by Liz Lincoln
When she walked into the room, she was greeted by the chaotic joy of kids running around playing. Five children who had to be under three chased each other in circles around a high-top table. Other than the two boys in that group, the room was entirely women and girls.
“Bree!” Tanisha rushed forward and gave Bree a warm hug. “How you doing, girl? You look fabulous.” She fingered Bree’s loosely waved hair.
Bree’s hair was normally stick straight, but the woman at the salon had made loose curls that fell around her shoulders, plus added two more blue streaks. Bree felt glamorous. Which was definitely not her usual state.
“Thanks. It’s been a good weekend.” She couldn’t help the goofy smile on her face. She had no idea where her thing with Marcus was going, but at least for one more day, she was going to enjoy the feeling of being in love with a wonderful guy. A guy who, unlike many of the other men in her life, supported her and believed in her.
Tanisha made a teasing sound. “There is more to that story.” She pointed at Bree, her fingernail painted Dragon’s gold. Her other four nails were painted blue. Had to represent. It was why Bree had chosen blue for her hair and fingernails. Her toes, hidden in her shoes, were gold.
“You want something to eat?” Tanisha asked. She gestured to the kitchenette in the suite, where a spread of food was laid out. “There’s a taco bar, wings and about nine hundred kinds of sauce, pizza. We got wine, beer, Coke and Diet Coke, there might be some Sprite around somewhere.”
“I had a huge breakfast, so I’ll probably eat later. But not right now.” She followed Tanisha over to the food. “But I could do a soda,” she said.
Bree got a Diet Coke while Tanisha filled two plates, one for herself and one for her toddler, Jaron Jr.
“JJ, come eat your food.” Tanisha grabbed one of the rambunctious children and led him to a kid-sized table on the side of the room. Another boy with huge dark eyes joined his friend. The two immediately started munching.
“Let’s go sit,” Tanisha said, moving toward the wide windows that overlooked the field. “Kickoff’s in a few minutes. And it’s always fun to watch them introduce the team.”
Tanisha opened a door in the corner that led out to a balcony. Three rows of stadium seats took up most of the space. Bree again followed Tanisha, sitting down next to her, behind Seth Chamberlain’s fiancée, Carrie. Next to her was an uncomfortably pregnant-looking Celia.
Carrie turned and gave Bree a bright smile. “Hey, nice to see you.”
“You remember Carrie?” Tanisha asked. “And Celia?”
Bree returned their smiles. “Yeah. Hey.”
Before the conversation could continue, the voice on the loudspeaker began to announce the players for Colorado Springs. The cacophony in the stadium settled to polite clapping, along with a few boos. Bree joined the polite clapping. She didn’t like booing anyone, unless a player made a dirty hit or a ref made a terrible call. Otherwise, it was just being a bad spectator.
When it was the Dragons’ turn to be introduced, the crowd got to their feet.
“Not happening,” Celia said, rubbing a hand over her belly.
Rising, Tanisha patted Celia’s head. “C’mon, you still got ten weeks to go. It gets so much worse.”
“And you weren’t even dealing with twins,” Celia moaned.
Tanisha laughed wickedly, then bent to ruffle Celia’s not-a-hair-out-of-place auburn hair. “You’ll be fine. Maybe you’ll get lucky and get to do the bedrest thing.”
Celia tilted her head back to glare at her friend. “I don’t like you right now.”
“There’s Marcus.” Carrie interrupted the bickering, pointing to the field. Even from so high up, Bree could tell from his swagger that Carrie was right. He wore navy blue athletic pants, a navy and gold parka, and a navy and yellow Dragons hat with a bright yellow pom-pom on the end. From that distance, she could barely make out his facial features. But the confident way he walked was unmistakable.
Watching him as he chatted with another player, number 82, her body filled with a warmth at odds with the chilly air around her. It was a shame he wasn’t playing. She’d always liked watching him, loved the easy grace he had as he moved around the field. It would be awesome if she got to talk to him about his play after the game.
