Page 111 of Changing the Playbook
She laughs into my chest. “In a men’s locker room that probably hasn’t been deep-cleaned in years.”
“Decades,” I retort.
We stand there wrapped in towels and each other while fluorescent lights buzz overhead. Somewhere in the building, a pipe clanks morse code. It’s the least romantic setting possible, and absolutely perfect.
“We should probably flee the scene,” she murmurs against my chest.
“Probably.”
By now, wet hair and goosebumps force action. We dress quickly—me in gym clothes, Sophie in jeans and my Pine Barren Hockey hoodie that she definitely stole last week. But I don’t mind, because on her it’s sexier than any lingerie.
“This is different now,” she says as I shoulder my bag. “Saying it out loud.”
“Different how?”
“More real? More terrifying?”
I think about it as we head for the exit. “I think it was already real.”
She laces our fingers together in the empty hallway. “When did you know?”
“That I loved you?” The memory surfaces easily. “The batting cages.”
“Your therapeutic technique of ‘violence against inanimate objects.’”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“Your stubborn refusal to let me spiral worked.” She squeezes my hand. “Also your ass in those baseball pants.”
“My stellar personality means nothing?”
“That too, I suppose.”
“Stay over?” The thought of separating now feels wrong. “I’ll set an alarm, make coffee, pretend I know how to scramble eggs.”
“I have clinical at six…”
“I’ll set three alarms. And I have those protein bars you pretend you don’t eat half my stash of.”
“The chocolate-chip ones are barely protein bars.” She snorts. “They’re candy in disguise.”
“Which is why you’ve demolished my supply?”
She studies her car intently. “Someone’s got to save you from yourself.”
I crowd her against the driver’s door. “How generous.”
“I’m very generous.” The words come out breathy, promising.
“Careful. Security definitely has cameras out here.”
She glances around the empty lot, then back at me. “Everywhere?”
“Sophie. No.”
“I wasn’t suggesting anything…”
But her grin says otherwise, and I know I’m completely gone for this woman. This brilliant, stubborn, surprising woman whomakes me want to be more than just the guy whose entire life used to be hockey.
