Page 39 of Almost

Kiera sits up, and my eyes shift straight to the length of her legs. “And your birthday is coming up. Have you thought about what you want?”

At the risk of sounding like an ungrateful asshole, I really miss sex—like a lot, but I refuse to cave before the wedding. We’ve already made it a month and a half, and I can live without birthday sex in two weeks. I need this time to get my mind-set straight.

“Uh, no. Don’t look at me like that,” she warns with a laugh, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Like what?” I ask, feigning confusion. I’m sure it was written all over my face what I was thinking about.

“Like you’re going to rip my swimsuit off me to have your way with me in the sand. No sex for thirty-six more days,buddy.”

It’s a wonderful idea, but it’s not happening. I’ll survive. “If we weren’t celibate right now, you’re right: I would be fucking you in the sand. Maybe this trip was a bad idea. I thought I could handle seeing you in only a swimsuit, but it’s proving harder than I thought it would be.”

I think I have a talent for underestimating what a disaster things can turn out to be. This trip was supposed to help me relax, not make me horny the entire time.

“You’re being a bit dramatic,” Kiera says.

I stand up, and offer her my hand. “And you’re being a bit boring. Who goes to the beach and doesn’t get in the water?”

She shakes her head adamantly, staring at my hand like I’m poisoning her. “There are sharks in the ocean, and I happen to like reading. I’ll watch you swim instead.”

“That’s like saying I won’t go to Australia because they have spiders.”

“Well, I’m not in Australia, and I’m not in the ocean either,” Kiera says, and I roll my eyes.

“Like way out there! I spent the majority of my childhood in the ocean, and I never got anywhere near a shark. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I promise, and she finally curls her hand around mine.

“You won’t leave me out there if there’s a shark right?” Kiera asks hesitantly, and I shake my head, pulling her to her feet. “I distinctly remember you telling me that you’d leave me behind if there was a murderer or a bear.”

“I will never leave you behind if there is a murderer, a bear, or a shark.”

“If you say so,” she says reluctantly, allowing me to pull her backward on the private beach toward the ocean.

I’m grateful for this time away with Kiera.

Once we go back to normal life, things are going to be hectic. First, there’s my birthday, and it’ll be my first one without Mimi. Even when she couldn’t remember who I was, I made a point to spend the morning of my birthday with Mimi after she went into the home. Honestly, I’ve beenavoiding thinking about my twenty-eighth birthday because I’m not ready to finally be older than my parents were when they died. After next month, I’ll have made it to an age they didn’t. They were twenty-seven when they passed, and now there’s no one alive who remembers them.

Then, there’s the bachelor and bachelorette parties. They’re supposed to happen the week before the wedding, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for what Owen has been planning. For his, I flew the groomsmen to Las Vegas and what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I have no doubt he’ll try to top it, which is the part that has me worried.

Lastly, there’s the wedding itself. I’m excited for it, but I’m more excited for the peacefulness that will hopefully come afterward. We’re going to Fiji for the honeymoon, and then I have a few weeks before training camp starts.

On top of all of that, we’re house hunting. Our realtor scheduled showings at the house this weekend since we would already be away, and she’s hopeful we’ll have a few offers to come back to.

I drag Kiera into the waves as she stares skeptically at the vast openness behind me. To my relief, Kiera smiles at me, shielding her eyes from the sun. “I’m glad we came. I think we really needed this time.”

It’s a little relieving to hear I’m not the only one thinking it.

I bend down to sweep her into my arms as Kiera starts laughing, wrapping her arms around my neck to hold on tightly. “I think so too. There’s been a lot going on, but we’ll get through it if we stick together.”

“Things are only going to get crazier from here too,” she muses as I wade further into the water until it’s hitting our chests.

“As much as I wish it weren’t, I have a feeling our life together will be pretty crazy.”

Kiera brushes my hair off my forehead gently as she takes a moment to let my words sink in. “Do you ever wish you could walk away from it all? The endorsements, the press, the fame? You don’t seem to enjoy it.”

I’m thrown back to when Thalia asked me so long ago if I liked football, or if I was simply playing because I was good at it. She’s the only person I’ve ever admitted out loud to that I’ve considered hanging up my cleats. That was a long time ago, and it was before I went professional. That conversation needs to stay in the past, along with any thoughts I have surrounding Thalia.

I know how many guys would kill to be in my position, and I’m not trying to take it for granted. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve earned in life, but I can’t lie and say I’m not jealous of my teammates who are able to keep their personal lives private from the media.

Unfortunately, since I was thrown in during my rookie season while dating my best friend and fellow teammate’s sister, I never stood a chance. The media feels like cockroaches. You can’t get rid of them once you have them.

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