"Hey, grab my phone for me." I pointed to where it was lying on the top shelf in my locker.
"Here you go." Robbie passed it over the ice cubes and walked off so I could soak in silence.
There was no one else in the rehab room with me. I pressed Alexa's number and waited for her to answer.
"Hey." Her voice was like pure heaven in my ear.
"How was the flight?"
She'd landed this morning and had been in Nashville for the entire day, but this was the first chance I had to call her. Team meeting followed by practice. After showers I had another meeting with Applewhite. It would be ten o'clock before I was at the ranch again.
"Good. Fine." She sounded stiff.
"Is someone there?" I asked.
"I'm in the studio," she explained.
"I thought you had a break." The ice started to melt around me.
I had this mental image of her doing the same thing I was. Soaking her tight body in a marble tub. Her hair over her shoulders. Her tits bobbing on the water while the bubbles gathered at her curves. Fuck, it made me hard. I wanted to get in that tub with her and splash the water on her expensive tile floor until she was delirious from my cock pounding inside her. Hell, I had it bad for this girl.
"I sort of burned through it when I took that extra day with you," she whispered.
"Any regrets?" I grinned. I already knew the fucking answer.
"No. None."
"Good." I saw Robbie on his way back. He was just on the other side of the glass window where the other guys were talking about practice. I had to make this quick. "I'll try to call later. It will be late though."
"That's ok. I don't know when we're going to finish here."
I wanted to ask her what she was working on. Was she recording the song she played for me last night in the living room? Had she approached Jake with the idea of expanding her audience? I thought it was a hell of an idea. If she could convert me to a fan, she could hook anyone.
Robbie's hand was on the door. "Gotta go, baby."
I tossed the phone on a dry towel folded on the bench.
"More ice?" he offered.
"Nah." I shook him off. I hauled my large body from the tub. "I've got a meeting with Applewhite."
Robbie handed another towel to me. I draped it around my hips and shuffled to the lockers. A few minutes later I was dressed and ready to run the playbook with Coach.
I headed up to his office with my notepad and the binder for this week's game. It changed, depending on the opponent. There was a full team roster along with their most popular plays. There was no way to count on the injury report until minutes before the whistle blew. I made my decisions with the information I had.
I rapped on the outside of the door.
"Come on in," he called.
We did this every week. Three days before the game we sat down and discussed the final strategy. Last time I was in this office he had handed my balls to me on a platter.
I spread my materials out on his desk. "I've got my first two drives set."
We were past pretending we needed to small talk.
"Before we get to that I wanted to ask how things are going with Charlie."
"You could have fucking warned me she didn't have a dick." I eyed him.
He laughed. "Yeah, she's not a man. She's the best in the business though. She keeps a low profile, but she has resurrected quite a few AFA careers. You can be sure of that."
"I'm also sure she's got her shit in my business." I glared at him. I wasn't giving up this fight.
"I'm counting on her to bring us a win."
"I bring the wins," I growled. Charlie might be good at her job, but she wasn't the one the fans rooted for. They didn't give a shit about a beautiful woman in a designer suit calling the shots on my personal life.
"It's already working though. Had a call from McCade this morning. He liked the article on your donations to the children's wing and was impressed with your visit to see the kids. He's looking the other way right now and that's what you want."
"I'm only doing this because you threatened me with a league ban," I snarled. "I didn't get that girl pregnant. She played him for a complete fool and took him to the bank."
As soon as I said it I thought about Alexa. I wondered what she would think if she knew there was some chick out there, claiming I was going to be a dad. And I couldn't help but think about whether Alexa had gotten on a plane, carrying my child. That one moment of panic when I saw the broken condom had unfurled into dreams that I had planted my baby inside her. I didn't know if it made me an asshole that it turned me on so much, or a real man who had found the right woman to give him a baby. I shook my head. It was too fucking confusing to sort out right now.
"I was trying to give you a compliment." Coach pulled on his visor. "Let's just forget it. I'll let Charlie handle you where your image is concerned and you and I will focus on football."
"I think we need to do that."
We agreed on one thing. Only one fucking thing.
21
Alexa
My hands shook. My stomach flipped and tossed with nerves. I didn't know how I was going to get through this. The doorbell rang and I jumped from the couch.
I rushed through the hallway, almost skating on the hardwoods to open the front door.
"Hey, girl." Helena wrapped me in a hug. "Cute hair."
"Thanks." It was up in my standard ponytail.
I closed the door and set the alarm behind her. "Thank you for coming over. I didn't think I could do this alone."
"Sure thing. You know I'm a huge fan. It's going to be fun."
She followed me into my den. Her eyes widened when she saw the spread I had made.
"We're going to eat all of this?"
"Ok, so I don't know what people eat when they watch football. Did I overdo it?"
She plopped down on the couch. "Slightly overboard, but I don't care. It looks amazing." She scooped up some cheese dip on the end of a piece of toasted pita.
I sat next to her. My nerves were completely shot. "I don't know if I can even watch."
Helena picked up the remote and turned up the volume. "He's going to be fine. He's a big strong guy. Stop worrying. He does this all the time."
I looked at the screen. Luke was throwing the ball on the sideline. My insides began to melt. He looked irresistible. I felt a sudden heaviness. I missed him terribly. More than I should.
"All I know is that guys play football and get concussions and have career-ending injuries. What if that happens to him? What if they have to haul him off on a stretcher?"
Helena rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen. Have you seen the guys paid to surround him? The Warriors' offensive line is intense."
I picked at the veggie tray. I was craving cucumbers. "I'm glad you came over. I promised him I'd watch, but I didn't realize it was going to freak me out. And you know so much more about football than I do."
She giggled. "The advantage of having three brothers I guess. Besides, I think this whole thing with Luke is cute, and I love being in on the secret love affair," she teased.
"That makes it sound so sordid."
"Well is it?" She curled her knees under her and leaned into the oversized cushions. I'd had this room decorated a year ago and I was already thinking of how I could redo it. It was one of twenty in the house.
I turned an instant red color. I probably matched the peppers I had sliced.
"Maybe a little."
She sighed. "I knew it. He's way too hot not to be amazing in bed."
"Ok, I'm really not going into those details."
But God did I want to. I wanted to tell someone how incredible Luke was. How he made me feel things I didn't know were possible. How my body moved a certain way for him. That I'd experienced eroticism that was addictive and potent. That if I didn't see him soon my body was going to erupt in an explosive fire that he had started. It had been burning for him ever since our last kiss.
I pulled a pillow to my chest. "I don't think I can watch."
"The Warriors are the favorites to win. Stop worrying. He is going to kick ass today."
I somehow managed to let the pillow drop low enough so I could see over the edge. Luke was on the field. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He looked powerful. In command. Strong and confident. I held my breath until he took the snap.
And then it was as if all my worries faded as I let the air from my lungs. He was faster than the defense. He was smarter than the other team. He knew how to outstep them. In a split second the ball was out of his hands and soaring down field. It landed in the arms of one of the Warrior receivers.
Helena gleamed at me. "See? He's fine."
I nodded with a smile. "He is."
My shoulders relaxed. The jitters eased. My fears weren't Luke's. He didn't look terrified. Nothing around him fazed him. He ruled that field.