Those had been some of the longest minutes of Em’s life. The entire time she’d been worried that one of her neighbors would call the cops. Thankfully, they hadn’t, and Frida had eventually left.
She shrugged. “I must not have been home.”
“Emmeline O’Brien, your car was in the parking lot.”
“Then I must have been taking a nap.” She played with the cap of her red pen.
Frida narrowed her eyes. “Since when do you take naps?”
Em smacked her hands on her desk. “What do you want, Frida?”
Frida’s chin trembled. “You’re my best friend. I want you to stop ignoring me. I want you to talk to me.” She leaned forward. “You’re upset about me and Finn. We kept it a secret from you, and we shouldn’t have. I know that. But I can’t change that now. All I can do is try to work things out with you.”
It was more than keeping it a secret though. They were the two people in her life that she thought she could trust, and they lied to her. Em fought back the tears that filled her eyes. They were not going to fall right now. She’d cried enough the last few days. She would not shed another tear.
Frida got up and walked around the desk. She bent over and wrapped her arms around Em. “I should have told you.”
Never mind. Her best friend’s words put her over the edge. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been happy for you guys.”
Frida stood back up, and she smoothed out her skirt even though there were no wrinkles. “I wanted to, but I know you have your no-dating-athletes rule.”
That stupid rule was more trouble than anything else. She shook her head. “That’s my rule, not yours.”
“I know, but you’re convinced every athlete is evil. I wasn’t sure what you’d say.”
Not every athlete was bad, just the ones she fell for. Besides, Finn was her brother.
“I would have given you my blessing.”
Frida lifted her brows. “And now?”
Nothing had changed. Em still loved Frida and Finn more than anyone else. She wanted them to be happy. And she didn’t get to say whether or not they dated. At this point, she had to decide whether or not she would be happy for them. “I think it’s great.”
“Really?”
Em nodded.
“Oh, good.” Frida lit up. “Because I really like him. He’s so funny and sweet and he looks really good out there on the field with his muscles straining.”
“I might be okay with you two dating, but he’s still my brother. I don’t want to hear how good he looks or anything about his muscles straining.” Em lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile.
Frida laughed. “Fine. No muscles. But he’s one of the good ones. He makes me happy.” She paused. “It’s why I kept bidding on that stupid jersey. I wanted it so bad.”
Em’s eyes went wide. “You’re the one who I got into that bidding war with?”
Frida’s cheeks turned a deep red. “It was right after that game that we started dating. I thought it would have been cool to have it. I had no idea you were willing to go so high.”
“Then it’s yours.”
Frida sat up. “Really?”
Em nodded. “I have plenty. And it means a lot to you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you guys are happy.” And she was. But knowing how perfect Frida and Finn were for each other only made her failed relationship with Grant more painful. With time, it would get easier. It always did. But for now, everything was just a little too overwhelming.
“And things are okay between us?”
“Yeah.” Em smiled at her. “Just don’t lie to me anymore. You’re my best friend.”
“Deal,” Frida said.
“Good.” Em looked down at the stack of papers in front of her. “But now that we’re not fighting anymore, I really need to finish grading these papers.”
Frida grabbed a red pen from the jar on Em’s desk.
“What are you doing?”
Frida rolled her eyes. “Helping you, duh. What are friends for?”
Em smiled as she divided the papers into two piles. She was so thankful for her friendship with Frida. It would be an adjustment to see her and Finn together, but Em would get used to it in time.
They had only been grading papers for a few minutes when Frida set her pen down. “Have you talked to Grant at all since The Dating Game?”
The Dating Game. That night felt like it was an eternity ago with everything else that had happened since—and Frida didn’t know about any of it. The last thing Frida knew about was Em walking out on Grant. Her best friend had met her in the bathroom and made no secret of the fact that she thought Em should go back in there and see where things went.
Thankfully, Frida had also been supportive when Em said she needed to get out of there.
Em nodded. “Yeah.”
“Really?” Frida sat up in her seat.
“I, uh, went to his house when you were in Oregon.”
Frida’s mouth fell open. “You what?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I had a bad day at work, and you were gone. I realized he’d become someone I wanted to spend time with as much as I tried to fight it. I brought him tacos.”
“That’s adorable. So, what happened?”
Em folded her arms on her desk and put her head down. “I kissed him.” The words came out as a mumble as she spoke into the crook of her arm.
“You kissed him?”
Em nodded, her head still on her desk.
“Does that mean…?”
Em lifted her head, her heart still heavy from that night. “No. He said that things wouldn’t work out between us.”
“He said those exact words?”
“Not exactly, but that was the gist.”
“Oh, Em. I’m so sorry.”
She shrugged, her eyes trained on the jar of pencils on her desk. “I’m sure it’s for the best.”
Not that it felt like it was for the best right now. Right now it hurt—bad.
There was a long pause and Em had gone back to grading when Frida spoke again.
“Do you think you’ll go to the rest of the Storm games since you’ll have to see him?”
