Page 44 of Making the Call
“I love hanging out with you.” She sighs.
“You did say you could write from anywhere…” I point out, and a smile forms on my face. Fuck. I don’t want to wait three weeks to see her. “We don’t leave until Saturday… What would it take to convince you to spend a few days here?”
“Luke, I just left today. Are you sure you want me back so soon?” Of course, I want her back. I wish she’d never left.
“If you didn’t need to meet your grandparents this afternoon, I would’ve asked you to stay earlier,” I admit.
“Okay…” she hesitates. Not wanting to pressure her, I wait impatiently for her response.
Just when I think she’s never going to respond, she makes my entire fucking week.
“Is tomorrow too soon?”
* * *
Waking up with Dani has its advantages. Let’s just say I may have skipped my morning workout a couple of times this week because getting out of bed was the last thing I wanted to do. But I managed to make it into my office by eight each morning. Knowing she’d be there when I returned, left a lingering smile on my face. People may have noticed, but they were smart enough to not say anything.
Thursday morning, I run into Campbell Beck in the players’ parking lot. “Hey, Beck, how’s married life treating you?”
Beck’s massive grin makes his thoughts evident. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
I can’t help but chuckle. The man’s been light on his feet all week and ever since his press conference, nothing seems to touch him. “I’m glad everything worked out for you and Hillary.”
“No kidding. I never thought the fans would be so crazy. Now that Hillary’s completely in the spotlight, people have come out of the woodwork to comment on everything she does. If I didn’t know she loved me so much, I’d worry she’d hightail it out of here.”
“She obviously loves you,” I point out. “Why else would she have stayed with you for all these years?”
Campbell shakes his head as he holds the door to the training facility for me. “That’s one of the reasons we kept things on the downlow for so long before deciding enough was enough and just getting married.”
“Well, you certainly know how to jump into things head first.”
“Don’t I know it.” He shakes his head, but his goofy grin tells me he doesn’t have any regrets. “Just wait ‘till it happens to you.”
Until I met Dani, I’d be denying this until the ends of the earth. But… maybe he has some merit. But it’s not like I’m the star player or anything. “No one cares about the coach, Beck. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Beck stops walking and eyes me suspiciously. Just when I think he’s about to say something, he shakes his head and continues walking.What was that all about?
Before I can say anything, Tanner Reid, our defensive end, joins us. He’s a senior member of the team, playing for Rainier longer than I’ve been around. He’s a practical jokester and smacks Beck on the back in greeting. “Mornin’, fellas. What’s shakin’?” His deep Southern drawl comes out. I’m not sure what it is about the guy, but he always seems genuinely happy.
“Just telling Coach about the finer points of married life.”
Reid’s mouth drops in surprise. “Dude. I’ve never seen him date. Why ya pushing that on him? Aren’t you jumpin’ the gun?”
“Just encouraging him to find happiness, like me.” Beck pats his chest and although he’s clearly joking, it’s obvious there’s truth in his words.
Reid coughs into his fist. “More like joining the circus. You keep the press focused on you. I’m happy over here in my quiet life.”
“Whatever, man.” Beck brushes Reid off. “You’re jealous you haven’t found someone worth laying it all down for.”
We reach the end of the hall, and the guys turn toward the locker room. They continue their conversation, and I make my way to my office. I can’t help but smile at the way Beck wants his happiness to spread to his friends. His teammates love to give him shit about it, but ever since he’s held his press conference, things have died down for him and Hillary.
When I reach my office, the intern Harlow trained to take over in her absence is at her desk. He has the phone in one hand and hastily takes notes with the other. He appears to have things under control, so I make my way to my desk and start up my computer for the day. I’d checked emails earlier from home, while Dani was still sleeping, so I shouldn’t be too far behind.
Just the thought of getting ready while Dani slept brings a smile to my face. Though glancing at the curve of her back as she sprawled out on the bed made me want to rejoin her, I couldn’t be more thankful for her visit again this week.
We’ve fallen into a bit of a routine. I try to be home early enough so we can eat dinner together. She’s typically deep into her manuscript when I arrive, so I either cook or pick up something on my way home. We eat, then each go back to work in one form or another. She with her laptop, me watching film or responding to emails on the couch. It may not be romantic, but it works for us. After another hour or two of work, we find ourselves somehow distracted by one another in the most glorious of ways, and those distractions lead us to making love into the wee hours of the morning. Rinse and Repeat. I may not be living on much sleep, but I sure as fuck am happy.
Tonight, as I settle into the comforts of my couch, laptop in hand, I glance to Dani. To my surprise, her face is scrunched up, and serious confusion crosses her features as she taps something out on her laptop. “Dani?” I ask in an attempt to get her attention.
