Page 58 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

“Maya! It’s so great to see you.” Lucia’s eyes found his, and without even meaning to, he seemed to communicate something to her that she understood. She approached them, putting her arms around his sister and taking her into the kitchen, chattering about how badly she needed to speak to any other Beaumont sibling. He was glad to see a genuine smile on his sister’s face at that, gladder still to see how well Lucia and Maya got along.

He stood behind the couch as his teammates watched college games, keeping an eye on his sister and Lucia the entire time. When the food was ready, he helped carry the trays to the tables he’d set up.

“Time to eat. TV off,” Jenna called. When a few of his teammates groaned, she glared at them. “Fine, leave it on, but turn it down so the people who actually like each other can talk amongst themselves.”

They did as they were told, knowing better than to disobey Jenna Barrett twice in her own home. Cooper came inside, Oliver on his shoulders and James dragging from his leg. Hayley was talking to one of Sam’s daughters, though Colton couldn’t remember her name.

“Coop, could you make sure they wash their hands before they eat, please?” Jenna was already directing people as they grabbed plates and started piling food onto them.

When Maya heard Jenna, her widening eyes landed on Cooper, mouth slightly open like she wanted to say something. Cooper’s expression mirrored hers when he saw Maya beside Lucia.

“Mai, what are you—when did you get here?” Colton was surprised at his friend’s concerned tone, eyes flicking between his best friend and his sister.

“I—I missed Colton.”

Hayley tugged Cooper toward the hallway with the guest bathroom, and he followed her reluctantly. Colton’s phone rang, his father’s name popping up on his screen. He groaned but answered it, walking out the door Cooper had just brought the kids in through.

“Dad.”

“I’ve called you twice today. We need to go over the game.”

“Dad, I’m busy right now. Can we talk about this later?”

“Busy? Do you even care about playoffs? Your focus is being pulled, that much is clear.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means your incredibly rude girlfriend is distracting you from your game and may very well ruin your chances at getting through to playoffs this season.”

He ignored his father’s words, tired of the variations of the same conversation over and over again. His father had been warning him a minimum of twice a week since meeting her that Lucia was going to be the reason he lost out on another chance at the Super Bowl. As if the woman who’d single-handedly saved his game could ever be the cause. If anything, like he’d told her on the plane, she was now the voice in his head that reminded him about the best way to scramble, not to release the ball too early, not to slap the ball the same way before he threw the same pass. Knowing she was in that analyst box watching him each game lit a fire under him like nothing else ever had.

His eyes watched her through the screen door, a glass of wine in her hand as she spoke with Maya. While the tired conversation with his father wouldn’t end productively, it did remind him that this was temporary. After January, she may very well never speak to these people outside of the game-day environment again, and that thought had him swallowing over a rock. No matter how much she seemed to genuinely enjoy everyone, this was a duty for her, a way to ensure she got to keep her job and stay ahead of the media.

“Dad, is Maya staying with you while she’s here?”

“The last time I heard from Maya, she was in Asia. What does that have to do with playoffs?”

Colton held back a scoff. Maya had come back from the Open in Hong Kong three weeks ago, and he was sure she’d tried calling their father since then. He probably hadn’t answered his only daughter’s calls.

He was glad Maya was in town, even if it wasn’t necessarily under pleasant circumstances. He rarely got to spend time with her, and having her stay with him would make his often-lonely house feel more like a home. The way that Lucia had started to over the past few weeks. He grimaced when he realized where his thoughts were heading once again.

“Dad, I’m gonna have to call you back. I’m at a team event.” And for the first time in as long as he could remember, he hung up on his father before he’d even had a chance to tell Colton that his call was more important than any team event, a line Colton had heard plenty of times over the years.

When he was back inside the house, he piled some food onto his plate and sat beside Lucia.

“Everything okay?” she asked him softly, her eyes trained on Leigh and the conversation she’d been a part of with Jenna and Maya before. Her hand moved closer to him on the table, though she stopped before she reached his.

“Yeah, just my dad.”

Her eyes snapped to him. “Is he upset with you for missing Thanksgiving with him?”

Colton scoffed, “Right, that would be the normal parental response during the holidays, but no. He just wanted to tell me, once again, that I’m too preoccupied to get through to playoffs.”

Lucia rolled her eyes. “He needs a life.” She smacked a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “Oh my god, I’m sorry Colton. That wasn’t an appropriate thing for me to say. I should probably slow it down with the wine.”

He knocked her shoulder with his as he started eating. “I’m in complete agreement, don’t worry.”

After a couple hours of mingling with the team and their families, and with most of the food gone, groups of them began leaving, either to enjoy the rest of the night together or in some cases, to hit King Street for the evening.

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