joy.
Things were easier back then, both of us fresh out of college and excited about the future. I never told her how relieved I was when she announced she’d gotten a job in Los Angeles and would be moving with me. She doesn’t know that I’d spent weeks fighting against the panic of being separated from her. Our friendship had never been challenged by long distance, apart from me being gone for away games. I was afraid that if we weren’t in each other’s orbit, she’d build a life where I no longer fit.
Thinking back on those early days in California, I can’t help wondering when I let things derail so much. When did I start choosing parties and overrated celebrities over my best friend?
And is there any way to get us back to the way things used to be? Or is she right, and we’ve grown too far apart?
No. Laney and I can get through anything. Our friendship is stronger than my fuckups. I just have to convince her of that. I have to convince her it can be even more.
The waiter seats us at a table on the balcony where there’s a clear view of the beach and a group of paparazzi already waiting for us. Laney stares at them for a moment, and I wish more than anything she’d tell me what thoughts are circling in that brain of hers. There was a time when we had no secrets from each other, and I wouldn’t even have to ask to know what she was thinking.
But now I question if that’s really true since she had a pretty big secret she never told me before—her feelings for me.