What did it say about Em that she hadn’t even thought about that?
On one hand, she wanted to go out and support Finn. Even though she hadn’t spoken to him in days, he was still her brother. And now that he was dating Frida, Em would need to make sure Finn didn’t get distracted the same way Silas did whenever he ran past Miriam.
On the other hand, Em also wasn’t sure how she would react once she saw Grant out there. It would be hard to cheer on the guy who broke her heart. Or stop thinking about the way his lips felt when they pressed against hers.
Her heart hammered in her chest at the memory. As much as she tried to stop thinking about what had happened, her brain thought it belonged on the highlight reel and replayed it every chance it got. Em couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t just forget about it.
Because it was the best kiss of my life.
“I don’t know,” she said, finally answering Frida’s question. “I think it’s going to depend on my mood when Saturday rolls around. And even if I go, I’ll probably hide in the stands instead of sitting in my box.”
Frida’s shoulders slumped.
“But you can still use Finn’s tickets. I’m sure Miriam would enjoy the company.” And getting her girlfriends only cheering section…
She shook her head softly. “I couldn’t.”
“You can.” Em reached out to grab her hand. “Really, I’ll be fine.”
“Em.”
“Who knows,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “I may end up sitting down next to the field after all.”
It was highly unlikely, but possible.
“I’m sure Finn would like that.”
Finn.
Now that the two friends had tackled their friendship and what had h
appened with Grant, it was the only tough conversation left to have.
She sighed loudly.
“He’s really upset. He’s been asking me every day if I’ve talked to you. And every time I say no, he looks a little more broken.”
Em’s chest tightened. She hated that she’d hurt her brother. While she had every right to be upset, she found her irritation lessening every day. Now that she’d made up with Frida, it was practically nonexistent.
“I’ll talk to him tonight,” she said, her attention going back to the paper she’d been trying to grade for the last five minutes.
Frida let out a dramatic sigh. “I planned to spend some one-on-one time with him when I was done here.”
When Em’s head snapped up, Frida burst into loud laughter. “Oh my goodness. It’s going to be so fun messing with you.”
Em shook her head, but she was happy to see that even though Frida was dating her brother, that some things wouldn’t change.
Grant
Grant’s stomach twisted in knots as he got dressed in his game day kit with the rest of the team.
It had been hard watching the rest of the players practice without him for the last few weeks—harder to watch them play while he sat on the sidelines. Even though his ankle had fully recovered, everything felt a little off.
Bastian was too cheerful. Finn was too distant. And it seemed like everyone else was watching out of the corner of their eyes to see what would happen now that Grant was back.
He sat on the bench to tie his shoe and tried to ignore the simmering tension and get his head ready for the game when Cardosa plopped down beside him.
“How’s the ankle feeling?” he asked, jerking his head down at Grant’s foot.
People had been asking him that all week, and it was starting to get on his nerves. If he wasn’t ready to play, he wouldn’t be kitted out, would he?
“Good. As long as I don’t push it too hard tonight, I think it’ll be fine.”
Cardosa slapped his back. “We’re all glad you’re back.”
“Are you?”
Cardosa’s brows lowered. “Of course we are.”
He lifted his brows. “Even after my fight with the captain?”
Cardosa jerked his chin toward Vinny, who sat alone in the corner. “You act like that guy doesn’t do something stupid every week.”
Oh great. It looked like Grant’s fear of getting a reputation like “The Box” was coming true. He sighed. “Yeah.”
“And yet everyone’s happy when he’s out there on game day because he’s good at what he does.” Cardosa gave Grant a hard look. “And so are you. Don’t let one little argument get to you.”
Grant nodded, but it wasn’t just one little argument. Grant couldn’t help but wonder if he’d messed things up with his dream girl for all the wrong reasons. Not that he could say that to Cardosa—or anyone, for that matter.
Thankfully, his little heart-to-heart with Cardosa was cut short when Coach stood up to give his pre-game pep-talk.
“This is our game. We’re going to get the win tonight.”
The guys all shouted in unison, though Grant’s voice was slightly less enthusiastic than usual.
“We’re going to send Arizona back home with the L.”
Cheers erupted all around him. The guys were hooting and hollering in response.
“Let’s go get them.”
One last cheer went through the locker room as they all filed out. The arena’s lights were already dim, and spotlights flashed over the crowd. The guys bounced on the balls of their feet as they waited to be called.
As if he wasn’t anxious enough, Coach had surprised him with a spot on the starting lineup for his first game back. Grant stood toward the back of the group as the announcer called the other players one by one. His heart raced knowing he would be out there soon doing the only thing that made sense anymore.
Finn stood directly behind him, and he could feel the captain’s eyes boring into his back, but he refused to turn around. Grant had successfully ignored the captain during the warmup, other than the few times he’d taken a shot on goal. He had no desire to start talking to him now.
“On offense, number thirty-two, Silas Jenkins.”
Silas ran out onto the field.
“On defense, number nine, Bastian Ramirez.”