Of course, since she was spending another night at his place tonight, there were plenty of other awesome things they could do.
The women settled back into their seats and chatted until special teams took the field for kickoff. It once again struck Bree as surreal as she watched Jeremy Trask, the kicker, launch the ball down the field. She knew him now. She’d talked to him, sat with him at dinner. And somehow, being in the stadium, sitting with two players’ wives and a player’s fiancée, was more real than watching it at home and seeing the man she’d met on her TV screen.
Six months ago, she wouldn’t have believed it if someone told her she’d be where she was at that moment.
The game started with the Vipers on offense, and although only Carrie’s fiancée played defense, all three women were equally into the game. Celia especially got into it, yelling at players, yelling at coaches, and especially yelling at the refs. She really didn’t like the refs. In her defense, she also called them out when they called a penalty on the Vipers that she thought was bullshit.
Carrie put a hand on Celia’s arm, easing her back into her chair. “Maybe you want to calm down just a little.” There was teasing in her voice. “Isn’t stress not good for the babies?”
Celia gave Carrie a mock glare. “This is my stress release. If I sit here quiet, I’ll burst a blood vessel or something.”
They all laughed, and Bree loved how easily she slipped into this group. She wasn’t going to ruin her enjoyment of the afternoon by worrying about where things were going with Marcus. And Bryant didn’t deserve a moment of her time while she was inside the stadium.
The Dragons managed to stop the Vipers on third down, but the Vipers were far enough down the field that they got an easy field goal. And so the offense took the field down three to nothing.
Bree knew she should probably be paying attention to the game. Celia and Tanisha were even more invested now that their husbands were on the field. But Bree’s gaze kept drifting to the sidelines. She sought out Marcus, who at the moment was talking with another man in a parka. Bree had no idea if he was a coach or another injured player. Maybe a trainer. She didn’t much care. She just liked watching Marcus.
“That’s Jerry Wardowski,” Tanisha said, interrupting Bree’s thoughts.
Bree glanced at her new friend. “Who is?”
“Who Marcus is talking to.” Tanisha nodded toward the sidelines. “Jerry is the tight ends coach. Marcus’ coach. Marcus has been helping out a lot to develop Gibbons into a stronger player.”
Bree glanced back at the field, to where Gibbons was blocking a nose tackle. He was more of a blocking tight end, which was helpful when the other team blitzed. Marcus was more of a receiving tight end, though he was also a solid blocker. His dual strengths were what made him such a valuable offensive weapon for the Dragons.
The game seemed to fly by. The Dragons were by far the better team, but the Vipers didn’t make it easy for them. By the time the fourth quarter started, the Dragons were ahead 27–17. They should win, but it wasn’t unthinkable for the Vipers to mount a comeback. Their defense had pressured Matt into throwing a rare interception; they could do it again.
Bree’s giant breakfast finally wore off, so she got up to make herself a taco. She needed a snack if she was going to last until she and Marcus ate dinner. When she returned, Carrie had taken her seat to talk with Tanisha.
“Come down here,” Celia said. “I wanted to talk to you before the game’s over and I waddle out of here.”
“Sure.” Bree slid in next to Celia. She’d lost some of her energy as the game progressed, and since Matt was currently on the sidelines while the Vipers were on offense, she was taking a break f
rom yelling at the refs.
“I wanted to talk to you about what you were thinking in terms of possibilities with us.” Celia raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows, looking expectantly at Bree.
Bree frowned. “I’m sorry?”
Now the perfectly plucked eyebrows formed a V over Celia’s big golden-brown eyes. Bree wasn’t normally one to notice people’s eyebrows, but seriously, those were some excessively groomed brows. “I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood what Marcus said.”
Something uncomfortably like panic settled at the base of Bree’s throat, pressing into her chest. She had to clear her throat before she could speak again. “What did Marcus say?”
“That you were looking for job possibilities in the area, postdoctoral positions, and that you have a background in medical physics and imaging technology. Is that not the case?”
