“No need for you to be here when you can stay at the house.”
Whoa. Now that was a big step. Though it was part of her ultimate plan, it just seemed so sudden. Was it the right move?
“Ethan . . .”
He tossed her his house keys. “The security code is still the same. I want you there when I get home.”
It appeared it wasn’t up for discussion.
“Ethan . . .” she said yet again, wanting him to slow down.
“Oh, one more thing. Will you come to the game on Saturday? I want you there.”
She nodded, speechless.
He smiled widely, buckling his belt. “Great. I’ll take care of getting you in there today.” He leaned down and kissed her hard and fast. “Okay. I’m running late. I love you! See you tonight!”
“Bye!” she said. What the hell had just happened? It was like a tornado just came at her and uprooted her life. Nothing she could really do about it now. Guess she’d better pack. They could talk more about it later tonight.
She hoped.
Mia
Mia entered the box and looked around. So many people, faces she vaguely remembered, but couldn’t pull any details from her brain to go with them. She wished she could sit with Luke, but he was busy tonight, doing his job.
I hate being social, she thought as she escaped out of the box to the seats. She quickly found out she wasn’t as alone as she had hoped. The owner of the Flash, Reed Michaels, stood facing the field, surveying his kingdom. Mia had met him a few times while she had been engaged to Ethan.
He turned towards her and a smile instantly came to his face. “Mia! So the rumors are true!” he said, hugging her. She looked at him in disbelief.
“What rumors?” she asked, trying to keep her cool. She had been so wrapped up in getting her life in order that she’d been very lax on news about her. With her focus on Ethan these past few weeks, she had barely checked her email or her social media sites. She really hoped it wasn’t anything big . . .
He laughed boisterously. “That you were here. What? Are there others?”
“Probably,” she replied, laughing it off.
“What brings you here tonight?”
“Supporting my favorite quarterback,” she admitted, absolutely loving those words.
Reed smiled at her knowingly. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said, squeezing her arm. Off in the distance, Mia saw some lady trying to gain his attention. Well, she hoped it was Reed she wanted and not her.
“It looks like someone wants to talk to you,” she said, nodding her head in the direction of the woman.
He followed Mia’s line of sight and sighed. “Please sit with me during the game. I’d like to catch up. It’s been awhile,” he asked before darting away.
The goddamn owner’s box, Ethan? she thought. Are you trying to torture me?
Mia walked down to the railing and looked over the field. This was something she needed a photo of. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she took a picture of the teams warming up, Ethan front and center. While snapping a few more shots, Mia thought about what Reed said about the rumors that she was at the game.
Normally, she tried to stay far away from the press and paparazzi, but tonight she decided to feed the rumors. Opening the Twitter app, Mia posted her photo saying, “Guess where I am?”
Might as well get it out there, she thought, observing the over sixty-five thousand fans, screaming, cheering with excitement. The noise levels were insane and the game hadn’t even started. She was happy to finally be a part of this. With her schedule and her time apart from Ethan, she’d never been to a championship game. Hell, she’d really only been to a handful of his games.
She turned around to take a seat and spotted Luke in the doorway. When he saw her, his face lit up with his wicked smile. He negotiated his way through the crowded box interior and quickly embraced her.
“Hi! I didn’t think I would see you at all,” she said after kissing his cheek.
“Are you kidding? I wasn’t going to miss this. This is why I have employees and a cell phone.”
“I get to sit by your boss, at his request.”
“Reed?”
She lifted her eyebrows, then nodded. “Yep.”
Luke laughed and made to leave. “You’re on your own.”
“Oh, no, you don’t! You will sit with me and you will like it!” she thundered, taking his arm and dragging him to their seats. He went with her like a good boy and they joked around for a few minutes until Reed returned.
“Almost game time,” Reed exclaimed. Luke got up and shook his hand.
“Sit,” Mia ordered Luke. “Hope you don’t mind, Reed. I haven’t seen much of my best friend lately.”
“Luke, it looks like you’ve been owned.”
“Yeah, well, Mia has a habit of getting her way,” Luke said, sitting back down, leaving her in between the two men.
The box was loud, everybody chattering before the start of the game. While Luke and Reed talked around her, Mia focused on the field . . . and Ethan.
In her very biased opinion, Ethan looked glorious, god-like even, as he stood at the 50-yard line for the coin toss.
The Flash lost the toss and the Boston Storm elected to kick off to start the game. After the toss, her phone vibrated. She glanced down and saw a message from Allie. “Hi—I see you on TV.”
Oh crap, she thought, hiding her phone like she hoped to hide herself. The network must have seen her post and knew she was here. Fuck. She didn’t think that plan all the way through.
The singing of the National Anthem diverted her attention, especially when Reed leaned over and said she should be singing it.
Mia shook her head. “No, I don’t have the voice for that.” Both Luke and Reed raised their eyebrows in disbelief. She knew she probably could sing it, but not at this point in her life. It wasn’t something she wanted to do . . . yet.
