Page 104 of Unrivaled Love
"Of course I am.” I stand and step to her. My heart is racing and I move slowly as I step next to her. I run my hands up her arms and rest them on her shoulders. The connection is my savior. I don’t know how the fuck we’re going to survive this. But I’m not willing to live without her. I might not be able to explain how I know, but she is my life force. “I'm not saying it won't be tough, but we need to find a way through it. We can't just give up. I can’t, Iwon’tlive without you Jo.”
The look in her eyes tells me she feels the same way. The green shade dances in the light as she studies my face. My chest burns with the fear of the unknown and the desire to assure her it’ll be alright.
“I will call you every morning or something. And you can call me on your lunch break. On game nights I can talk to you after I get home. And you can talk to me before your games if you want to or the next day if you'd rather get in the zone. We can send each other fucking memes all day for all I care. I’ll download whatever chat app you want to use. I’ll have my man Larry deliver flowers every day or I’ll hire a personal assistant to bring you coffee. I don’t fucking know, Jo, but I will do everything I can to keep you."
I know I'm rambling but I need her to know I am willing to do whatever it takes. I’m in it for the long haul. I am ready to fight for us.
Jo falls into my arms and after a few shuddering breaths our inhales and exhales are in sync. I press a kiss to her temple and close my eyes. Visions of us together at the lake, of her presence at the parade, of each moment over the last week has given me hope.
“You make me believe I can do anything.” I tell her. It’s the truth. “A parade, a rally, another championship.”
“Greedy.” She scoffs.
“I am. And this next one will be even sweeter because we’ll do it together.” I tuck my chin and pull hers up from where it rests on my chest. Her eyes are misty and I can’t read them. I refuse to blink. We’re a hairsbreadth from our future.
Is she with me?
"Okay, you're right.” She smiles softly. “We're smart, successful athletes, we can figure it out."
"We can. And we will. And we have another week before I leave so, let's make the most of it."
Chapter 33
Jo
World’s Greatest H.A.B.
BrysonboughthimselfaKiss The Chef apron when we went to the kitchen store two days ago. I've created a monster by giving him free reign of my apartment design choices. But right now he's in nothing but the apron and I get to stare at his cute little butt, and thick thighs, as he makes me breakfast.
"What are you going to say to Pee Pee when you get there today?" He asks as he slides over a plate of eggs, toast, and fruit. His bare ass had been distracting me from the impending doom of returning to practice today.
"I dunno." I admit because while I've practiced yelling at her in the shower, I know lashing out is not going to get me anywhere. I’m mature enough to admit that tickle tackling her wasn’t the right choice. But she needs to own how shitty she was. "Brie, well Brianna, our assistant coach, called me yesterday while you were napping. She told me I should come in with my head held high, apologize for taking my emotions out on her physically, and then say I hope we can put it behind us for the betterment of the team."
"She sounds wise."
"Oh yeah, she's the best. She was actually a teammate of mine in college but she tore her ACL and it never came back fully." I am lucky to have her as an assistant coach now. She knows the game as well as anyone and would make a kick ass head coach someday.
"That sucks."
"Totally, and it makes me so grateful for my health." I say as I enjoy my breakfast.
"No kidding."
"And she's got an amazing mind for the game. She designs these set plays that are like poetry in motion."
"It's great she found a job in coaching then. And I bet that earns her respect from her players." Bryson says as he slides onto a counter stool next to me. A stool we picked out yesterday at a flea market Larry texted him about.
"It does, even Pee Pee tries to impress her." He snorts around his mouthful of eggs and I giggle. "I can hold my head high and try to apologize with dignity but I'll be calling her Pee Pee in my head the entire time."
"I'd expect nothing less, Killer." He says with a smile and I realize what having Bryson in my corner will do for me. He'll back me up no questions asked. He’d help bury the body. He'll be there for me, maybe not physically, but emotionally. He'll help talk me through whatever I'm experiencing and because he's also a professional athlete he'll understand it better, too.
Hopefully we don't have to bury any bodies.
My phone pings with a text and I swipe it open to see a text from Harper.
HARPER
I hope practice goes well today! But, if Pee Pee gives you any trouble, I hope she always misses one chunk of hair in her ponytail.