The panic grew, the weight on Bree’s breastbone oppressive. Lower down in her gut, a ball of anger started to form. “I am studying medical physics and imaging, yes. I wouldn’t say I’m specifically looking in this area, but I am from Wisconsin, and my best friend is doing her postdoc in Madison, so I’m also not opposed to staying in the area. Mostly I just need a job.”
“Okay, so Marcus did have it right.” Celia grinned. “That would be great. I mean, we would love to work with someone who also has an interest in football.”
Bree held up a hand. “When did Marcus talk to you?”
“Uh-oh,” Tanisha murmured from behind them.
Celia’s attention snapped to the field. “What? What happened?”
“I meant uh-oh, Marcus fucked up.”
Celia looked back to Bree for confirmation. Her face was so kind and expectant Bree almost hated to answer with the truth.
“Yeah, he didn’t tell me he had talked to you. Or was going to.” She frowned, trying to remember the dozens of conversations they’d had over the past few months. “I might have mentioned that working for someplace like your research group would be cool. But I didn’t ask him specifically to talk to you.” God dammit. How could he do that after she’d specifically said not to help her without asking after he’d paid for Diablo’s vet stay?
Celia’s face fell. “That’s too bad. It doesn’t sound entirely unlike Marcus, but I guess I’ll have to wait a little while before I’m in any shape to kick his ass.” She ran her hand over her belly.
“I mean, I didn’t ask him to talk to you, and I might give him that ass kicking before you get a chance, but maybe we could meet sometime next week? I’d still be interested in talking to you about your research group. I’m just not really prepared to talk about it right now.” The words tumbled out of Bree’s mouth before she knew she was even going to say them.
The chaos and static she’d managed to hold at bay all weekend roared back. Was she mad at Marcus? Pissed as hell? Did it make what he did okay just because she was interested? Or was it still the principle?
She looked down at the field and watched Seth tackle the Vipers’ wide receiver. She needed to get back out of her head.
“Honestly, I’ve been so focused on finishing my dissertation, and, well, that’s a whole other catastrophe. My advisor’s a sexist asshole. Anyway. Irrelevant. Maybe could we get coffee next week? I defend on Friday, so this week isn’t going to be good.” There was no harm talking to Celia. She could sort out later if it was a viable possibility.
Celia grinned. “That would be great.” She handed Bree her phone. “Put your number in.”
Carrie leaned in to say, “And if you need help kicking Marcus’ ass, Tanni and I got your back.”
“I can drive the getaway car,” Celia said.
“I appreciate it,” Bree said, trying to focus on the new friendships she was forming rather than the fury building inside her. She was not going to cry with frustration. Not here. But dammit, she thought Marcus was different, thought he supported her when all the other men in her life were trying to orchestrate things behind her back.
Turned out, he was just like them.
*
—
Marcus was riding high on the Dragons’ victory as he walked out of the stadium with Jaron and Trask. There were now two games ahead of the Stallions, and a win next week secured the division. Plus if they won and Kansas City lost, they got a first-round bye week for the playoffs. He’d still rather be playing, but winning from the sidelines was better than a swift kick in the balls.
Now he got to spend another night making love to Bree. An entire weekend of sex interrupted only by a Dragons win was a pretty fucking good weekend.
Bree stood with Carrie and Tanni outside the players’ entrance. The instant he saw her, a warm glow spread through Marcus’ chest. He was so crazy about this woman.
He needed to check with Celia, see if she’d had a chance to talk to Bree about working with the research group. He knew Celia got crazy into games—Tanni admitted to being a little intimidated—so it seemed unlikely they’d talked during the game. He couldn’t imagine even pregnancy was slowing Celia down. Hard to believe she’d barely known what a touchdown was when she first started dating Matt. But Celia didn’t do anything halfway.
As they got closer to the women, Marcus noticed Bree’s expression was less than celebratory. Odd, since she was a big Dragons fan. Surely she hadn’t felt uncomfortable in the box with his friends. She seemed excited about it yesterday, and he couldn’t imagine Carrie, Celia, Tanni, or one of the other family members in the box making her feel unwelcome. He’d watched a couple games with her and knew she could yell at the players when she wanted, so he couldn’t imagine Celia had turned her off with her enthusiasm.