The game started with a roar as the Storm kicked off the ball. They were a very physical team and their hits on the Flash had her on the edge of her seat. The Boston defense was rushing Ethan like mad. She was so nervous they were going to sack him and she absolutely hated when he got hit.
Finally it was half-time and the Flash were up by ten. Luke had left about fifteen minutes before the first half ended. Everyone else got up to chat and do their thing, but Mia stayed where she was, by her anti-social self. She took out her phone and decided to text Allie back.
Allie
March 13, 2011 924 PM
So how much have I been on TV tonight?
A lot! Especially when Ethan got tackled or he threw for a touchdown. Also . . . there is a little speculation as to why you are at the game.
So it begins . . .
It does. But worth it.
Totally. I’m very happy.
That’s because you belong with him.
I do!
I see you texting me and smiling. Dork!
Mia laughed and shook her head. She stood up and pocketed her phone before heading to the bathroom, deciding to hole up in there until the game started back up. The Flash started the second half with a 49-yard kick-off return. They eventually scored but the Storm responded with a touchdown of their own.
The Flash held their lead well into the fourth quarter, but with one minute remaining, Boston scored a touchdown, reducing the lead to three. All the Flash had to do was kneel down twice and they would be the UFL Champions.
But they never got a chance. A fumble by the kickoff returner and the Storm scored off his mistake, taking a four-point lead.
“Oh fuck!” Mia cursed, her head falling into her hands. The volume in the stadium went silent as the stunned crowd watched their championship hopes slip away.
The Flash fielded the kickoff at the twelve yard line the next time around. Fifty seconds to get the ball down the field plus they had two timeouts. Ethan could do this!
“Come on, Ethan!” she willed over and over.
First play, a quick eleven-yard pass to th
e tight-end who smartly ran out of bounds to stop the clock. The next play was a twenty-six-yard pass down the middle of the field and Ethan quickly called a timeout.
Mia felt like she was going to vomit. She was that nervous for him.
After the timeout, it was another pass, but it was incomplete. Twenty-two seconds left.
“I can’t handle this!” she exclaimed, her hands covering her mouth.
Next pass was batted away so that left it third and ten with twelve seconds left.
With the snap, the defense rushed Ethan. He scrambled away, still looking, searching for a receiver. From up in the box, they could see the entire field and she yelled when she saw the open man running towards the end zone. “Oh my God! Downfield! Ethan! Downfield!”
He saw it too and launched it. She held her breath as the ball sailed through the air. And when number 87 caught it and turned to the end zone, Mia started screaming. He crossed into the end zone just as the clock ticked down to zero.
Touchdown!
Reed excitedly hugged her. The crowd went fucking wild. Everyone was cheering loudly, jumping up and down. The noise levels far surpassed her concerts.
Ethan raced down the field to join the celebration. Eventually they kicked the extra point and then the real celebration began. Confetti streamed from the rafters, littering the stadium field below.
Mia soaked in the moment, her eyes trained on Ethan as he celebrated with his teammates. She was so damn proud of him.
She wanted to hug him . . . well, more than that actually, but a hug would do for now. But as she stood watching the festivities, she didn’t know what to do. Should she wait here? Go down to the field? Her dilemma was solved when Luke came to get her. Mia followed him down the back way to the field.
Luke went out on the field to join the party while she waited at the tunnel entrance and observed it all, a huge smile on her face. She was beyond proud of Ethan but still unsure of what was expected of her. Did he want her out there?
She felt her phone buzz and quickly checked to see who it was. A message from Allie. Returning the phone to her pocket, Mia looked up and smiled happily when she saw Ethan working his way towards her, his helmet long gone, his hair matted down with sweat. God, he looked so freaking hot. She loved that huge grin on his face.
“Get over here!” he yelled at her.
Guess he wanted her with him. She wasn’t going to say no to that. She raced out to him and when she reached him, she jumped into his arms, her legs clamping themselves around his waist, her arms around his neck, holding him close. His hands supported her weight while his lips searched for and found hers. This was not a chaste kiss at all. It was a full-on assault of her mouth, his tongue leading the way. It was the type of kiss he would normally give her before they had sex. Not in the middle of a stadium in front of sixty thousand people.
She broke away reluctantly and whispered in his ear, “I love you.”
“I love you too, suga!” he said in return. His lips stayed on her cheek as the cameras flashed like crazy. She held his face between her hands and kissed him again, holding his lips to hers, savoring this moment.
He had won three other championships, but this was the first she’d experienced with him. If they hadn’t broken up, she would have been there for one of them. Don’t go there, Mia. Look at his handsome, joyous face. Focus on that. Focus on how proud you are of him.
“So, you gonna let me down anytime soon?” she asked. “I mean, I’m happy where I am . . .”
“God, I am so happy you’re a part of this with me. All those other championships don’t even compare to having you here with me, celebrating this moment.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I’m so proud of you right now I’m about to burst!”