Bastian ran out onto the field.
“Playing midfield, number seven, Grant Vaughn.”
Grant took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face before he ran out onto the field. He waved at the stands as he made his way out to midfield.
He looked over at the seats next to the home bench—Em’s seats—as the announcer called Finn’s name. Frida and Miriam were cheering next to each other. His heart sank when he saw that Em was missing. He knew that he’d ended things, but he wanted to see her one last time.
Finn settled in a spot next to Grant. “She’s not there,” he said through gritted teeth as he smiled at the crowd.
Grant didn’t want to have this talk right here, right now. He kept his fake smile plastered on his face. “I can see that.”
The cheering quieted as students from a local elementary school walked out onto the field to sing the National Anthem. The players from both teams turned to face the flag and put their hands over their hearts.
Finn leaned in. His voice was low. “I don’t know what happened while I was in Oregon—Frida and Em are being tight-lipped about it—but I have a feeling it involves you. I told you to stay away from her.”
If going on a silly date as part of a halftime show earned him a black eye, he didn’t want to know what would happen if he admitted he’d kissed her. Grant decided to answer in half-truths. “I told her that I couldn’t date her.”
Finn narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
Grant lifted his shoulder. “Ask her.”
Finn continued to stare at Grant as the kids finished singing. When they were done, and the players started walking to their spots, either on the field or on the bench, Finn reached out and grabbed Grant’s arm.
Is he going to fight me moments before kickoff in front of all these fans?
“Don’t think this conversation is over, rookie.”
He shook Finn’s hand off. “Of course not.”
Apparently not dating Em, and then telling her that they shouldn’t date, wasn’t enough for Finn. Would things always be like that with the team’s captain? If that was the case, maybe Grant should start applying to more master’s programs outside of the state—and looking at other MASL teams too.
Grant jogged to his spot and looked at Em’s seat once more. She still wasn’t there, and he couldn’t help but feel responsible for her missing something she enjoyed so much.
The ref blew his whistle, and the game began. Once the ball was in play, Grant pushed all thoughts of Em from his mind and focused on the game. He needed to walk the thin line of playing the best he could without pushing so hard he hurt himself again.
He could not imagine sitting out for another extended period of time.
Grant got to play for almost the entire first quarter, and by the time the buzzer rang, he’d had two assists—one to Silas and the other to Cardosa. Since Finn hadn’t let any balls past, the team had a two-point lead.
It was a great way to make his comeback.
There was a short break—a chance for all the players to get water while the coaches discussed plays for the upcoming quarter. During this time, Greg, the GM, walked out to talk about one of the team’s corporate sponsors.
Grant grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.
“You doing okay?” Coach asked.
This was the hardest he’d worked in a month, and his body was having a hard time adjusting, but it felt good to be part of the team. He nodded. “Yeah.”
“He was getting slow at the end,” Finn said. “It might be good to have him sit out the next quarter.”
Grant bit his tongue. He wouldn’t rise to the captain
’s bait. He could only hope that Coach would ignore Finn’s advice and let Grant in anyway.
“Noted,” Coach said before he started going into the plays he wanted the guys to try. The next couple minutes went by fast, and Grant soon found himself in the Storm’s box watching his teammates play without him.
He’d successfully kept his eyes away from Em’s seat during the first quarter, but now that he’d had a chance to catch his breath, his gaze went to where she should have been sitting.
She still wasn’t there, but Frida happened to be looking toward the home bench and caught his eye. She gave him a sad smile and shook her head.
Needing to know more, Grant pushed his way to the end of the team’s box and closer to Frida. When he got there, she refused to meet his gaze. Her entire body was stiff as she watched the game.
“Is she okay?”
“I shouldn’t be talking to you, girl code and all.”
“Shouldn’t? Or won’t?”
She let out a long sigh. “If Em sees me talking to you, she’s not going to be happy with me, and I’m already on thin ice.”
“How’s she going to see us talking? She’s not here.” His breath caught in his chest. Em wasn’t sitting in her usual spot. That didn’t mean she wasn’t in the arena. “She’s here, isn’t she?”
Frida bit her bottom lip.
“Where?”
“If I tell you, you can’t look, okay?”
He snorted. Grant had been hoping to catch a glimpse of her all night. If Frida told him where Em was, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from looking in that direction.
Frida shifted on her feet. “Can you at least wait until you’re not standing right next to me?”
“Fine. Where is she?”
Without taking her eyes off the game, she said, “Section two-twenty-five, about halfway up. Her hair is pulled back, and she’s wearing a black tank top.”
Grant fought to keep his head from turning in that section’s direction. Frida had said she was on thin ice, and while Grant had no idea what had happened, he didn’t want to make things worse for the two friends.
“Thank you,” he said as he moved back to the other side, as far away from Frida as possible. Once there, his eyes went to section two-twenty-five, and he started looking frantically for Em.
Out of Play: A Sports Romance (Love in the Arena Book 2) Page 12