Hopefully she hadn’t gotten news about her dissertation, like a shitty email from her advisor or something. She’d agreed not to check her email while they were hiding away. But she could have today after he left.
With any luck, he’d be able to put her back into a good mood. He smiled, thinking about exactly how he would do that.
First, he could fill up his large soaking tub. They could each have a glass of wine while they relaxed in hot water, and he could touch her everywhere. He wasn’t a fan of sex in the tub, so he’d take her back to his bed, lay her out, and have her there. After that, he had the whole night to keep making her feel good.
The sounds of the parking lot surrounded them, the chatter of conversation, engines starting, cars idling. But Marcus’ attention was focused solely on Bree. When he reached her, he slid his arm around her waist and drew her to him. He brushed his mouth over hers then kissed the spot just behind her ear. She shivered against him, sending a matching thrill through him.
“You enjoy the game?” Mindful they were in a public place, he drew back, even though he wanted to keep kissing that soft, smooth neck of hers.
She didn’t meet his gaze. “It was fine,” she said tightly.
What the hell?
He shot a glance at Tanni, who gave him a flat stare, eyebrows raised. “You done fucked up.”
What the hell? How did he fuck up when he hadn’t even been there?
Bree slipped out of his arms and headed for his car, her movement stiffer than usual.
What? The? Hell?
“Oh, man. Good luck with that.” Jaron clapped Marcus on the shoulder before he bent to scoop up his son.
“Hope you still got your balls tomorrow,” Tanni said as she and Jaron walked away.
Baffled, Marcus hurried to his car. Bree stood next to the passenger door, looking at the ground. Effectively ignoring him.
He clicked to unlock it, and they slid into their seats. He watched her as she silently put on her seatbelt, then settled herself in, angled away from him. She ran her hand over her leather seat.
Marcus’ chest felt tight. Like he couldn’t quite get a full breath. He started the car and pulled on his own seatbelt. Music exploded from the speakers, much too loud for the conversation they were inevitably going to have. He liked to blast the music to get pumped up on his way to the
stadium. But now was not the time for getting pumped. So he lowered the volume dial until Rihanna was a faint hum. He put the car in drive and pulled out of his spot.
The tension between them was heavy enough to be almost tangible. He wanted to reach out to rip it away. Throw it out the car window and leave it behind. But he couldn’t begin to do that if he didn’t even know what was wrong.
“You going to talk to me?” he asked. Shit. That sounded way more defensive than he wanted. If this was about her advisor, she needed his support and understanding. “Sorry, that came out harsh. What I meant is, something is obviously upsetting you. And I’d like to know what’s wrong, so I can help.” He started to reach for her hand, but she had them clasped on her lap. Everything about her body language said don’t touch me.
“Why did you call Celia about me?” Her voice was cold, a tone he’d never heard from her before.
He hadn’t actually called Celia, they talked in person. But that was clearly not a hair he should split at the moment. “At the benefit, you were so excited about their project. I knew you were looking for a job in a similar field, and when we talked at lunch, you seemed really into what they’re doing. I was hanging out with her and Matt, and it came up. I mentioned you might be interested in something there.”
It had all been as matter-of-fact as that, right? Hadn’t it?
“Tell me something.” She shifted in her seat to face him. “Did I ask you to talk to Celia about me maybe working there? Did I ever, at any point, explicitly say that I wanted to work there or that I would like you to facilitate a conversation with Celia?” Her voice was low and calm. Much too calm.
He was fucked.
“No. You didn’t,” he said quietly. Because what else could he say? “I just—”
“I don’t care!” she yelled, catching him off guard. He’d never heard her yell, except at football games. “I don’t care what you just.”
Marcus pulled in a breath to respond, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say next. He could feel their fragile relationship slipping away, and he would do just about anything to keep that from happening. But he had no idea what to actually do.