He chuckled against her cheek, his lips lightly caressing her skin. “I love when you wear skirts,” he confessed, totally shifting topics. “I just start thinking about all the things I can do.”
“Okay, time to put me down, mister. Join your team! Sex will come later.”
Ethan laughed and kissed her one more time. “Don’t you know it! I hope you’re well-rested, suga, because you’re gonna get a good, ol’ fuckin’ when we get home.”
His words were like some secret code that immediately made her wet and ready for him. She stared at him in shock. Loosening his hold on her, she slid down. He had no intentions of celebrating without her and he took her hand and they walked straight into the jubilant chaos.
Mia
Staring at the ceiling, Mia gave up on trying to go back to sleep. She should be exhausted, especially with the lack of sleep and a night full of sex, but she was full of energy.
Ethan had fallen asleep after he made love to her earlier that morning. She should have followed suit but her mind was too busy thinking about everything. His season was over; she had no immediate future plans. The only thing of importance was the two of them, their relationship . . . their future.
To get to that, they still had a lot of talking to do. That had always been a bit hard for her when he was concerned.
Pfft . . . a bit? Try pretty much impossible.
But now was different—she was different. She had her plan and her therapist for back up. She would not mess this up.
Though it still scared her.
Mia glanced down at Ethan’s head resting on her stomach and couldn’t resist the urge to run her fingers through the curls. He had always had his hair cropped short, never this long. The feel of his hair against her fingers was addicting.
Her phone rang and she quickly disengaged her fingers from his hair and answered the phone so Ethan didn’t wake up. If anyone deserved to sleep in, it was that guy.
“Hello?” Mia asked quietly, not taking the time to look at who it was.
“So, you and your quarterback kept me up all night.”
Allie.
Wait. How did they keep her up?
“Hold up . . . are you here? At the house? Did you hear us?”
“Eww! God, no!” Allie said with exaggerated disgust. “I was busy handling all the phone calls and messages about you two and the display you put on yesterday at the game.”
“Hey, that’s all Ethan’s fault. Blame him. I tried to stay hidden. He made me go on the field! He’s the one who mouth-fucked me in front of the entire world.”
“What’s my fault?” he said groggily, pulling her back to him, leaving his hand on her breast, caressing the sensitive skin.
“I’m on the phone,” she groaned as his fingers started to travel lower.
“Well, get off,” he answered, pushing his hard body against her, letting her know he was rested and ready for another round while his hand pushed her legs open.
“It’s Allie,” she whispered. With his free hand, he snatched the phone from her and put it to his ear, his other hand stalling its trek south between her legs, resting on the inside of her thigh.
“Hi, Allie!”
“Way to go, Ethan!” Mia heard Allie say over the phone.
“Thank you!” he said happily. “What’s up?”
“Press. They want confirmation about you two, of course.”
“Don’t give it to them. Not yet.”
“You sure?” Allie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Might as well just confirm it. One hundred million people saw your PDA. I don’t know how you’d be able to discount anything.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m just not ready to have the world focused on our relationship again.”
“Well, you could have prevented that if you would have kept your mouth to yourself . . .”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
Allie cleared her throat in response.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ethan said. “Um . . . how about ‘They have reconnected recently and are exploring their friendship.’”
Her hands stilled their caressing of his back when he spoke to Allie. She couldn’t focus on their conversation anymore, her mind otherwise
preoccupied with her thoughts. Why didn’t he just want to confirm that they were together? Was he unsure about them? Did he have doubts and this response was an escape route if needed?
Definitely not thoughts she wanted to have.
Thankfully he hung up with Allie and picked up where he’d left off. He made love to her and cleared her mind of those nasty, negative thoughts.
Mia
Two weeks later
Mia and Ethan were chilling in his office. She sat in her favorite spot as of late—on his lap. They had just finished reading an email from Allie, a quick update of press coverage of their relationship. The press was a little ridiculous. They were just two people finding their way back to each other. No need for this insane amount of coverage. They had pretty much been holed up in his house. Good thing they could easily get things delivered. Even still, she was tired of being stuck there.
She wanted to get away, wanted to show him what things had been like for her since they’d been apart. Her life . . . and that was in Malibu. He needed to understand how she coped after her overdose.
Mia thought about the things she had to say to Ethan still. They had been enjoying their time with each other. She didn’t want to ruin that by talking about all the shit that happened when she was younger, but the time had come—they had to talk, get the past out in the open so they could move on—hopefully forward.
Another reason to get away . . . she was sick of the damn cold weather. She needed sunlight and mega doses of vitamin D! She was tired all the time. Yesterday, she had fallen asleep lying on the floor of their closet. She had been putting some clothes away and dropped a shirt. She sat down to pick it up and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor, waking up.
She hoped the change of scenery would help with her tiredness. So she decided to broach the subject with Ethan. She stroked his cheek to draw his attention away from his laptop.
Still Into You (Never Over You Book 2) Page 36
