Page 65 of Personal Foul
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rush ~ Four Months Later
“Hell yeah, baby!” Jaxsen cheers, bouncing on his feet, clapping as we walk into the locker room following the game.
“We were putting on a show tonight,” Kinnick boasts, pretending to drain another three-pointer.
He’s right, we killed it tonight. We have a few games left in the regular season, and we’re coming off a sixteen-game winning streak. As it stands, we’re heading into the playoffs, sitting pretty to take this one to the finals, and we can’t be more pumped.
The guys are all filing into the locker room one by one, high-fiving and congratulating each other. We’ve had our highs and lows throughout the season, but we’ve always put our differences aside and come together to play the game.
Coach comes in and gives us a quick speech. We won tonight, so while he lets us celebrate the win, he also gets down to business on what we’ll be focusing on come practice on Sunday.
A few of us opt to hit the showers. Jaxsen will be talking with the media for a bit before heading out for the night. I know Sydney is going to be waiting for me, so I don’t want to wait until I get home to clean up.
“You headin’ over to Blazin’ Shooters tonight? I feel like it’s only fitting we have a couple celebratory drinks and wings.” Jaxsen wags his brows a little while later, running his towel over his head.
Blazin’ Shooters is a sports bar not far from the arena. They are known for going all out when it comes to Miami Blaze game nights, attracting the locals from all over Miami to watch the game if they don’t have tickets.
“Ya know, you could always bring Sydney with you. It’s not a secret anymore,” Kinnick jokes.
“We’ll be there,” I say, pulling my T-shirt over my head, adjusting my chain necklace. I quickly pull on my jeans and tennis shoes, stuffing the rest of my things into my bag.
I tell the guys I’ll meet them over at Shooters, slapping a few of them on the back on my way out. I haven’t seen Sydney since I left early this morning. Things have been well since she opened up to me. While there are still times when I sense she’s hesitant to open up, it has helped to have a better understanding of where she’s coming from.
I take the hallway leading from the locker rooms toward the front of the arena, where Sydney told me she’d meet me after the game.
I spot Coach before I see her, but her auburn hair helps her stand out amongst the crowd. As soon as she sees me, she sticks her hand in the air, waving to get my attention as her dad turns toward me.
“Good game, Rush,” Coach says, giving me another high-five, clapping me on the back.
“I know you both want to get out of here. You guys go on and have a good night, all right?”
Coach smiles, reaching his hand over to wrap around Sydney, pulling her in for a hug. Her face softens, slipping her arm around him to return the gesture.
“Take care of our girl, will ya?” He winks at me.
“Always.” I smile, gliding her fingers between mine, pulling her close to me. I know he knows, especially after how we first met, I would do anything to keep her safe.
Once his back is to us, I greet her with a smirk, raising my eyebrow, letting her know I’m waiting for my kiss.
She peers around us, looking for who may be paying attention. We’re in the packed lobby, people still milling around. It would probably be wise for us to go somewhere else where we wouldn’t attract attention, but I don’t care.
She must know this, too, as her lips purse together, shaking her head, warning me not to.
“What?” I joke.
“Don’t even think about it…” She narrows her eyes, waving her finger at me, pretending to scold me.
I scoff, pulling her into my arms. She’s prepared for it, though. She expects it as I wrap my fingers in her hair, pressing a kiss against her soft lips.
She tilts her head back slightly, letting out a heavy exhale low enough for only me to hear, as I grip her head kissing her again. The heat brewing between us fuels me. The crowd around us grows louder, the flashing lights from the cameras go off, but nothing else exists outside of this moment with her.
When our lips finally break away, she uses my height to hide her face from the watchful eyes around us.
“You couldn’t wait until later?” She giggles, rubbing her lips together. She plays it off like she’s embarrassed, but even I know her rosy cheeks aren’t only from the crowd around us. She feels it between us just as much as I do, even if she wants to pretend otherwise.
“I mean, I’m fine with us taking this to your car. It’s not parked far from here. I’m still waiting for you to make it up to me, ya know, after things got cut so short that one time.”
